Science Reveals Why Eggs Are Less Likely to Crack When Dropped on Their Side

Eggs are less likely to crack when dropped on their side, according to experiments with over 200 eggs. This means that the best way to crack an egg for breakfast is to break it around the middle, as this allows the golden yolk and runny whites to ooze out. However, scientists say that this could help with hard-boiling eggs in a pot, as dropping eggs horizontally may be less likely to cause a stray crack that can unleash the egg’s insides in a puffy, cloudy mess. It’s commonly thought that eggs are strongest at their ends, but when scientists squeezed eggs in both directions during a compression test, they cracked under the same amount of force. The researchers also ran simulations and dropped eggs horizontally and vertically from three short heights up to 0.4 inches (10 millimeters). The egg result? The ones dropped horizontally cracked less. Scientists found that the egg’s equator was more flexible and absorbed more of the energy of the fall before cracking. The findings were published in the journal Communications Physics. Eggs are usually nestled top-down into homemade contraptions for egg drop challenges as part of school STEM projects, which partially inspired the new study. It’s not yet clear whether the new results will help protect these vulnerable eggs, which are dropped at much loftier heights.

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