![]() This story has been repeatedly debunked, but I figured I’d give it a shot myself–making sure not to try it on any of the afore-mentioned magical days–when it should be utterly impossible because Unspecified Reasons. For more on this phenomenon, see my Skeptical Inquiree column “Egging the Equator” in the July/August 2016 issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. The same is of course true for balancing a broom or anything else if you are convinced it can only happen one day a year, you are unlikely to try at other times of the year (and realize it works then as well). If you believe that eggs won’t balance on other days, this belief is transmitted subconsciously to your hands. Similar rumours have persisted over the years that claim you can only stand an egg on its end during the equinox. If you are convinced that an egg will balance more easily on a certain day you will try a little harder, be more patient, and use steadier hands. While it is true that a whole variety of brooms really can be stood on their ends without being held up, it has nothing to do with the equinox or planetary alignments, nor is it only possible on a specific day of the year. Martin Gardner, writing in the May/June 1996 Skeptical Inquirer about the myth that egg balancing can only be done on the first day of Spring (a tradition he traces back to ancient China) explains that “Such self-deception is not hard to understand. The British tabloid The Daily Mirror–a reliable source for unreliable, sensationalized information since 1903–offered a story about goofy beliefs about the equinox including that eggs and brooms can be balanced on that day.įor many it does indeed work, though there’s no scientific reason why it should only work on that day. YouTube videos can be found of many people trying this quirk for themselves, mostly successfully (videos showing the trick not working are of course less popular and interesting). #3 Social media makes us do silly stuff. □Īlthough a number of #BroomChallenge participants claimed that some sort of meteorological phenomenon caused their brooms to stand on end, that was likely confirmation bias at play furthermore, the equinox, spring or fall, does not take place in February.We are just past the 2017 summer solstice (June 20 and 21 were the longest days of the year for anyone living north of the equator), and amid the celebrations, pagan rituals, and Stonehenge treks, there were many who performed a trick seemingly unique to that day.Īccording to some, eggs and brooms can somehow be balanced on their ends on that day (and/or on the vernal equinox, when day and night length are about the same and/or on the first day of Spring, take your pick). The orbit of the Earth around the sun causes Seasons. #2 The Tilt of the earth is always ~23.5° it never changes during the year. It has to do with the shape of the bottom, not the Earth. #1 Your Broom will do this any day of the year. I can’t believe people are falling for the #broomchallenge. Meteorologist Brad Panovich shared a post on his Facebook page debunking the “broom challenge”: ![]() While several of the posts cited the vernal equinox - the day of the year the sun crosses the celestial equator going north and which marks the official beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and kicks off autumn in the Southern Hemisphere - as the purported cause of standing brooms, the equinox would not be for more than a month, on Maand furthermore, would not have any effect on whether a broom would stand on end. There is a rumor going around that said the earth is at such a perfect tilt or equinox that gravity can make broom sticks stand on its own. All sorts of people (and brooms) got in on the fun: On February 10 2020, memes and posts about a #BroomChallenge began circulating around Facebook, claiming that an arcane gravitational anomaly (usually chalked up to being caused by a “planetary alignment” or the “vernal equinox”) enabled people to stand brooms on end without tipping over.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |