# building a container in which a raw egg can safely drop from 15 feet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710 "2010-06-18T20:52:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wordy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Wordy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wordy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/41 "2010-06-19T00:05:24Z")
Another very useful trick: Empty out the egg. > **[How to Hollow Out an Egg | ehow.com](https://www.ehow.com/how_15776_hollow-egg.html)** > > Step-by-step instructions for two easy methods for hollowing out eggs for craft projects and decorations. You’ll be left with an intact egg shell with nothing inside. The judges won’t know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![miamouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@miamouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miamouse)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/42 "2010-06-19T00:21:33Z")
2 things that worked in the last project like this I was in: mine was using bamboo skewers and marshmallows, kind of like a teepee; the other was heavy weight motor oil in a tupperware container. (make sure tupperware can withstand fall). ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/43 "2010-06-19T00:26:59Z")
When I was in kindergarten, our teacher did this. I think the winner was an egg with lots of packing material (styrofoam peanuts or something) inside of a milk carton, but the distance was very low. Less than 10 feet iirc. Brain fart: Tape the egg on top of a X foot long tripod (like a ladder.) X being the number of feet of the drop, so the actual drop is less than a couple of inches, e.g. if the drop is 10 feet, tape the egg to the top of a box that is 9’11" tall. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/44 "2010-06-19T00:55:31Z")
Instead of clay, you could use rubber balloons full of corn starch and water. That’s one of the things I remember that the egg drop team used in Science Olympiad. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/45 "2010-06-19T00:57:38Z")
For those suggesting rigging the egg (emptying it out or soaking it in vinegar), usually the organizers of the contest will supply the eggs on the spot. This probably also rules out the snug-fit cardboard tube. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/46 "2010-06-19T02:42:46Z")
The guy who won this contest in my middle school filled his box with Cheerios and put the egg on top. The Cheerios made a lovely crunching sound when the box landed, but in sacrificing themselves they dissipated the kinetic energy of the egg quite effectively. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/47 "2010-06-19T02:53:14Z")
Put the egg in box. Change the gravitational constant. No need to make this shit complicated. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/48 "2010-06-19T06:00:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > For those suggesting rigging the egg (emptying it out or soaking it in vinegar), usually the organizers of the contest will supply the eggs on the spot. This probably also rules out the snug-fit cardboard tube. Hehe that’s why my egg cage was build out of those old metal finger splints. Padding built in, and just enough spring without deformation to slip an egg in but keep the cage shape after. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/49 "2010-06-19T06:45:44Z")
Here’s my design for a foolproof egg shock-absorber; take one empty coffee can, and fill it 3/4 with sand. The clumping kitty litter will work fine too. Put the egg on top of the sand, and I orient it so the fat part of the egg faces down. Fill all the way with sand, tape the lid down. Drop the can bottom side down, and that’s it! ---
**Author:** ![Adradis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Adradis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adradis)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/50 "2010-06-19T08:55:07Z")
Probably quite the waste of good bread, but in high school, my group took one of those round sourdough bread rolls (With the flat bottom), carved out a spot in the center, padded it with lightly shredded tissue paper, and taped the base of the bread back on. Held out perfectly on the actual drop, and lasted in tests till about a vertical throw upwards that got to about 3 stories high, spinning. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/51 "2010-06-19T15:34:45Z")
I vote for the solution suggested in a previous thread - drop it while it’s still inside the chicken. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/52 "2010-06-19T18:31:15Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > If you do this, then you need to drop several dozen eggs at once to simulate a StarShip Troopers landing scene.🆒 ..and a bunch of eggs with firecrackers and confetti. and flamethrowers! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/53 "2010-06-21T17:51:21Z")
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It turns out that the egg drop was not for first graders after all, but I’ll keep all the ideas in this thread for next year! ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/54 "2010-06-21T21:39:43Z")
When I did this back in high school, I made a variation of the aforementioned snug-fit cardboard tube. I found that a toilet paper tube was just a slightly different diameter than a paper towel tube, and one would just fit within the other. I wrapped the smaller tube with tape so it fit snugly in the larger tube, so the whole thing was like a car’s shock absorber. I taped a paper cup to hold the egg on top and I put some fins on the cup. The fins did two things. First, they made the device act like a dart and land in the right orientation, and second, they helped absorb the impact in case the tube ended up on it’s side. Originally I wanted to make helicopter blades, but the teacher thought that was too much like a parachute (not allowed). Fins were fine since they didn’t slow it down. I also made some legs by straightening two coat hangers and attaching them to the bottom in the form of an “X”. This gave it a wide base so it would help keep the whole thing upright at impact. Eggs were supplied by the teacher so we couldn’t doctor them, and the devices had to have some way to install the egg on the spot. My contraption made it through the first round (probably about 3/4 didn’t) of being thrown from the top of my two-story school onto concrete. The egg developed a hairline crack after the second toss, which the teacher didn’t notice until I pointed it out (I was too honset). IIRC, nobody survived three drops. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/55 "2010-06-22T00:51:30Z")
Anyone ever tried setting an egg in the center of a mass of jello first? That was my crazy-ass idea that just occurred to me. I do remember doing a project like this in school, but I don’t remember how we tackled it. I do remember a bunch of kids having the same basic variation of "pack the egg in cotton, tissue paper or newspaper, then pack that in a soft container, then pack that in a hard container. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/56 "2010-06-22T01:07:44Z")
By far the simplest solution is a cardboard tube, with tissue paper loosely crumpled in one end, the egg in the middle, and fins at the butt end to orient it. Wrap the egg in enough tissue paper so it forms a loose seal with the edges of the tube. Seal the front end of the tube. Duct tape is fine; nose cone optional. When it lands, the air pressure and the tissue paper assure a smooth deceleration, and the tube provides additional support to keep the egg from bursting. Hardboiling the egg is not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/57 "2010-06-22T07:26:56Z")
my egg drop entry was a broomhandle with a very large nail to stick into the ground. The egg rode in a small foam filled cup that slightly gripped the shaft just enough to transfer most of the force of the fall. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/58 "2010-06-22T08:18:11Z")
I always wanted to try making a big _[Maple Wing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samara_%28fruit%29)_ out of card and tissue paper, with the egg where the seed would be. Or a long non-ferrous metal tube wide enough to fit an egg in, then glue some hard drive magnets to the egg. Let Lenz’s law do the work. Si ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/59 "2010-06-22T08:27:12Z")
This is a bit hard to explain, but with unfolded coat hangers or similar wire, form 4 legs…from a single apex a bit like the Lunar Lander. Near the base of these, connect them in an X to provide strength. At the center of the X, add weight to ensure a low center of gravity so that it lands correctly. From the apex, suspend two plastic berry baskets which contain the egg. Ensure that it will stretch almost (but not quite) to the weight at the center of the X below it. Drop. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710/60 "2010-06-22T14:25:23Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Here’s my design for a foolproof egg shock-absorber; take one empty coffee can, and fill it 3/4 with sand. The clumping kitty litter will work fine too. Put the egg on top of the sand, and I orient it so the fat part of the egg faces down. Fill all the way with sand, tape the lid down. Drop the can bottom side down, and that’s it! I think this strategy is vastly underappreciated. The same principle is mentioned above a few times using brine, heavy motor oil, clay, etc: just encase the egg in some kind of compression-resistant medium and the put it into a container that will resist deforming on impact. The egg is immobile in the medium, and the pressure of the impact is distributed more or less evenly throughout the shell so it can’t break. When I was a kid I used flour and a coffee can and sealed the thing up with duct tape. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/building-a-container-in-which-a-raw-egg-can-safely-drop-from-15-feet/543710.md?page=4)