collected by Chris Zubak-Skees and the Bad Idea Factory
Many facts copyright Wikipedia authors or the Wikimedia Foundation, licensed CC Attribution-Share Alike.
An evaporating gas globule or EGG is a region of hydrogen gas in outer space approximately 100 astronomical units in size, such that gases shaded by it are shielded from ionizing UV rays. Dense areas of gas shielded by an evaporating gas globule can be conducive to the birth of stars.
The world egg, cosmic egg or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in the creation myths of many cultures and civilizations. Typically, the world egg is a beginning of some sort, and the universe or some primordial being comes into existence by "hatching" from the egg.
Dinosaurs laid eggs, some of which have been preserved as petrified fossils. The earliest known fossil rigid eggs were laid by South African crocodilians during the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic; however, the rigid eggshell itself was probably much older than these specific fossils. The oldest known fossil crocodilian eggs are from Early Cretaceous rocks of Galve, Spain.
An egg is the organic vessel containing the zygote in which an animal embryo develops until it can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. An egg results from fertilization of an ovum.
Most arthropods, vertebrates, and mollusks lay eggs, although some do not, such as scorpions and most mammals.
The common cormorant, or shag, lays eggs inside a paper bag.
Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a favorable temperature range (warm) while the embryo grows.
The largest recorded egg is from a whaleshark, and was 11.8 in × 5.5 in × 3.5 in size; whale shark eggs normally hatch within the mother.
The bee hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half of a gram (around 0.02 oz).
Bird eggshells are diverse. For example: cormorant eggs are rough and chalky, tinamou eggs are shiny, duck eggs are oily and waterproof, cassowary eggs are heavily pitted.
Often the sex of the developing reptile embryo is determined by the temperature of the surroundings, with cooler temperatures favouring males.
In species such as the common guillemot, which nest in large groups, each female's eggs have very different markings, making it easier for females to identify their own eggs on the crowded cliff ledges on which they breed.
The most common reproductive strategy for fish is known as oviparity, in which the female lays undeveloped eggs that are externally fertilized by a male. In certain scenarios, some fish such as the hammerhead shark and reef shark are viviparous, with the egg being fertilized and developed internally, but with the mother also providing direct nourishment.
The default color of vertebrate eggs is the white of the calcium carbonate from which the shells are made, but some birds, mainly passerines, produce colored eggs.
Most bird eggs have an oval shape, with one end rounded and the other more pointed. This shape results from the egg being forced through the oviduct. Muscles contract the oviduct behind the egg, pushing it forward.
Tiny pores in bird eggshells allow the embryo to breathe. The domestic hen's egg has around 7,500 pores. Skates and some sharks have a uniquely shaped egg case called a mermaid's purse.
Many animals feed on eggs. Eggs are one of the most popular forms of child to eat.
Brood parasitism occurs in birds when one species lays its eggs in the nest of another. In some cases, the host's eggs are removed or eaten by the female, or expelled by her chick. Brood parasites include the cowbirds and many Old World cuckoos.
Bird eggshells contain calcium carbonate and dissolve in various acids, including the vinegar used in cooking. if you get a bit of egg shell in your scrambled eggs while cooking, just add vinegar and the shell will dissolve.
The US food industry generates 150,000 tons of egg shell waste a year. The disposal methods for waste eggshells are 26.6% as fertilizer, 21.1% as animal feed ingredients, 26.3% discarded in municipal dumps, and 15.8% used in other ways.
A trophic egg, in most species that produce them, usually is an unfertilized egg, because its function is not reproduction but nutrition; it serves as food for offspring hatched from viable eggs.
Eggs without yolks are known as "dwarf" or "wind" eggs, or the archaic term "cock egg."
The first example of the term "eggnog" was in 1775, when Maryland clergyman and philologist Jonathan Boucher wrote a poem about the drink which was not published until 30 years after his death: "Fog-drams i' th' morn, or (better still) egg-nogg, / At night hot-suppings, and at mid-day, grogg..."
The Haugh unit is a measure of egg protein quality based on the height of its egg white (albumen). The test was introduced by Raymond Haugh in 1937 and is an important industry measure of egg quality next to other measures such as shell thickness and strength.
When Eggos were first introduced they were called "Froffles", a portmanteau of frozen waffles.
The eggplant is a delicate, tropical perennial often cultivated as a tender or half-hardy annual in temperate climates. The stem is often spiny. Eggplants actually look like eggs when they're not ripe.
Oology is a branch of ornithology studying bird eggs, nests and breeding behaviour. The word is derived from the Greek "oion", meaning egg. Oology can also refer to the hobby of collecting wild birds' eggs, sometimes called egg collecting, birdnesting or egging, which is now illegal in many jurisdictions.
Free-range eggs are eggs produced from birds that may or may not be permitted outdoors. The term "free-range" may be used differently depending on the country and the relevant laws, and is not regulated in many areas.
Among those animals which produce one, the yolk (also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo.
Did you know that eggs hatched under zero gravity conditions emerge as spheres? chickens in space are a no go. They can't drink by themselves. they took 4 hens and 2 cockerels into space to test various things, including their pecking mechanisms and mating.
Did you know the fastest omelette maker in the world made 427 two-egg omelettes in 30 minutes?
Did you know a tinamou female lays several eggs which the male incubates while the female departs to seek another mate? Did you also know that incubation of the tinamou egg takes about 16 days, during this period the male is typically silent?
Did you know that due to their similar protein composition, blood can be used as an egg substitute in baking and making ice cream?
Did you know an estimated one-quarter of all black swans pairings are of homosexual males? They steal nests, or form temporary threesomes with females to obtain eggs, driving away the female after she lays the eggs.
Eggomania is an action video game released in 1982 by US Games for the Atari 2600. The objective of the game is to catch eggs in a hat which are thrown by a chicken without letting any of the eggs hit the ground and break. At the end of each round, the player has a chance to throw the eggs that they have caught back at the chicken in order to win bonus points.
Century egg or pidan, also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg and millennium egg, is a Chinese preserved food product and delicacy made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime and rice hulls for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing. Through the process, the yolk becomes a dark green to grey color, with a creamy consistency and strong flavor due to the hydrogen sulfide and ammonia present, while the white becomes a dark brown, translucent jelly with a salty flavor.
Organic egg production is the production of eggs through organic means. In this process, the poultry are fed organic feed. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, organic means that the laying hens must have access to the outdoors and cannot be raised in cages. Organic egg producers cannot use antibiotics except during an infectious outbreak. Only natural molting can occur within the flock; forced molting is not allowed.
In farming, aviculture and animal husbandry, the term egg binding refers to a medical condition in birds or other egg-laying animals, where the female is unable to pass an egg that has formed. The egg may be stuck near the cloaca, or further inside. Egg binding is a reasonably common, and potentially serious, condition that can lead to infection or damage to internal tissue. The bound egg may be gently massaged out; failing this it may become necessary to break the egg in situ and remove it in parts. If broken, the oviduct should be cleaned of shell fragments and egg residue to avoid damage or infection.
Egg oil also known as egg yolk oil or ovum oil, is derived from the yolk of chicken eggs consisting mainly of triglycerides with traces of lecithin, cholesterol, biotin, xanthophylls lutein & zeaxanthin and immunoglobulins. It is free of egg proteins and hence may be used safely by people who are allergic to eggs, for topical applications such as hair and skin care.
The Australorp is a chicken breed of Australian origin, developed as utility breed with a focus on egg laying. It achieved world-wide popularity in the 1920s after the breed broke numerous world records for number of eggs laid and has been a popular breed in the western world since. It is considered the honorary National Chicken Breed of Australia.
The Egg War is the name given to an 1863 conflict between rival egging companies on the Farallon Islands, 25 miles off San Francisco. It was the culmination of several years of tension between the Pacific Egg Company, which claimed the right to collect the eggs on the islands, and rival firms. The resulting violence claimed two lives, but left the Egg Company in sole control of the islands' eggs.
Egg marking is a form of egg labeling that includes an egg code stamped on the egg itself. The European Union has defined an egg code that consists of: a number indicating the method of production; a two letter code for the country of origin; a registration number indicating the hen laying establishment.
There is Vietnamese egg coffee called cà phê trứng that is served at cafes in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is made with brewed coffee, chicken egg yolk, and condensed milk. It has a similar texture and taste to tiramisu or eggnog.
One of the most popular Japanese mascots is Gudetama, a cartoon egg yolk that feels existence is almost unbearable.
Jalapeño poppers are sometimes called an armadillo egg, especially if wrapped in bacon or sausage meat, a term in use since at least 1972 in Texas.
No one has fucked up harder than this person: "Hard boiled eggs are disgusting. I almost died eating one. The crunchy-soft mix is absolutely disgusting. It's like eating a ravioli covered with chips."
Eggs are present across many faiths and traditions.
Eggs are a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth. In Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide, Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus, from which Jesus resurrected.
Adults often hide painted eggs for children to find, an activity known as an Easter egg hunt.
Church bells are silent as a sign of mourning for one or more days before Easter in The Netherlands, Belgium and France. This has led to an Easter tradition that says the bells fly out of their steeples to go to Rome (explaining their silence), and return on Easter morning bringing both colored eggs and hollow chocolate shaped like eggs or rabbits.
The current Pysanka Museum building was built in 2000 in the western Ukrainian city of Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivska Oblast. Previously the pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg) collection had been housed in the Kolomyia church of the Annunciation. The central part of the museum is in the shape of a pysanka. At this time, the museum possesses a collection of over 10,000 pysanky.
Did you know the world’s ‘oldest’ unopened Easter egg has not been touched since 1957?
A Fabergé egg is a jeweled egg created by the House of Fabergé. The most famous are those made for the Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers. The House of Fabergé made 50 such "Imperial" Easter eggs. Two planned for Easter 1917 were not delivered due to the Russian Revolution in which the Romanov Dynasty was overthrown and all the members of the imperial family executed.
Egg tapping, or also known as egg fight, egg knocking, egg pacqueing, egg boxing, egg picking, or egg jarping is a traditional Easter game. The rule of the game is simple. One holds a hard-boiled egg and taps the egg of another participant with one's own egg intending to break the other's, without breaking one's own.
Egg balancing is a traditional Chinese practice that has since been popularized in the United States. Despite folklore connecting this practice to the lunar new year in China, the Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan and the vernal equinox in the United States, egg balancing can be done throughout the year and has no connection to the gravitational force of the moon or sun.
One practice in some folk magic is the use of eggs as a form of cleansing or to remove the Evil Eye. In this exercise, the egg is washed, dried, and then covered in Holy Water while the practitioner prays over it, saying an Apostles' Creed, an Our Father, and three Hail Marys. The egg is then rolled over the alleged victim's body in a loosely prescribed pattern, paying especial attention to any area which may feel the most pain; the egg is believed to absorb any negative energy. After doing this with the egg for fifteen minutes, the egg is broken by throwing it in the toilet and flushing the remains.
Although a food item, eggs are sometimes thrown at houses, cars, or people -- known as "egging." Egging is a criminal offense in most areas. The eggs are usually raw, but are sometimes hard-boiled or rotten.
Egg ghost refers to dalgyal gwishin, a kind of Korean ghost. Its name comes from its resemblance to an egg. It does not have arms, legs, nor a head, not even eyes, nose or mouth. Legend says that when a person sees an egg ghost, he or she will die. Rumor has it that egg ghosts change to an egg, hide themselves, and come out when they want.
The tradition of a dancing egg is held during the feast of Corpus Christi in Barcelona and other Catalan cities since the 16th century. It consists of an emptied egg, positioned over the water jet from a fountain, which starts turning without falling.
Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, which probably originated as a riddle. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as one.
Oomancy refers to divination by eggs. An example would be the oracular reading (i.e., scrying) of the shapes that a separated egg white forms when dropped into hot water.
An egg of Columbus or Columbus' egg refers to a brilliant idea or discovery that seems simple or easy after the fact. The expression refers to an apocryphal story in which Christopher Columbus, having been told that discovering the Americas was inevitable and no great accomplishment, challenges his critics to make an egg stand on its tip. After his challengers give up, Columbus does it himself by tapping the egg on the table to flatten its tip.
Egg-and-dart or Egg-and-tongue is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart.
In linguistics, an eggcorn is an idiosyncratic substitution of a word or phrase for a word or words that sound similar or identical in the speaker's dialect (sometimes called oronyms). The new phrase introduces a meaning that is different from the original but plausible in the same context, such as "old-timers' disease" for "Alzheimer's disease."
L'eggs is a brand of pantyhose introduced in 1969 by Hanes. The hosiery placed its product in white plastic oversized chicken-egg-shaped containers. At a time when hosiery products were sold primarily in department and women's clothing stores, L'eggs garnered shelf space in supermarkets and drugstores, often on revolving carousel L'eggs displays called the "L'eggs Boutique". The product's slogan, "Our L'eggs fit your legs", appeared in print and TV ads.
The National Egg Coordination Committee is an association of poultry farmers in India with a membership of more than 25,000 farmers. Its slogan is "My Egg, My Price, My Life." The Indian poultry industry suffered a series of crises in the early 1980's, as the selling price had become lower than the production cost. Many poultry farmers shut down farm operations as a result. A group of farmers travelled across the country, organizing over 300 meetings. Their objective — to unite poultry farmers from all over India, and take control of their own destiny. In May 1982, NECC was formally registered as a trust and started declaring egg prices.