Curious About Eggs

PODCAST 199: CURIOUS ABOUT EGGS

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, JULY 24TH, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  LAST WEEK, WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT CHICKENS, AND IN THAT EPISODE, WE LEARNED THAT CHICKENS LAY EGGS.  THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER ANIMALS THAT LAY EGGS, INCLUDING ONE THAT LIVES WITH US IN OUR HOUSE.  OLIVIA HAS A FUNNY STORY ABOUT OUR EGG LAYING ANIMAL, BUT BEFORE WE HEAR HER STORY, LET’S OPEN UP OUR MAILBAG.

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HI CURIOUS KID PODCAST!  JACOB AND OLIVIA, WE LOVE YOUR SHOW.  IT’S THE PERFECT LENGTH, INFORMATIVE, AND OUR FAVORITE PART IS THE OPENING TRACK AND MAILBAG!  WE ARE FROM DALLAS, TEXAS.  AAHIL, MAAZ, AND SOHA HAVE SOME TOPICS TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT; EGGS, RAMADAN, AND CURIOUS ABOUT CURIOUS KID PODCAST!  WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT CELEBRATING MAAZ’S 7 YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY PARTY IN THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEME!  THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!  WE’VE TOLD OUR COUSINS IN PAKISTAN ALL ABOUT YOU GUYS.  WE ARE REALLY SPREADING THE WORD.  STAY CURIOUS!  LOVE, AAHIL, MAAZ, AND SOHA”

“HI GUYS, WE WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON MAKING SUCH A GOOD PODCAST. WE ENJOY LISTENING TO CURIOUS KID PODCAST ALL THE TIME AND LEARNING ABOUT SO MANY RANDOM THINGS.  EVE WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF YOU CAN COVER ONE OF THESE TOPICS ONE DAY.  SHE IS CURIOUS ABOUT DIRT OR SOIL, ABOUT WHY PLANTS WILT, ABOUT DUST, AND ABOUT EGGS, LIKE ABOUT WHERE THEY COME FROM AND WHAT KIND OF ANIMALS LAY EGGS.  HERE IN AUSTRALIA, THERE ARE SOME VERY INTERESTING ANIMALS THAT LAY EGGS!  THANK YOU!  

FROM EVE, OF NEW SOUTH WHALES, AUSTRALIA”

O:  THOSE WERE AMAZING MESSAGES FROM SOME OF OUR BIGGEST FANS.  WE CAN’T WAIT TO LEARN ALL ABOUT EGGS FOR AAHIL, MAAZ, SOHA, AND EVE.

D:  MAAZ’S MOM WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SEND US PHOTOS FROM HIS CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY, AND IT LOOKED AMAZING.  THEY HAD CURIOUS KID PODCAST TEE SHIRTS, COOKIES, AND A VERY YUMMY LOOKING CURIOUS KID PODCAST CAKE.  WE POSTED A FEW OF THE PICTURES UP ON OUR FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PAGES LAST YEAR IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF.  BEFORE WE START LEARNING ABOUT EGGS, WHY DON’T YOU TELL EVERYONE YOUR FUNNY EGG STORY.  

O:  WE HAVE A BIRD AT HOME.  SHE IS A BEAUTIFUL WHITE AND GRAY COCKATIEL.  HER NAME IS FRANCESCA, BUT IT USED TO BE FRANKIE.  WHEN WE FIRST GOT THE BIRD, WE ALL JUST FIGURED THE BIRD WAS A MALE BIRD, SO WE GAVE THE BIRD THE NAME FRANKIE.  THEN, ONE DAY, SOMETHING VERY SURPRISING HAPPENED.  FRANKIE LAID EGGS.  LOTS AND LOTS OF EGGS.  WELL, IT TURNS OUT, ONLY FEMALE BIRDS ARE ABLE TO LAY EGGS.  THAT’S WHEN FRANKIE’S NAME WAS CHANGED TO FRANCESCA.

D:  THAT’S A FUN STORY.  ALL SPECIES OF BIRDS CAN LAY EGGS, BUT THOSE EGGS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE SAME.  THEY COULD BE DIFFERENT SIZES AND DIFFERENT COLORS.  OLIVIA, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT KIND OF BIRD LAYS THE LARGEST EGGS?

D:  HMMM… WHILE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF AN EGG.

O:  AN EGG IS COVERED BY AN EGGSHELL.  THE EGGSHELL IS MADE OF CALCIUM CARBONATE, AND THE SHELL IS COVERED IN VERY SMALL HOLES.  THE HOLES ALLOW AIR AND MOISTURE TO PASS THROUGH.

D:  AN EGG ALSO HAS MEMBRANES… TWO OF THEM TO BE EXACT.  THERE IS AN INNER-SHELL MEMBRANE AND AN OUTER-SHELL MEMBRANE.  THE MEMBRANES SEPARATE THE EGG SHELL FROM THE ALBUMEN.  THE JOB OF THE MEMBRANES IS TO KEEP BACTERIA FROM GETTING INTO THE MIDDLE OF AN EGG.

O:  IF YOU GO FURTHER INTO THE EGG, YOU HAVE THE ALBUMEN, WHICH MOST PEOPLE JUST CALL THE EGG WHITE.  THE EGG WHITE PROTECTS THE YOLK OF THE EGG.  IT’S PACKED WITH MINERALS AND VITAMINS, AS WELL AS LOTS OF PROTEIN.  

D:  THE YOLK CAN BE FOUND IN THE CENTER OF THE EGG.  IT’S USUALLY YELLOW, BUT THE COLOR OF THE YOLK CAN REALLY BE ANYWHERE FROM A VERY LIGHT YELLOW TO A RICH ORANGE COLOR.  THE YOLK IS WHERE MOST OF THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF AN EGG CAN BE FOUND.  NOW THAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF AN EGG, LET’S LEARN HOW CHICKENS MAKE EGGS.  THERE ARE 4 BASIC STEPS IN THE PROCESS.  IN EACH HEN, WHICH IS JUST THE NAME OF A FEMALE CHICKEN, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF POTENTIAL EGGS.  EACH OF THE POTENTIAL EGGS IS CALLED AN OVUM.  WHEN A HEN IS ABOUT 5 MONTHS OLD, SOME OF THE OVA, WHICH IS THE PLURAL FOR OVUM, ARE READY TO MATURE INTO AN EGG YOLK.  EACH OVUM LIVES IN IT’S OWN FOLLICLE, UNTIL IT IS RELEASED AND TRAVELS FROM IT’S INITIAL HOME, THE OVARY, AND THROUGH THE OVIDUCT.  THIS WHOLE STEP ONLY TAKES ABOUT 15 MINUTES.

O:  IN STEP 2, THE EGG WHITE FORMS.  THIS HAPPENS WHILE THE YOLK TRAVELS THROUGH THE OVIDUCT.  THE OUTER SHELL MEMBRANE WILL ALSO FORM AROUND THE EGG WHITE, HELPING TO KEEP EVERYTHING TOGETHER.  THIS STEP TAKES 4 HOUR OR MORE.  

D:  IN STEP 3, THE EGGSHELL FORMS IN THE UTERUS OF THE HEN.  THIS PART OF THE PROCESS TAKES THE LONGEST, ABOUT 21 HOURS IN TOTAL.  OF THOSE 21 HOURS, ABOUT 20 ARE SPENT FORMING THE SHELL, AND THEN ANOTHER HOUR IS NEEDED TO ADD A PIGMENT, OR COLOR TO THE EGGSHELL.  THE MOST COMMON COLOR FOR EGGSHELLS IS WHITE, BUT SHELLS CAN ALSO BE LOTS OF OTHER COLORS, LIKE BLUE, BROWN, OR EVEN GREEN.  

O:  FINALLY, IN THE LAST STEP, THE HEN LAYS THE EGG THROUGH IT’S VENT.  JUST LIKE THAT, AN EGG CAN BE FORM FROM AN OVUM IN ABOUT 24 TO 26 HOURS.  THE CRAZY THING IS THAT A NEW EGG CAN START FORMING JUST 15 TO 30 MINUTES AFTER THE LAST EGG WAS FORMED.  THAT’S NOT A LONG BREAK BETWEEN EGGS AT ALL.

D:  THAT’S TRUE, AND THAT’S WHY SOME HENS ARE CAPABLE OF LAYING HUNDREDS OF EGGS A YEAR, AT A RATE OF ROUGHLY 5 TO 6 EGGS PER WEEK.  THAT’S A LOT OF EGGS.  

O:  HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT EGGS HAVE A REALLY UNIQUE SHAPE?  IT’S HARD TO FIND ANYTHING WITH THE SAME EXACT SHAPE AS AN EGG.  I THINK LOTS OF PEOPLE WOULD CALL AN EGG OVAL, BUT IT’S REALLY NOT OVAL.

D:  IN ORDER TO BE OVAL, THE SHAPE WOULD NEED TO HAVE SYMMETRY.  IN OTHER WORDS, THE LEFT HALF AND RIGHT HALF WOULD HAVE TO BE IDENTICAL, AS WELL AS THE TOP HALF AND BOTTOM HALF.  EGGS ARE NOT THE SAME ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM.  ONE END OF AN EGG IS BIGGER THAN THE OTHER, SO IT’S NOT A PERFECT OVAL.

O:  THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE THE SHAPE OF AN EGG WOULD PROBABLY BE OVOID, WHICH MEANS THAT IT IS LIKE AN OVAL, EVEN THOUGH IT’S NOT AN OVAL.

D:  THAT’S TRUE, BUT IT’S UNLIKELY ANYBODY WOULD ARGUE WITH YOU IF YOU SAID EGGS ARE OVAL.  IN FACT, THERE IS A REASON THAT OVAL IS SO CLOSE TO THE LATIN WORD FOR EGG, OVUM.  IT’S NOT A COINCIDENCE AT ALL.  

O:  THERE IS A GOOD REASON WHY EGGS HAVE THE SHAPE THEY DO.  THEIR SHAPE HELPS PREVENT THEM FROM ROLLING FAR FROM THEIR NEST.

D:  HERE’S A NEAT FACT.  THE EGGS OF BIRDS THAT KEEP THEIR EGGS ON CLIFFS ARE EVEN MORE OVAL THAN THE EGGS OF BIRDS THAT KEEP THEIR NESTS ON THE GROUND.  THAT IS BY DESIGN, TO KEEP THOSE EGGS FROM ROLLING AWAY.  

O:  THE SHAPE OF AN EGG IS ALSO HELPFUL TO BIRDS, BECAUSE IT ALLOWS LOTS OF EGGS TO FIT TOGETHER SNUGLY IN A NEST, KEEPING EACH OTHER NICE AND WARM.      

D:  AND YET ANOTHER REASON FOR THEIR SHAPE IS THAT IT IS EASIER FOR BIRDS TO PASS THEM THROUGH THEIR VENTS IN THEIR OVOID SHAPE THAN IT WOULD BE IF EGGS WERE A DIFFERENT SHAPE.

O:  IT’S TIME FOR SOME AWESOME EGG FACTS.  DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS A WAY TO TELL IF AN EGG IS RAW OR HARDBOILED WITHOUT OPENING IT?  YOU CAN SIMPLY SPIN THE EGG TO SEE IF IT’S RAW.  IF IT WOBBLES AROUND, IT’S RAW.  IF IT SPINS SMOOTHLY, IT’S HARDBOILED.  THAT’S BECAUSE ALL OF THE LIQUID IN THE EGG WILL MOVE AROUND A LOT IF IT’S RAW, WHICH WOULD PREVENT THE EGG FROM SPINNING SMOOTHLY.  

D:  YOU CAN OFTEN TELL WHAT COLOR EGGS A CHICKEN WILL LAY BY LOOKING AT THE COLOR OF IT’S EARLOBES.  CHICKENS WITH WHITE EARLOBES WILL LAY WHITE EGGS.  CHICKENS WITH BROWN OR RED EARLOBES WILL LAY BROWN EGGS.  I FOUND THAT FACT TO BE SUPER INTERESTING, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT CHICKENS HAD EARLOBES.

O:  HAVE YOU EVER DROPPED AN EGG ON THE FLOOR?  IF YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW IT’S A MESS THAT’S HARD TO CLEAN UP.  THERE IS A COOL TRICK THAT MAKES IT A WHOLE LOT EASIER TO CLEAN UP.  IF YOU POUR SOME SALT ONTO THE EGG, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CLEAN IT UP WITHOUT TROUBLE.

D:  HEALTHY EGGS WILL SINK IN WATER, WHILE ROTTEN EGGS WILL FLOAT.  DO YOU REMEMBER HOW WE TALKED ABOUT THE TINY HOLES THAT ARE IN THE EGGSHELL?  WELL, AS AN EGG AGES AND BECOMES LESS FRESH, THOSE HOLES WILL BECOME LARGER.  THAT MEANS THAT OLDER EGGS WILL HAVE AIR INSIDE THAT GOT IN THROUGH THE LARGE HOLES IN THE EGGSHELL.  THAT WOULD ALLOW THE EGG TO FLOAT IN WATER.  

O:  IF YOU WANT TO FIND EGGS IN THE SUPERMARKET IN THE UNITED STATES, YOU WOULD WANT TO LOOK FOR THEM IN THE REFRIGERATOR.  OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES, MANY SUPERMARKETS KEEP EGGS OUTSIDE OF THE REFRIGERATOR.

D:  THAT’S A VERY STRANGE FACT.  GROCERY STORES IN THE UNITED STATES ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP THEIR EGGS REFRIGERATED.  THE EGGS ARE WASHED THOROUGHLY BEFORE EVEN ARRIVING AT THE SUPERMARKET, IN AN EFFORT TO AVOID BACTERIA.  IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES, IT IS BELIEVED THAT THOROUGHLY CLEANING AN EGG WILL INCREASE THE RISK OF BACTERIA, BY WASHING AWAY SOME OF THE NATURAL BACTERIAL BARRIERS THAT EGGS HAVE.  

ALRIGHT, BEFORE WE ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK, LET’S LEARN SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ANIMALS, OTHER THAN CHICKENS, THAT ALSO LAY EGGS.

O:  SEA TURTLES LAY EGGS.  THEY ACTUALLY RETURN TO THE BEACH WHERE THEY WERE BORN TO LAY THEIR EGGS.  

D:  CROCODILES ALSO LAY EGGS.  THE TEMPERATURE IN THE NEST WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THEIR EGGS RESULT IN MALE OR FEMALE BABIES.  IF THE TEMPERATURE IS ABOVE 93.2 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, MALE CROCODILE BABIES WILL BE BORN.  IF THE TEMPERATURE IS LOWER THAN THAT, FEMALE CROCODILE BABIES WILL BE BORN.  

O:  AMPHIBIANS, LIKE FROGS, ALSO LAY EGGS, BUT THEIR EGGS DON’T HAVE A HARD SHELL.  THEY LAY THEIR EGGS IN WATER.  INSTEAD OF HAVING A HARD SHELL, THEIR EGGS HAVE THE TEXTURE OF JELLO.

D:  SOME SNAKES ARE OVOVIVIPAROUS.  THAT MEANS THAT THE EGG WILL ACTUALLY HATCH INSIDE THE MOTHER’S BODY.  AND THE NEWBORN SNAKE WILL GROW A LITTLE INSIDE THE MOTHER’S BODY BEFORE COMING OUT.  

O:  SEAHORSES ARE THE ONLY ANIMALS THAT HAVE MALES THAT GIVE BIRTH.  THE EGGS ARE STORED IN A POUCH ON THE STOMACH.  ONCE THEY HATCH, THE BABY SEAHORSES ARE BORN.  

D:  THERE ARE ONLY A COUPLE OF MAMMALS THAT LAY EGGS.  THEY ARE CLASSIFIED AS MONOTREMES, AND INCLUDE THE PLATYPUS AND SOME SPECIES OF ECHIDNA.  DO YOU WANT TO HEAR SOMETHING ADORABLE?  THE BABIES OF THESE ANIMALS ARE CALLED PUGGLES.  

ALRIGHT OLIVIA.  HUMMINGBIRDS LAY THE SMALLEST EGGS OF ANY BIRDS, WHICH MAY NOT COME AS A SURPRISE, BECAUSE HUMMINGBIRDS ARE SO SMALL.  WHICH BIRD HAS THE LARGEST EGGS?

O:  THE LARGEST EGGS ARE MADE BY THE OSTRICH, WHICH ALSO HAPPENS TO BE THE LARGEST BIRD.  AN OSTRICH EGG WEIGHS ABOUT 3 POUNDS, WHICH IS ABOUT THE SAME WEIGHT AS 24 CHICKEN EGGS.  THAT’S A MASSIVE EGG.

D:  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  199 - EGGS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB AAHIL, MAAZ, SOHA, AND EVE FOR THE EGG-CELENT EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  EPISODE 200 IS COMING AT YOU NEXT WEEK.  I CAN’T WAIT FOR EVERYONE TO HEAR ALL OF THE AMAZING MESSAGES OUR LISTENERS SENT IN.  BEFORE WE WRAP THINGS UP FOR THE WEEK, WE HAVE A FEW SPECIAL PEOPLE TO THANK.  

O:  THANK YOU TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, RAFAEL AND LEO G., AND ALLISON P.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO RAFAEL, LEO, AND ALLISON FOR THE SUPPORT.  IT MEANS SO MUCH TO US.  WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH.

O:  THANK YOU TO LEOLEADER5 FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.  

D:  IT SAYS “WE LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOUR PODCAST.  WE LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA AND WE’VE BEEN LISTENING TO YOUR PODCAST FOR 3 YEARS.  WE ARE MOVING TO PERU SOON AND WILL CONTINUE LISTENING TO IT IN LIMA.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!  LEONARDO IS 7 YEARS OLD AND IS CURIOUS ABOUT ROCKS AND GEMS, SPACE AND BLACK HOLES, AND EARTHQUAKES.”

O:  WOW, THAT WAS AN AWESOME REVIEW.  WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR NEW HOME IN BEAUTIFUL PERU.

D:  WE ALSO HAVE EPISODES ON ROCKS, CRYSTALS, ASTEROIDS, AND EARTHQUAKES, SO CHECK THOSE EPISODES OUT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THOSE VERY INTERESTING TOPICS.  NEXT WEEK, WE ARE GOING TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT A TOPIC PICKED BY THE CURIOUS KID HERSELF, OLIVIA.  YOU HAVE TO TUNE IN NEXT WEEK TO FIND OUT WHAT SHE’S CURIOUS ABOUT FOR EPISODE NUMBER 200.

O:  YOU ALSO HAVE TO TUNE IN TO SEE HOW LONG MY DADDY CAN SAY “HELLOOOOO” FOR.  

D:  THAT TOO.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.