Dear Kid,

In case you haven’t been keeping up with Science (the magazine), The New York Times reporting, or NPR’s on air coverage, there are new developments in the realm of eggs.

Which is to say, there is nothing new in eggs, but there are new understandings about eggs.

For years, people have known that different species of birds lay different shaped eggs. Scientists were reasonably sure this was not so that people could nearly wipe out some species collecting their eggs (yes, egg collections were a thing in the 17^th and 18^th centuries) and they were reasonably sure it wasn’t just trendiness (yes, but rounder eggs really are the latest, my dear), but they didn’t have a good explanation for the differences.

Presumably the birds have understood the importance of their eggs for a long time (it’s just that they weren’t telling), and now we (and by “we” I mean humanity) has a better guess as to why some birds lay rounder eggs, some lay oval eggs, and some lay pointy eggs.

Turns out there is an egg shape-flying type/wing shape correlation. If you are a strong flier, you are more likely to be of a species that lays long or pointy eggs.

To figure this out, researchers looked at over 50,000 eggs. That is a lot of omelets. Just sayin’.

Bird experts are very excited about this new theory (and by “theory” I still mean guess) and plan to continue refining their studies.

Unfortunately, none of this research has answered the most important question, so we still don’t know which came first, the birdie or the egg.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Nobody does banana pudding like southerners. And last night for dinner we went to a BBQ place that excels at banana pudding (and brisket and BBQ and crazy good side dishes).

As far as I can tell, the recipe for their banana pudding is to gather all the Yum in the world, mix it with banana pudding, bananas, ‘Nilla Wafers, and probably Cool Whip.

Yes, I had seconds.

Prior to the World’s Best Banana Pudding, I had BBQ chicken (which meant half a bird), corn bread (with jalapenos), and a baked potato the size of Montana. Meanwhile, other people in our group were doing the All You Can Eat approach to BBQ.

My conclusion so far on this trip is that there is a lot of food in Dallas.

Certainly, a great deal of food has literally thrown itself in front of me in the last 24 hours or so. (Did I mention the seconds on the banana pudding?)

A person in our group came up with the term “pre-redundancy” last night. As in to be redundant but before the thing you’re being redundant about has happened or been said. It is an excellent term that should certain work its way into the lexicon of everyone (but probably won’t).

Last night it was used in conversation around the idea of teaching (adult learners do well with repetition and therefore pre-redundancy is useful).

Today, breakfast is pre-redundant.

Doesn’t mean I won’t be helping myself to a lovely start of the day (and coffee).

Unfortunately, there probably won’t be any banana pudding.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Have you heard about the Great Egg Shortage hitting the US? It’s a real thing, not a new Dr. Seuss book or (just) a bad intro line for a blog.

Having finished with Ebola, the Universe has decided to hand out a second place epidemic called Avian Bird Flu targeting egg-laying birdies in particular.

Which means that while the price of your chicken wings will stay relatively stable, the price of your egg McBreakfast is skyrocketing.

And that’s not really the problem.

The issue isn’t just that the cost of eggs is going up. The issue is that there aren’t as many eggs to be had. Hence the Great Egg Shortage.

So far, the average person (and by “average person” I mean me) hasn’t really seen a big impact. Most of the chain restaurants are still serving eggs and most of the bakeries have been able to keep up. Some restaurants are cutting their breakfast hours or pushing non-eggy food like bagels and lox (not really suffering too much here, are we?). And at least one grocer is rationing eggs. But at a limit of 3 dozen per visit, it doesn’t feel like a huge problem.

Yet.

So far no one has managed to come up with a great way to treat the avian flu. The best medical advice appears to be “this will all go away once it gets warmer.” Which is relatively good news in that it’s already June and presumably it will get warmer one of these days. (Mother Nature–that was a subtle hint.)

On the other hand, guess what I had for breakfast while they’re still available?

Love, Mom