One Arizona Town Aims To Answer An Age Old Legend

When I was a kid in northern Georgia, my father used to regale me with tales of his youth spent in Phoenix. One of his favorite tidbits to tell us, especially during the summer months, was that he used to be able to cook an egg on the blistering Arizona streets.

This has been an urban legend for decades on end, but how much truth is there to the rumor?

Can You Cook an Egg on the Sidewalk?

With Arizona's legendary heatwaves, it's no surprise people believe you could cook an egg on the sidewalks and asphalt lining city streets. The truth is, though, it's much harder than initially believed.

It is possible to cook an egg without the aid of a stove in Arizona, but you can't use sidewalks to do it. Concrete is a less-than-preferable conductor, meaning the heat absorbed doesn't distribute back to the surface well enough to efficiently cook on it. Asphalt and car hoods have been the way to go so far...

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Oatman Egg Fry

In order to test this theory, the city of Oatman has held an annual event for the past 32 years to determine if you actually can cook an egg in the Arizona heat. entry is free and open to the public, and there's only three rules you have to follow:

• You can only cook the egg with the power of the sun
• You must complete the task in 15 minutes or less
• You cannot block the entrance to the Candy Shoppe

Aside from those, you're allowed to do whatever you deem necessary to cook your egg and see if the age old attige is true.

[Discover Magazine][Explore Kingman]