Here we go; a history of the humble egg. Endless scope for puns and road crossing jokes abound! Before we get into the depths of this ‚Äòfascinating‚Äô subject, the chicken came first. On a serious note, bird eggs have been valuable foodstuffs since prehistory, in both hunting societies and more recent cultures where birds were domesticated. The chicken was probably domesticated for its eggs from jungle fowl native to tropical and subtropical Southeast Asia and India before 7500 BC. Chickens were brought to Sumer and Egypt by 1500 BC, and arrived in Greece around 800 BC, where the quail had been the primary source of eggs. Although egg color is a largely cosmetic issue, with no effect on egg quality or taste, it is a major issue in production due to regional and national preferences for specific colors, and the results of such preferences on demand. For example, in most regions of the United States, chicken eggs are generally white. Chicken eggs are graded by size for the purpose of sales. Some ‚Äòmaxi‚Äô eggs can have two yolks and some farms separate these eggs for special sale. A cock egg, in archaic English, is a yolkless egg. Yes, it is a thing. Since they contain no yolk and therefore cannot hatch, these eggs were traditionally believed to be laid by roosters, which gave rise to the myth that when a cock’s egg was hatched, it would produce a cockatrice, a fearsome serpent which could kill with its evil stare (also known as a ‚Äòmother-in-law‚Äô). According to the superstition, this could be prevented by throwing the egg over the family dwelling so it smashed at the other side without touching the roof, a practice continued by teenagers to this day, usually when celebrating Halloween with varying results. If you have an allergy or intolerance to eggs, or would like to complain about the ‘yolks’ employed in this piece, direct all emails to jamie@theocelot.co.uk.