Comments on: Vernal Equinox Is Coming… Balance Eggs Or Believe In Science?

By: Marjorie

Marjorie — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:48:16 +0000

I don't think my last comment posted. I apologize if this turns out to be a double post.

Where I live, sunrise and sunset times were identical about two days ago. How could these times be equal on any day other than the equinox?

The times, if I remember correctly, were 722 a.m. and 7:22 pm.

By: Tammy Plotner

Tammy Plotner — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:22:19 +0000

I'm glad it sparked some interest! No one is quite sure how the myth got started, but to me it seems like an age-old game of "post office". Tell a group of people a certain point in time like vernal equinox is associated with eggs and fertility, the balance of day and night, and many more assoicated beliefs, and a hundred years later of passing on the story and you'll have a garbled fable that only retains two words – balance and eggs.

Does it work? Well, yes! I have a whole dozen of them balanced in my refrigerator right now. Does it work without the box? Don't tell anyone you were watching, but I tried it when making breakfast this morning. The first three happily rolled over on the countertop, where my dog watched with great glee hoping they'd drop to the floor. The fourth stood up proudly… For about as long as it took for me to find the frying pan.

While I don't believe the arrival of Vernal Equinox caused the egg to stand (more likely a sticky spot from where I made toast and jam), I do believe that when I apply heat and a bit of melted butter they will turn from a rigid encrusted viscous oval into tasty, warm semi-solid mass!

Enjoy the day…

~Tammy

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:07:01 +0000

I agree with Tina. I'd never heard of balancing eggs until reading this article!

By: Tina

Tina — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:33:42 +0000

This balancing eggs myth seems to be a North American thing-it's never mentioned in Australia. Until I started reading US-based urban legends websites I'd never heard of it.

BTW, here we officially commence our seasons at the beginning of the month. Hence, Autumn begins on March 1, Winter on June 1, Spring on September 1 and Summer on December 1.

By: El Sofista - Se viene el equinoccio vernal

El Sofista - Se viene el equinoccio vernal — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:22:54 +0000

[...] La primavera llega oficialmente para todos los habitantes del Hemisferio Norte, incluyendo a los astrÃ³nomos, el 20 de marzo [a las 05:48 (TU), tres horas menos en Buenos Aires]. [...]

By: Laszlo

Laszlo — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:13:47 +0000

We're lucky the moon nutates us so that the Northern hemi faces the sun during apogee & tilts away during perigee, somewhat buffering the temp extremes. We won't be so lucky in 26K since we lack the heatsink capacity to ameliorate these climate extremes. Southern hemi's mostly buffering water.
As for spring, fohghetabowdit till at least May here in 40th parallel. West Virgina's 75% forest, but the canopy does poorer job of buffering winter, than cooling summers. Driving through forest can be 10-20 cooler than interstate or city(heat island) b/c foilage absorbs insolation(lowers albedo) & evapotranspirates.
The earth absorbs & loses heat to depths of soil strata, producing at least a month lag in temps behind light. Therefore, coldest weather occurs in late January & warmest in July-August.
Think about tropics, the sun passes directly overhead now & Sept 21. Luckily the canopy & moisture keeps temps in 80s. Did you know Florida never gets to 100F. But humidity makes the heat index(can't evaporate sweat) higher than 120F Southwest. Luckily shores produce daily convection cells. Thermals rise during day heading seaward, whence off-shore cooler breeze sweeps horizontally landward. Cell reverses a noches. Here in the Ohio Valley, the warmed air flows up the basin by day & the cooler night air flows downwards w current, just above the river. I live smack in the middle of the Ohio, largest inhabited river island in U.S., forever on flood watch.
The west coast gets pacific moisture, which can form high-albedo snow in Canada. Also, mountains behind you may trap orographic moisture. Remember this, thermocline's strongest in winter & disperse in summer. It can be hotter in Chicago or Fargo than deep South. Typically we're hotter than Southern Calif in summer. The cool Aleutian current sees to that. They have wetter, warmer Mediterranean climate winters.
Global warming affects different areas, some will cool. Hotter tropical air evaporates seawater, which should rise & migrate poleward, dropping it's spent cargo along the way. This increases albedo & permafrost acting as counter to 'warming'. For now, let's wait for the movie! Les

By: Watchful Stone Guardian

Watchful Stone Guardian — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:02:26 +0000

Lately I've been trying out what it would be like if the equinoxes and solstices were the seasonal mid-points rather than the beginnings. Feb 4 would have been spring, March 20 mid-spring, May 6 summer, June 21 mid-summer, Aug 6 autumn, Sept 21 mid-autumn, Nov 5 winter, Dec 21 mid-winter.

Over the past year it seems to work really well especially for the Canadian winter: it started while it was still nice and ended early. Mind you it takes a while longer for the spring melt to begin but the days are truly starting to get longer in early February and the promise of spring is in the air. Summer really feels like it's underway in May and is reaching its end in August. The leaves here in Saskatchewan are gone by mid September so Autumn does start early. By the beginning November if the snow hasn't fallen then something is wrong! By Dec 21 with the long nights it's a good feeling to know that spring is only 6 weeks away!

Try celebrating the first day of summer on May 5, seven weeks early, and see how it feels.