FOOD FOR THOUGHT

    

   Once I made a humorous complication, which turned out to be a wondrous innovation. Don’t you know there is a story behind every innovation? I too have a story to tell you. It happened few days before. That day I was too busy and had to make a quick breakfast. When I say quick breakfast the first thing that comes to my mind is something I can make with eggs. I had some loaves of bread too. Eggs go really well with bread and vegetables. So, my likes and dislikes ended up in an egg sandwich.

I rushed to the fridge and took all the things which I needed. First, I cracked the eggs into a bowl. Then, I cut some tomatoes, lettuce, onion and chilies.  And took some salt and pepper to sprinkle over. Everything is set, and ready to dive into the pan. Then I took the bowl of eggs to give it a nice stir. But I noticed something which I didn’t expect. There were three yolks in the bowl! I mumbled, ‘Oh, I made a mistake.’ Actually, I thought of taking two eggs only. When I am in a hurry, I make a lot of mistakes. It’s only then I noticed that I took three instead of two. Usually in an egg sandwich I love to have a very thin layer of egg and more of vegetables. ‘Oh! This is going to be a heavy breakfast,’ I said regretfully. But for a moment, I thought back. I muttered to myself while ruminating on what had happened, 'I went to the fridge thinking of taking two eggs. And I took two eggs. Then I cracked two. Yes, it was two. My conscious mind says it was two. Then how come it became three? What magic is this?’ I thought for a long time. But I didn’t get any idea. I looked closer into the bowl to make sure that I didn’t have any vision problem.

Finally, I decided to check my waste bin to find the broken eggshells. I counted it, one, two, three, and four. Four broken halves. That means two eggs. It is confirmed. Now I realized that the second egg which I took had two yolks. When I cracked it, something fell all of a sudden. But I didn’t notice it then. I exclaimed with surprise, 'So, it was a twin egg!' I smiled in the happiness that I was able to experience something very special. It is for the first time I am seeing a twin egg. What a wonderful thing! Two yolks inside one egg. At first, I was confused. But now it is very clear. Obviously, Certain things are beyond our comprehension. I thought in wonder, ‘Was this a malfunctioning? Or else the hen was crazy that the things came upside down? Who was behind all this? Has the hen to be blamed for this?’ Anyway, I decided to find out the secret behind those ‘Frankenstein Eggs’.

When I told about this incident, everyone was surprised. My children said, ‘Mom, please call us next time when you crack a twin egg. We want to see too.’ I told them, ‘It all happened quite unexpectedly. How do I know that it would be a twin egg?’ But I consoled them by revealing a fact. That is, when I went to take the eggs from the egg tray, I felt that the particular egg was a little bigger than the other one. Also, that set of eggs were Omega 3 eggs. I know still it is not easy to find another such egg. Then every time when I took an egg, my children came with me. I really wished to get one more such egg to show them. When I researched, I found out that it is very rare. That means 'one in a thousand eggs'. But my kids were longing to see one of that kind. So, I cracked eggs one after the other, but only to disappoint them. A few days later I found an egg which is a little larger than the other eggs. Immediately, I called my children but with little hope. I told them that ‘I feel this is the one we are waiting for.’ Then every eye fixed on the egg. Without any further delay, I cracked it. ‘Eureka!’ We yelled out in wonder. It happened. Two yolks fell into the bowl. It was such a pleasure, yet very difficult to express. It’s really nothing. It's all about the happiness we get when we break an egg and a double yolk falls out from our hand.

After that event, we didn’t get a twin egg till now. As I said before, it is one in a thousand eggs. The first doubt I had was, ‘It is edible or not?’ I researched about it and found out that it is safe to eat like any other eggs. Double yolk eggs are as nutritious as a single yolk. My next doubt was about, ‘How these eggs are formed?’ And I came to know that twin eggs are usually produced by young chickens. Since their reproductive systems have not fully matured, they periodically release two yolks instead of one. It’s a rapid process, but rather a natural phenomenon. The record for most yolks ever found in one egg is nine. ‘Oh! That would be a grant big breakfast.’

People say getting an egg with double yolk will give you good luck. I don’t know whether I am adding a little bit of superstition here. They say it’s good for a new beginning. But I would like to think that it is a beautiful handwork of God, which arouses in us a feeling of awe. It’s like any other wonders of the world.

Nevertheless, that breakfast was very special for us. It was not just food, but food for thought.