Designing a straw and tape egg drop device from third story height

[DaveDanClay]

We are building a contraption out of 50 drinking straws (non bendable) and one meter of tape that will stop one large egg from breaking on impact. It will be dropped from a third story.

We would sincerely appreciate some design input, as we have already lost 7 eggs to my front walkway.

 

[NateTG]

It's not the fall, but the sudden stop at the end.

There are two common tactics for reducing the sudden-ness of the stop:

Slowing the fall (parachute) and slowing the impact (cushioning). You're probably best off with a combination of the approaches.

 

[Adrian Baker]

how about cheating and boiling the egg...

 

[Mattius_]

use a drag affect(parachute) so that you KNOW which specific side it will land on, then design something that delays the time of impact, ie straws that are shaped like a teepee, enclosing the egg at the top, and letting the bottom on impact flower out as it lands...