The Straight Dope Classic this week: has also been addressed by Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy
If you don’t want to do it the tedious way you can always tap the end of the egg on the table and flatten it a bit, the way Christopher Columbus is supposed to have done.
A few years ago I took the challenge and stood some eggs on my kitchen counter. I took pictures and the eggs stood for a couple of weeks. Guess I must be a gentle chef! This was not done at the period of the Equinox.
Should it not be deathly silence, rather than deathly science?