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 Rob Gendreau writes-

>Tradition has it that at the moment of the
>equinox you can stand an egg on end. Not to raise the specter of
>scientific rationalism vs. folklore, but big bets are riding on this in
>my office. Video evidence is being demanded. So an accurate time for the
>equinox is essential.

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Such beliefs persist.

An ex-colleague was in Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, and was in some
sort of tourist-trap placed precisely on the equator. He witnessed a
demonstration, using a bowlful of water with an exit spout at its centre.
At one end of the compound, when the plug was pulled, the water ran out
with a clockwise swirl. Taken to the other end, the swirl was
anticlockwise. My colleague, a physicist of long standing, was gullible
enough to accept that this was the result of the rotation of the Earth, and
being on opposite sides of the equator. Some people will believe
anything...

If it had been true, however, it could have provided a novel
aid-to-navigation, for anyone wishing to travel East-West along the
equator..

And if Rob Gendreau's tradition had any validity, then perhaps the
egg-on-end instant could have been used to check a chronometer.

What a pity that these beliefs fail.

George Huxtable.

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george@huxtable.u-net.com
George Huxtable, 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
Tel. 01865 820222 or (int.) +44 1865 820222.
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