

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. Post Information: Below post has been circulating on social media.
BROOM STANDING UP EQUINOX VERIFICATION
Please read more about it in the verification section of this article. For more on this phenomenon, see my Skeptical Inquiree column “Egging the Equator” in the July/August 2016 issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. SPAM NASA Says Broom Stands On Its Own Due To Vernal Equinox Today Fake post with claim that NASA says broom balance, due to Vernal Equinox Today. 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. 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. 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). Neither hemisphere is tilted more toward or away from the sun, the only thing that is specifically in balance on the equinox.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 best balance there is on the Spring Equinox itself is the tilt of the Earth since that is the moment when the sun’s most direct rays cross the Earth’s equator. Patrick’s Day is the closest we get to balancing day and night with 11 hours and 59 minutes of daylight.
BROOM STANDING UP EQUINOX FULL
This is partly due to atmospheric refraction, as the sun’s light bends as it passes through our atmosphere, and partly because the sun isn’t just a point but a full circle and we get a few extra minutes as we count the daylight when the top of that solar circle rises above the horizon until the last edge of the circle disappear below the horizon.St. We actually have 12 hours and 9 minutes of daytime by the Vernal Equinox. The same goes for balancing an egg, with a bit of practice and patience you can get it to stand on its end any day of the year… and it doesn’t have to be hard boiled.Īnd don’t expect a perfect balance of day and night on the Equinox despite it’s Latin definition meaning “equal night”. The wider the bottom bristles are the easier it will be to balance, just like it’s easier to stand on two legs than trying to balance on one. There is nothing special about the equinox that changes gravity, you don’t have to be a meteorologist either, it's all about finding the broom’s center of gravity and balancing it from there. Tag: vernal equinox The BroomChallenge: Can Your Broom Stand up Because of the Vernal Equinox or Planetary Alignments A phenomenon attributed to strange gravitational pulls on the evening of a purported equinox can actually be observed any night of the year. You can balance a broom any day of the year.
