this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2025
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Mildly Interesting

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This is for strictly mildly interesting material. If it's too interesting, it doesn't belong. If it's not interesting, it doesn't belong.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Now we need a Kiwi egg and a diagram of each animal next to each other. Absolute legends of a flightless bird.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 minutes ago

Rip whoever birthed the sea urchin.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 hours ago

The forest was burning, so he rescued them. Now he will put them back, lovingly, on the stove for breakfast for him and his five children.

Those poor eggs.

Out of the fire,

and into the frying pan.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

They are also single frigging cells. Yet, they have nothing on the largest unicellular organisms, size-wise.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

wiki

Good grief, just tell us the size. I skimmed the article and is none the wiser.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 33 minutes ago

The biggest single-celled organism in the world is structured in the same way: an aquatic alga called Caulerpa taxifolia, which can grow to 30cm long. https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/creatura-blog/2019/04/this-bizarre-bubble-creature-is-a-single-living-cell/

[–] [email protected] 10 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

That green look so green you could probably use the egg as a green screen

Therefore an eggscreen

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago

I think he got them from a guy named Sam.

But I want to know-- will be eat them on a train?

[–] [email protected] 38 points 21 hours ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago

That's some strange looking pears, that's for sure.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 19 hours ago

First thought

[–] [email protected] 4 points 14 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 39 points 23 hours ago (6 children)

Fun fact, ostrich eggs are nearing The largest land eggs can physically get, so even the dinosaurs didn't have much bigger eggs.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

What's the limiting factor?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

If I had to guess it'd be the ability for oxygen to diffuse through the shell and reach the embryo?

[–] [email protected] 39 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

I got curious and your assumption is correct for one of the limiting factors.

Here is what I found:

  • The shell must be strong enough to support the egg’s weight and protect the embryo, but thin enough for the chick to break through when hatching.
  • As size increases, the weight grows cubically (volume), but shell strength only increases quadratically (surface area), so there’s a point where the shell would have to be too thick to hatch from.
  • The distance from the shell to the center increases.
  • Oxygen diffusion becomes inefficient, and the embryo could suffocate.
  • Larger eggs are harder to keep at a uniform temperature.
  • Birds incubating the eggs would need to generate and distribute more heat, which is physically demanding.
[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago

What's your sources? Begging your pardon, that looks like a perfectly standard GPT answer.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

I think point two may be wrong. The strength of a shell should be proportional to its thickness, which would scale linearly with its size (assuming the shell got thicker in proportion to the size). There's definitely a point where a self supporting egg requires very thick shells like you said, but the scaling law you gave uses the wrong change.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

Appreciate the share, that's awesome info

[–] [email protected] 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Didn't think I would find egg facts so interesting... Cool!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

That’s eggcellent and I’m eggstatic that you enjoyed. Come back next Easter for more egg facts.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

Benedict!

I don't think I'm doing this right.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I never even considered that but it makes total sense. Thanks for the great post.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

Here is what I found:

  • The shell must be strong enough to support the egg’s weight and protect the embryo, but thin enough for the chick to break through when hatching.
  • As size increases, the weight grows cubically (volume), but shell strength only increases quadratically (surface area), so there’s a point where the shell would have to be too thick to hatch from.
  • The distance from the shell to the center increases.
  • Oxygen diffusion becomes inefficient, and the embryo could suffocate.
  • Larger eggs are harder to keep at a uniform temperature.
  • Birds incubating the eggs would need to generate and distribute more heat, which is physically demanding.
[–] [email protected] 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Any info on why both are GREEN? That's unexpected. Camouflage, maybe?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

I am not an eggspert but after a quick search it seems many bird eggs are green in colour due to a pigment called biliverdin.

Interestingly verde is green in Spanish.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

A lot of biological and other scientific terms are actually Latin or some mix of it. Bili means "Bile". Sources say "verd" in this case comes from French verd an old way to say green (Modern: vert/verte), but in any case the French words still derive from Latin viridis.

Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, and a few other minor languages are all descendants of Latin collectively called the Romance Languages. Speakers of one can often understand a lot of any other of the languages or Latin. Not completely mind you, but enough to get some meaning. Spanish speakers can understand a lot of written Portuguese (but not so much spoken due to pronunciation differences), Italian and Spanish speakers can almost have a conversation spoken or written. Portuguese/Italian/Spanish speakers will have a harder time with French though, they will recognize many written words but not enough to really call it totally understandable, and almost nothing spoken. Etc, etc.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 15 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (6 children)

My 30 year old ostrich egg.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 21 hours ago

That's one hell of a gestation period.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 day ago

I'm no Ostrich expert, but I think that egg is defective if it has yet to hatch in 30 years.

You should get a refund

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Collecting the cassowary eggs more often results in death

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Or what, you'll cuddle me?

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Yes, with my snuggle-talons. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago

Lego my egg-o

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wait till you see the Kiwi egg

[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 day ago (1 children)

These ones must be hard-boiled.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Used to be my favorite t-shirt...

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I too don't know my left from right but the dark green is an emu egg

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