Egg. Perfectly formed, self-contained, nutritious, a cradle of life … is there anything more perfect than this?
photo credit: michal grosicki
‘Egg’ – the noun – has survived centuries of use but remains relatively unchanged from the Middle English ‘egg’ and its ancestor, the Old Norse ‘egg’. A simple word, it has contributed to a range of expressions over time: good egg, rotten egg (reportedly 1848), egg on your face (reportedly 1936), nest egg. It is part of relevant advice today: don’t put all your eggs in one basket (Cervantes in Don Quixote, 1605) and it is also an insult: go suck an egg (1930s).
photo credit: rebekah howell
‘Egg’ – the verb – represents encouragement, e.g., egg someone on. The thing is, the Old Norse etymology of ‘egg’ is the same as ‘edge’. So to egg someone on, back in the day, was to edge someone on, i.e., to provoke or drive to the edge. Technically, therefore, you could egg an egg to the egg. But I digress.
‘Egg’ – the food – is even more, well, egg-citing. Its cooking methods are diverse: hard-boiled, coddled, poached, fried, scrambled. It is integral in souffles, custards, soups and drinks. And let’s not forget caviar.
photo credit: john baker
‘Egg’ is a poster child of cultural diversity: Huevos Rancheros, tamagoyaki, century egg, omelette, frittata. If you’re interested, see here for international breakfast egg recipes! By the way, while a London firm claims to have invented the Scotch Egg in the 1700s, it was apparently already being served during the Mughal Empire, founded in 1526!
‘Egg’ has synonyms. Kind of. I’m thinking of ovum, roe, spawn.
‘Egg’ becomes a tool for vandalism when it is thrown at someone’s house, i.e., egging. I know of a much-hated teacher whose students once cracked raw eggs on his car; it was parked in the sun.
‘Egg’ is part of folklore and tradition. It is said to cure illnesses, hangovers and foretell the future. It symbolises new life, birth and resurrection. The Chinese, for instance, distribute hard-boiled eggs dyed red to friends and family to celebrate a baby’s first month or first year.
‘Egg’ is a decorative item – who can ignore the beauty of an ostrich egg lamp? Or a Faberge egg?
‘Egg’ has cult followings – an egg yolk called Gudetama has spawned restaurants, merchandise and a near rock star status. And who has never heard of Humpty Dumpty?
I’d love to hear how the egg features in your culture. Please do share by leaving a comment!
I sat before the TV, rapt and in awe of the grace, skill and athleticism of the ice dance competitors in the 2018 European Championships.
Pair after pair glided seemingly effortlessly across the ice in perfect unison, and in gravity-defying lifts and spins. Humans were not made to wear floaty dresses or sparkly shirts to dance on blades on ice!
Not every pair completed their programs unscathed – some stumbled, some had a sequence out of sync. But there is no denying the time, energy and commitment each has devoted to this sport. Nor the talent and passion.
Then came Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. Time stood still as the ice became the canvas for their art. If I was in awe before, I was speechless now. For several minutes, I was spellbound by this poetry in motion. The Moonlight Sonata will forever be associated with this record-breaking performance.
I am not a skater. I can’t tell a lutz from a loop. But I can suspend time for a few moments to appreciate beauty, and savour some moments of bliss.
While many genuine and satisfactory transactions occur on websites such as eBay or Carousell, it is probably fair to say that such sites are not typically the source of random acts of kindness.
Yet, an act of kindness happened on such a site.
This Seller received a message requesting pictures of three specific pages from a textbook she (or he) had listed. Several messages to and fro later, it transpired that the buyer was a kid who had left his (or her) textbook in school and needed it to complete his homework. He was honest: he didn’t want to buy the book. He just needed those three pages required for his homework.
The kid had not been able to reach his friends (who apparently had long gone to bed) nor could he find the relevant pages anywhere else. In desperation, he searched for the textbook on Carousell, found a copy and put forth his request to the presumably bemused Seller. Where others might have brushed off the kid’s request, the Seller obliged.
photo credit: jess watters
We could, of course, ask why the kid was still up at that hour trying to complete his homework. Or how he ended up on that site. Or wonder if we would have done the same in the Seller’s shoes.
Or we could applaud a kid’s solution to his problem – a study in thinking out of the box. And appreciate a seller’s generosity to a stranger in need.
Thank you, Seller, for your kindness in sending those three pages.
I’ve always thought of tissues
As cellular matter:
An ensemble of cells
To make us stronger or fatter.
As little square sheets
For wiping food splatters,
Or stifling our sneezes
In the midst of our chatter.
Then came the revelation,
The dismayed observation
That tissues could be …
Tools of reservation!
Hungry people prowled,
With trays laden with food.
Tables around them sat vacant
Yet some ate where they stood.
The reason, you see,
Is this phenomenon called ‘chope’.
In hawker centres and food courts,
Want a seat? See the tissues? Abandon hope.
Because every packet of tissues
Marks a reserved lot;
Each owner will be back
With his food, to his spot.
But must we obey tissues?!
Can’t we toss them aside?
Who started this ‘chope’ thing anyhow?
Why must we all abide?
These packets of tissues
Should not be more powerful than laws.
Tissues are for blowing noses
And wiping sweat off our jaws.
Yet we’ve allowed this -
This bizarre situation
Where a tiny inanimate oblong
Is a tool of reservation.
1kindness2day 
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