3/20/09 Balancing Eggs on this First Day of Spring!

Spring has sprung! At 7:44am this morning we kicked off the start of spring known as the Vernal Equinox (ver is Latin for spring and equinox meaning equal night). Today marks the day the sun is directly over the equator. The only other day that happens, yep you guessed it, the Autumn Equinox.

According to timeanddate.com,  A Greek astronomer and mathematician named Hipparchus (ca. 190-ca.120 BCE) was known for discovering the precession of the equinoxes, the slow movement among the stars of the two opposite places where the sun crosses the celestial equator. Hipparchus made observations of the equinox and solstice.

A couple of historical facts about the Vernal Equinox from thefreelibrary.com: People have been marking and celebrating the Vernal Equinox for thousands of years. The Great Sphinx which was constructed over 4500 years ago on the Giza Plateau in Egypt, faces due east on the Vernal Equinox. The monoliths located at Stonehenge, which are estimated to be over 3000 years old, mark the position of the rising sun on the Vernal Equinox. In Central America the Ancient Mayan Caracol Tower and Temples of the Sun and Moon also have alignments that coincide with the sun''s position on the Vernal Equinox. 

One last note. I am sure you have heard the old MYTH that you can balance an egg upright only on the first day of spring. According to about.com, the myth is a superstition often attributed to the Chinese claiming that you can stand a raw egg on end during the equinox. Apparently this derives from the notion that, due to the sun's equidistant position between the poles of the earth on the first day of spring, special gravitational forces apply. We tried it this morning on the show. Got one to balance, and one we couldn’t. If you are having trouble, just add a “pinch” of salt or sugar to the table and try. Worked for us and will work ANY day of the year!

Happy Spring!  

See you soon,

Brian