Can you rest the weight of a bus on an egg?

Question

I'm sure I saw, on a childrens TV show when I was a kid (probably a Johnny Ball show), that a bus (or at least one wheel) could be rested on an egg without the egg shell breaking. Does anybody know of any links to something like this as nobody at work believes me.

Answer 1

not just one egg.  no it's not possibly

Answer 2

I think this would be easily feasible, on condition you put both the bus and the egg on Asteroid N219, where gravity is about 1/1000 of what it is on earth.

Answer 3

Eggs can hold a considerable amount of weight when it is evenly distributed. One egg itself wouldn't be strong enough, though. You would have to stabilize the eggs and lay something like flat boards accross the top to distribute the weight, then gently lower the bus down onto it. I think with enough eggs and the right precausions it would be possible.

I did a science experiment for school when I was a kid where I put bottle caps on both ends of 4 eggs and started laying books and stuff on them. They held up quite a few cinder blocks before they broke! And that was just 4 with one at each corner.

Plus if you think about it, vehicles (including those as large as buses) aren't really as heavy as they look when they arent full of people!

Answer 4

an egg is quite a strong shape to protect the chick, as long as you are careful not to put a sharp edge on the egg it may be possible.

I think you are going to get a small egg coloured stain if you try it though.