The egg stands alone

Time In editor Margaret Lyons is a smart cookie. She graduated from the University of Chicago, where all they do is practice being smart (as opposed to the graduates of my alma mater, Ohio University, who mainly practiced being drunk and oftentimes practice did make perfect). Moreover, I love Snopes.com and usually trust it implicitly. So you'd think that I'd just believe them both when they tell me that you can balance an egg on its end at any time, not just during the vernal equinox.

But I'm the kind of guy who needs to see something for his own eyes, rather than trust the word of others. I'm also the kind of guy willing to film such a thing and post it to our Blog. Since the vernal equinox occurred yesterday, there seemed no time like the present. Plus, our editor-in-chief is out of town.

So as promised, here I am balancing an egg.

Here's how to do this:

First, like any good chef, make sure your eggs are room temperature. The warmer temp of the egg allows the yolk and egg whites to expand, along with the outer shell, giving you more weight inside the egg, along with a greater surface area.*

Next, position the egg so that it is standing straight up and down. Brace it with something, and let it sit there for a while, allowing all of the weight of the egg to settle, making it easier to balance. You can see an example of this here, where I've got the egg helplessly pinned between my cubicle wall, and a copy of the book that's fueling my latest conspiracy theories.

Finally, make sure you have a really solid relationship with your co-workers before attempting this stunt or you'll be branded as Crazy Egg Guy, and have to take a new job to escape the shame.

* Note: This is based on my own conjecture, but it makes sense, doesn't it? I didn't actually take Physics in high school, and famously got a D- in Chemistry. But The Clark Foundation has my back on this.