Ägg på högkant

Recently during the occurrence of the vernal equinox I saw a televised report that people had gathered in Central Park in New York City to witness a remarkable sight: eggs that had been balanced on end and then left to stand that way without apparent support. Supposedly this is possible only during the equinox.

- En fråga till The Straight Dope: Can you stand eggs on end at the vernal equinox and at no other time?

Jag har sett detta besynnerliga påstående flimra förbi tidigare. Har ett vagt minne av att den var för dum för att vara intressant. Men det finns alltså folk som tror på den. Johan postade en länk på Faktoiders Facebook-sida:

According to a theory, this phenomenon is only possible at the exact time and date during the spring and autumnal equinox.
When the sun crosses the equator, making night and day equal on all parts of the earth, an egg can stand due to gravitational forces of the sun being aligned with the earth.

- Eggs do stand on their ends, New Straits Times, 5 februari 2012

Uppfattningen verkar vara tillräckligt vanlig för att pålitlige Phil Plait på Bad Astronomy ska ta sig an det.

This has to be one of the silliest misconceptions around, and it never seems to die.

Där ser man. En poäng kanske anas i rapporten från Malaysia?

Nik Hariff added that it was a belief that eggs cooked after being balanced in the sun would bring good health to a person.
"The strength from the sun is absorbed into the egg. So whoever eats the egg will get good 'chi'," he said.

Så envar som säljer "stå-ägg" har förstånd att ta ut ett (betydligt) rundligare pris än för ett vanligt ligg-ägg.