1. "I'll take that bet ..."
Posted by harry on Sep-10th-03 at 3:24 PM

Is what Lizzie said to Mrs. Reagan's challenge to break an egg a certain way. I found this article on why Lizzie lost her bet:

"Experiment: Squeeze an Egg Without Breaking It

Eggs are amazingly strong despite their reputation for being so fragile. Place an egg in the palm of your hand. Close your hand so that your fingers are completely wrapped around the egg. Squeeze the egg by applying even pressure all around the shell. To everyone's amazement (mostly your own) the egg will not break. If you're a little nervous about the outcome, try sealing the raw egg in a zipper-lock bag before putting the squeeze on it, or hold the egg over the sink if you're in the super brave category.

Eggs are similar in shape to a 3-dimensional arch, one of the strongest architectural forms. The curved form of the shell distributes pressure evenly all over the shell rather than concentrating it at any one point. By completely surrounding the egg with your hand, the pressure you apply by squeezing is distributed evenly all over the egg. However, eggs do not stand up well to uneven forces which is why they crack easily on the side of a bowl. Be careful not to wear a ring while squeezing."

Mrs. Reagan offered to bet a dollar (roughly, in round numbers, $20 today) but Lizzie only was willing to bet 25 cents.

Have you tried this?
I used my last egg a few days ago.
Do you know which side up the egg should be, narrow end or rounded?

Thanks for finding that!  A lot of people have wondered what the *trick* was.

I understand now the trick would be to have Lizzie open her hand palm out and face up and the egg would be placed there and she would close her hand.
The even pressure of all the fingers would keep the egg from busting.
Didn't this happen on the afternoon of the morning upon which Lizzie & Emma had their famous disagreement?

That's a good question and was asked of Hannah Reagan.  I believe she said that she didn't remember if it was the same day or not. 

Mrs. Brigham was there (at least according to Porter) at the time of the egg incident and in his book says that the bet was made with Mrs. Brigham and not with Lizzie.  That's about the only place where that appears though.

This needs some more digging.

 

I've just read that section of the trial and the questioner seems confident it was the afternoon after the morning quarrel, which was the 24th..  But...as you say...she won't admit to it.
Mrs. Reagan said they laughed and had a pleasant time but that while Emma was there, she didn't take part in it. (1220+)
You'd think Porter would have got this part right as he was involved in this *quarrel* scandal.