# standing eggs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 31, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831 "2002-12-31T06:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jessbuffalo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@Jessbuffalo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jessbuffalo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/1 "2002-12-31T06:16:58Z")
i tried standing an egg on end, but it didnt work.i tried 15 timesand i was steady as i could be. cecil said that you could do it any time and not jut on the equinox…was he lying??? anyone else dumb enough to try & stand an egg on end? ---
**Author:** ![kunoichi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kunoichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kunoichi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/2 "2002-12-31T06:25:53Z")
It’s possible, it’s just kinda hard if you do silly things like breathe 😉 Just teasing… but check this out… [Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/egg_spin.html) ---
**Author:** ![kunoichi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kunoichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kunoichi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/3 "2002-12-31T06:27:57Z")
hehe… I didn’t realize this before I posted that link, but good ol’ Phil links to the Straight Dope on that page:D ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/4 "2002-12-31T08:23:16Z")
The BA is a regular here. ---
**Author:** ![kunoichi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kunoichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kunoichi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/5 "2002-12-31T16:34:09Z")
wow… is it legal to concentrate so much brainpower on one forum?! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mightyaphrodite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@mightyaphrodite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mightyaphrodite)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/6 "2003-01-10T03:18:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jessbuffalo \* > \*\*i tried standing an egg on end, but it didnt work.i tried 15 timesand i was steady as i could be. cecil said that you could do it any time and not jut on the equinox…was he lying??? anyone else dumb enough to try & stand an egg on end? \*\* to be honest, I can’t even get it to work on the equinox, but I’ve seen someone else do it. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/7 "2003-01-10T19:48:02Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, Jessbuffalo, and thank you for posting your comment. Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site. To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space **before** and **after** the text of the URL). Cecil’s column can be found on-line at this link: [Can you stand eggs on end at the vernal equinox and at no other time?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_089.html) * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/8 "2003-01-11T00:32:11Z")
I have stood eggs on their ends pretty much every time I have tried to (the one exception was, of course, at the beginning of a talk I was giving about the topic :-). It just takes patience. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/9 "2003-01-20T02:28:40Z")
I just did it yesterday, standing the same egg both on the wide end **and** the narrow end. Not at the same time, of course 😃 It does take a bit of patience and a steady hand, but it can be done. The eggs must be uncooked. Boiled eggs cannot stand up. It seems to help if you hold the egg with the long axis vertical, in the position you want to balance it, and let the yolk settle into place for a minute or so. Hope this helps, and happy balancing! ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/10 "2003-01-20T05:03:11Z")
You can also cheat (which make’s it easier, duh) by sprinkling magical pixie dust before you start. By magical pixie dust, I mean good old table salt. Grab a pinch, throw it onto the table (so it’s almost impossible to see). Get the kids attention and say that you can stand the egg on the end. Voila, you can do it. You then sweep the salt off the table with a broad stroke of your arm and suggest the kids try it themselves. When they can’t do it, sprinkle more pixie dust around (try to time it so they can’t see the salt) and you can do it again. The cubic dimensions of the magical pixie dust (errr, salt) help create a stable base for the egg. ---
**Author:** ![Greensabre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Greensabre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greensabre)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-eggs/145831/11 "2003-01-21T03:05:43Z")
I just stood an egg up on end a moment ago… I think it just depends on random egg picking… (it only took a few minutes to do it, but after it fell, I never got it up again!!)