It was an ordinary day. Reading an article titled "A Baker's Dozen Facts About Eggs!" The article featured 13 short stories that had to do with....."EGGS." You know...the white things that are laid by a chicken that we love to eat. The first story began by asking readers which came first...the chicken or the egg? The correct answer to that age-old question is ....the egg...and don't ask why! I learned a few facts about chickens and their eggs while reading a short story about eggs and chickens. I learned that chickens are a domesticated version of the red jungle fowl (Gallus callus), a tropical bird still common in forests and jungles across Asia. By selectively breeding the tamest of the birds created a new species about 8,000 years ago. The very first ever chicken came from the egg of its wild ancestor. More than 99% of earth's animal species reproduce by laying eggs, with mammals being the notable outliers. That applies to all but two exceptions...the echidna (spiny anteater) and the platypus. I'm petty sure that you have seen both white and brown eggs during your lifetime, but contrary to what some people believe...the white eggs have not been bleached brown eggs. But, eggs do come in a variety of colors and shades including cream, pink, blue and even green. Green eggs aren't just the imaginings of Dr. Suess...although in real life, only the shells appear green. The color of an egg's shell makes no difference to the nutrition or taste. But...when I eat a brown egg...for some reason I just think it tastes different. All in my head...so it is! Eggs are a great source of protein and vitamin A, D and B12. They are also high in cholesterol which has led to some confusion. In the 1960s and 70s, the American Heart Association warned us about eating more than three eggs per week. That idea was debunked, concluding that there's no definite link between eating eggs and an increase in blood cholesterol. Archaeologists have discovered decorated eggs in the tombs of ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern elites. But, the association with Easter began in Ukraine. With the yolk representing the sun, decorating eggs was a way to welcome spring and ward off a bad crop season. As Christianity spread to Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, the ritual was re-imagined, with eggs symbolizing Christ's resurrection. The Fabergé Egg is the fanciest of all Easter eggs, crafted from gold and adorned with diamonds and semiprecious stones. An egg commissioned by Tsar Alexander III as an Easter gift for his wife, was the first in a series of 50 created for the Russian imperial family between 1885 and 1917. One of these special eggs sold for an estimated $33 million in 2014. Now, if only I could discover where the other 49 might be, I'd no longer be sitting in my lounge chair writing stories for you to read. "Easter Eggs" have become a mainstream pop-culture phenomenon, seen in Marvel movies, video games and Taylor Swift music videos. Cooper Mountain in Colorado boasts the world's largest Easter egg hunt, where 65,000 eggs are hidden across 2,500 acres. Far more famous, the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House South Lawn dates back to 1878, after Congress forbade egg rolling on Capitol Hill to protect the grounds from wear and tear. Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to welcome children and their eggs to the White House. Then along came a picture of a speckled brown egg which became the most-liked image on Instagram in 2019. After claiming the top spot, breaks began to appear on its shell in subsequent images. then it fully "cracked" under pressure. The initially anonymous poster turned out to be an ad executive named Chris Godfrey, and the whole thing was a part of a Super Bowl ad about social media's effect on mental health. With more than 60 million likes, @world_record_egg's photo was Instagram's most-liked image until late 2022 when a photo of soccer star Lionel Messi unseated it. And...did you know that ostriches lay the largest eggs, averaging nearly 6 inches long, 5 inches wide and 3 pounds. At a Swedish farm in 2008, an ostrich laid an egg nearly double that size, weighing in at 5.7 pounds, a new world record. But, the biggest eggs ever are believed to be those of the aptly named but now-extinct Aepyornis Maximus (elephant bird), a flightless species once native to Madagascar whose eggs were about 1 foot long, 8.6 inches wide and almost 29 pounds. Just one was big enough to make 150 omelets! And...did you know that Eggs Benedict (soft-boiled, on an open-faced sandwich, smothered in hollandaise sauce) is commonly believed to be named for Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, who ordered eggs this way at Delmonico's restaurant in New York City in the 1860s. During the Industrial Revolution, poached was the usual style to make eggs. Today, people's preference is hard-boiled in the Northern states and soft-boiled in the South. And...if you want to venture off the beaten path...try "cloud eggs." In these, the whites are whisked into stiff peaks and baked, or "eggs in a nest" featuring an egg fried inside a piece of bread. Cook an omelet in a waffle maker for a unique shape, or use a milk steamer for insanely fluffy scrambles. Eggs offer so many options, so get cracking! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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