During the seemingly neverending heat wave that stifled the United States in July 1936, some gentlemen in Moorhead put an old question to the test.
Can you fry an egg on the sidewalk?
The answer was apparently yes, says Mark Piehl, archivist with the Clay County Historical Society.
If a Moorhead Daily News article from the time is true, several men huddled around a broken egg and watched it cook on the sidewalk in front of Moorhead City Hall on July 6, 1936, Piehl said.
The temperature that day hit 114 degrees, a statewide record that still stands.
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Piehl said the newspaper story listed the names of witnesses, lending credence to the egg-cooking claim.
Linda Braun, for one, is skeptical.
"I don't see how they could possibly do it," said Braun, a spokeswoman for the American Egg Board.
The challenge, says Braun, is to keep a surface hot enough long enough for an egg to reach at least 140 degrees.
The chance of doing it is probably better with asphalt than concrete, she added.
"You might actually have better luck on a street or a driveway," Braun said, placing special emphasis on what she said next:
"The American Egg Board does not recommend that you eat any egg cooked on a sidewalk."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
