Why Is Death Valley Littered With Fried Eggs?

Plants, wildlife and waterways – these are the things that you can routinely expect to see when you head out to one of the country’s many national parks. But trek out to Death Valley National Park and you’ll spot something else entirely: fried eggs. Lots and lots of fried eggs.

Death Valley is one of the hottest places on the planet and holds the record for the highest air temperature ever recorded. The scorching temps mean visitors to the park regularly crack eggs on the ground in an attempt to fry them.Over the past few weeks, a heat wave has kept temperatures hovering above 120 F, leading increasing numbers of park visitors to attempt the egg science experiment.

This was made worse after a BBC correspondent and National Park employee shared a video of their attempt to fry an egg by cracking it into a frying pan. Unfortunately other park visitors repeating the experiment have been cracking the eggs directly onto the ground, keeping clean up crews on their toes.

A spokesperson for the National Park urged visitors not to litter, adding that, “an employee’s posting of frying an egg in a pan in Death Valley was intended to demonstrate how hot it can get here, with the recommendation that if you do this, use a pan or tin foil and properly dispose of the contents.”