MDBCs 04 Jul 2024

While the origins of this unofficial holiday are unknown, it is clear that the creator of the day wanted people to venture out in the hot summer Sun and be environmentally friendly by cooking eggs using solar energy.

The name of the holiday comes from the saying "it’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk."

Many places in the Northern Hemisphere are hot enough during this time of the year for people to crack an egg on the sidewalk and cook it. Add some salt and pepper and fry up some bacon and you will have the perfect breakfast! We are kidding, of course. Please do not eat food cooked on the sidewalk!

Bad Conductor of Heat

If you do want to cook your eggs outdoors using solar energy, the sidewalk may not be your best bet. An egg needs to be heated to around 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62 degrees Celsius) to be cooked. Sidewalks unfortunately are made of concrete, which is a poor conductor of heat. This means that once you crack open an egg on the sidewalk, not all of the heat from it will be transferred to the egg, leaving it uncooked or unevenly cooked.

If you really did want to cook an egg outdoors try doing it on the hood of your car or using a tin foil on which you can crack your egg. Metal is a better conductor of heat than concrete.

How to Celebrate?

The day is a celebration of summer, so if you are not in the mood of frying an egg on the sidewalk, what about spending the day next to the pool and cooling down with lots of ice cream or popsicles?
Stay out of the Sun and make your eggs the traditional way – on the stove!

Did You Know...

...that the city of Oatman, Arizona holds an annual Solar Egg Frying Contest every year? Contestants are given 5 minutes to cook an egg and can use objects like mirrors and magnifying glasses.

***

My helicopter crew landed on a frigate in order to evacuate a sick sailor who, we later learned, was suffering from a skin infection called cellulitis.

When we arrived, we asked a crewman what was wrong.

Pointing to the stricken sailor, he said, "She has cellulite."

***

These holiday "headlines" — concocted by the satirists at the Onion — are completely fabricated. And yet they have the ring of truth:

-Coal Now Too Expensive to Put in Christmas Stockings

-Study Finds Link Between Red Wine, Letting Mother Know What You Really Think

-Accountants Pack Times Square for Fiscal New Year

-Book Given as Gift Actually Read

***

The insurance industry loves its acronyms.

The first time I saw the term proof of ownership was in a client's file that read "Insured has POO on damaged items."

***