THE GOAL OF THE ‘egg drop challenge’ is to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped from a given height. A common belief is that an egg is stronger and less likely to crack when dropped vertically.
Why does this belief persist? This idea appears to be based on common wisdom, often inspired by the design of arches and domes from ancient civilizations to the present day.
Scientists conducted a series of 180 drop tests to compare how chicken eggs break when orientated vertically or side-on. After dropping 60 eggs from each of three different heights — 8, 9, and 10 millimeters — onto a hard surface, they saw that, on average, eggs dropped vertically broke at lower drop heights.
Eggs are less likely to crack when dropped on their side than when dropped vertically, a study suggests. More than half of the eggs dropped vertically from 8 millimeters cracked, with which end of the egg pointed downwards making no difference, the study found. But less than 10% of horizontally-dropped eggs cracked from the same height.
An additional 60 eggs were subjected to compression tests, which measured the force required to crack the eggs vertically and horizontally. While 45 newtons of force was required to break the eggs in both orientations, the horizontally-loaded eggs could compress further before cracking.
The researchers suggest that this means that eggs are more flexible around their equator, and therefore able to absorb more energy in this orientation before breaking.
They concluded that the reason behind the common misassumption that an egg dropped vertically is less likely to crack is a confusion between the physical properties stiffness, strength, and toughness.
According to the study, eggs are stiffer when compressed vertically, but the researchers say that this does not necessarily mean that eggs are also tougher in that direction. They also suggest that future research could explore the application of these findings to engineering scenarios, such as how structures respond to dynamic loads.
The study notes that ideas about the strength of shells have implications beyond the chicken egg. In nature, shell structures are ubiquitous, serving as a protective layers for soft-bodied organisms; turtle shells and sea shells, to human skulls, and even the outer membranes of viruses and bacteria.
Insights on the mechanical failure of these structures may thus enable progress in a variety of applications ranging from the design of protective equipment to drug delivery.
The research shows that a seemingly silly idea can become useful in the long run. Contrary to what a public figure once infamously blurted that “why are scientists so enamored with research when in fact she – an intelligent person (?) – does not understand it.” Enough said. By Manny Palomar, PhD (EV Mail June 23-29, 2025 Issue)
