Offering a healthy selection of smoothies and breakfast staples is Charged UP Nutr. Some have had luck frying an egg in the street on a 115-degree Arizona day using a. The problem for would-be sidewalk chefs isnt so much the temperature, but the cooking surface. Everything from a solar oven to a magnifying glass to reading glasses. Children escape the heat of the East Side by using fire hydrant as a shower bath. Plus at each event the Wild West re-enactors the Ghost Rider Gunfighters stage “gunfights in the center of Route 66 for tourists. Russell Lee, photographer. Its not clear, although there is a reference to it in the Los Angeles Times on October 5, 1933, and even as far back as June 11, 1899, in The Atlanta Constitutionso the idea had captured the American imagination and become one of our common sayings by that time. While we are talking about rules, there are only 3: Cook your egg only with the power of the sun. I bet you were wondering what the origin of the saying is? 135) for the annual Fourth of July Sidewalk Egg Frying Contest. Oatman judges, however, do allow some aids, such as mirrors, aluminum reflectors, or magnifying glasses, which would help to focus the heat onto the egg . At Poulsbo restaurants We Are Dedicated To Connecting The Poulsbo Community Members To The Best Restaurant Deals And Offers In Poulsbo. The comments below have not been moderated, By Come on up & fry some eggs, watch a gunfight, shop, play with the burros & grab a bite to eat. Contestants are tasked with frying the most "edible looking" egg using only solar energy as a heat source. Note: Only solar heat may be used to fry the eggs, and there is a 15 minute time limit. And today the community is home to a trio of popular events. Every July 4, the town of Oatman, Arizona, sponsors a solar egg frying contest, though Oatmans rules are relaxed they dont require sidewalks, and they allow mirrors and magnifying glasses. Follow him on Twitter. It looked like something out of Star Wars when the Death Star focused its beam on that planet and blew it up, said Eck. Some have had luck frying an egg in the street on a 115-degree Arizona day using a cast-iron skillet preheating the skillet in a car can help. But once weve moved to the street, or the hood of a car, and added refinements like skillets, weve strayed from the initial challenge: frying an egg on the sidewalk. Food Fact Presented By Poulsbo Restaurants. We had eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast. What Happens When You Get Struck By Lightning? This is quite a device and she won it two years in a row. 'If we don't, everybody would pass out,' Eck, 69, told NBC News. Daily Mail Reporter Instead, entrants hone magnifying glasses, arrange aluminum foil, and focus mirrors to coax the eggs to the 158 degrees necessary to fry. There are probably still knee prints down there.. An annual event, contestants can participate in groups or singly, originality is encouraged. So whats the problem? 10 Countries with the Most Beautiful Women in the World. Eck says the media coverage and buzz on the event helps attract visitors year-round to Oatman (pop. preheating the skillet in a car can help. Keep it Clean. He said it was “fun cooking the egg, though dad Dan said there wasn't much cooking. It's kind of running pretty close, but the judges are going to sum it up now to see who the winner is. This is the 16th annual Invitational Sidewalk Egg Fry on old Route 66 in Oatman, Arizona, where the temperature is roughly about 105 degrees, no wind and beautiful blue sky, and we're just. She's the winner. July 7, 2022. CALL 928-577-9139 FOR MORE INFORMATION. Site designed and hosted by Go-Arizona.com and Earthdiver.com. You have eggzactly 15 minutes to cook that egg. David Bell/News-Herald Photos Bob Blumer, host of the new Food Network Show, Glutton for Punishment checks the status of his egg during the 17th annual Oatman July Fourth Sidewalk Egg Fry Wednesday. Mr. Eck, it has been a pleasure talking to you. Horseback rides. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Fry cooks and their two assistants (mostly to keep the burros from eating the contest results) have 15 minutes to fry two Official Oatman Chamber of Commerce Eggs . “My wife participated last year and liked it so we thought we do it again, spend a few hours here, have lunch and have a nice get away, said Garret Quiring of Bullhead City. “The people are so nice, everyone from shop owners and merchants to the residents, said Blumer. Of course, with the way things are going, that could happen. Feb. 7 2014, Updated 12:10 a.m. And what about the other saying, its so hot the chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs? Well, what do you think? Participate in other events, ranging from January's Bed Races to the annual Fourth of July Sidewalk Egg Frying Contest. Even if the sidewalk is hot enough, its not likely to transfer enough of that heat to the egg to get it ready for your toast. “It was especially enjoyable seeing the kids, they really seemed to have fun.. Reporters in Phoenix, Ariz. measured the temperature of the asphalt on the citys streets during the 2018 heat wave and got readings of a sizzling 161 degrees Fahrenheit. Threats of harming another I've got a show to do, so I'm going to let you go for just a minute and we promise to check back on you in just a bit. Yes, theoretically. Now the man next to these guys has a device that looks like a black tray with a magnifying glass and on top of that, he's holding a big magnifying glass over the top of that, directing the sun right to the egg, so I guess he's cooking it in sections, much like a laser. Location: Downtown Oatman-Topock Highway at Mural Road When people got down to cook their eggs, their hands and knees got stuck in the blacktop, said Murphy. Required fields are marked *. Squeeze lemon wedges over top, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with cheese . The problem for would-be sidewalk chefs isn't so much the temperature, but the cooking surface. NORRIS: Fred, before the egg really starts to cook, while we've got a little bit of time here, can you look down and describe some of the devices that the contestants are using to fry their eggs? The annual contest held in Oatman, Arizona. Description Event Details Sidewalk Egg Come up to Oatman for the 32nd Annual 4th of July Oatman Egg Fry! Hundreds flock to the city to watch contestants sizzle their eggs to perfection using everything from magnifying glasses to homemade contraptions. Bring your best ideas for cooking an egg in the Arizona sun! The mines' closings meant that tourism would be the primary source of revenue for the few residents that remained. Weve seen all sorts of creations and contraptions over the years, but REMEMBERthe rule is no fuel source other than the sun! One year, a competitor with a four-foot solar mirror achieved a 360-degree hot scramble in two minutes. CALL 928-577-9139 FOR MORE INFORMATION. Egg frying contest is held July 4th at high noon on the downtown streets of Oatman, AZ. Even if the surface heat of the street is intense, youre probably going to need a skillet to conduct that heat. Dark objects absorb more light, so blacktop paving would be hotter than concrete. Come up to Oatman for the 32nd Annual 4th of July Oatman Egg Fry! How did things turn out? Published: 11/19/2019. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, always shareable. The Oatman Egg Fry each July Fourth challenges anyone and everyone to fry an egg without direct heat, using the sun and any extra equipment a contestant may wish to use to increase the sun's power. I want to tell the folks here at the same time. Another year, they tried to use the highway as a cooking surface. Faro Caudill frying eggs over camp fire the day he was moving his dugout. NORRIS: And what happens to all those eggs? 'No it isn't, it's who we are. OPEN CHALLENGE TO EVERYONE. When the egg hits the street, the surface cools slightly, making the egg nowhere near 161 degrees. The sidewalks enclosing this 150-person town get fairly hot during this time when approximately 20 contestants prove their mettle to fry egg in 15 minutes or less in front of 1,500 spectators, and use anything from aluminum foil to magnifying glasses to homegrown solar device to create "the most edible egg." “We wanted to do something in July or August, when it's hot. The mines closed in the early 1920s, re-opened in the mid 1990s before closing again for good in 1998. Oatman, AZ - An egg frying contest is certainly a strange way to spend this Fourth of July, but hosting one on the city's sidewalks is even weirder, if you ask us. America Bizarro: A Guide to Freaky Festivals, Groovy Gatherings, Kooky Contests, and Other Strange Happenings Across the USA by Nelson Taylor NOOK Book (eBook) $11.99 Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Fred, when we spoke a few minutes ago, contestants had cracked their eggs into their solar contraptions and it sounded like the defending champion had a bit of competition. Heat Index Map, La Crosse Heat Preparedness. floating loop animationabu hasan ahmad/Getty ImagesFried eggs in the pan with baconEvgenyi_Eg/Getty ImagesEXTERNAL CREDITSFred Eckhttps://www.facebook.com/events/fun-times-in-oatman-az/annual-oatman-sidewalk-egg-fry/305711017007285/ So I suggested the egg fry as the perfect thing to do, Eck said. An Update from the Solar Egg Frying Contest. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. According to the Library of Congress, the high heat and low humidity of Arizona makes the situation of eggs advantageous for the participants and hence dry out faster during the process. Subscribe for only $12 per month, Fitness, nutrition bar celebrates one year for Havasu location, Lake Havasu City Council holding budget work session today. An egg needs a temperature of 158F to become firm. Entrants are banned from using fire and electricity to help cook their egg. Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine. So we have approximately, I think, 25 cookers, ages probably from two years old to, well, senior citizens. Pavement of any kind is a poor conductor of heat, so lacking an additional heat source from below or from the side, the egg will not cook evenly. We're in a desert!'. One year we had, let's see. ". The sidewalk presents several challenges to this. Currently the mines offer tours. By . He used a combination of a copper mold with dark pans pre-heated by a 4-foot wheel of mirrors reflecting the Arizona sun. Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. 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