Oh, the internet. The weird and wonderful space where odd facts seem to gravitate toward us continuously. The thing about an odd fact is that once you see it, you can never unsee it, and often it has the tendency to send you down a rabbit hole of questions. One such odd fact that has recently gone viral, and for whatever reason, the algorithm gods thought it’d be appropriate for my feed, has sent me down said rabbit hole for a couple of reasons.
“Penguin egg whites, when boiled, turn clear.”
Is this true? Why is someone boiling penguin eggs? Surely one shouldn’t even be in the possession of penguin eggs in the first place? I found myself recoiling at the photograph, and then considered boiled chicken eggs. It started as an odd fact and turned into a moral question. Why do boiled penguin eggs feel so wrong when society accepts boiled chicken eggs?
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What’s going on.
Now that I’ve passed on the entourage of questions from my brain to yours, here are some of our answers.
Are boiled penguin eggs actually clear when boiled?
Yes. According to the UET Science Society: “penguin egg whites turn clear when boiled. For those interested, it’s clear because the glycoprotein that would typically make chicken eggs white, ovalbumin, is less present in penguin eggs; there is more of another glycoprotein, called penalalbumin. This makes the egg more cold resistant.” In their natural state, boiled penguin eggs are a pale greenish-white on their coating, and have a pear shape to them. They’re approximately 12cm long and 8cm wide in size.
Isn’t it illegal to be in possession of penguin eggs, let alone to boil them for a meal?
In South Africa, the collection of penguin eggs is illegal as penguins are an endangered species, as Rene from the Two Oceans Aquarium told Cape {town} Etc. There are only roughly 15 000 birds left.
Additionally eating penguin meat, or eggs are not allowed for consumption in other parts of the world following the signing of the Atlantic Treaty in 1959, which protects Antarctica and preserves its living resources.
This was signed in 1959 by 12 countries. It came into effect in 1961. The signatory countries were:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Belgium
- Chile
- The French Republic
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Norway,
- The Union of South Africa
- The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- The United States of America,
If the subsequent spiral questions caused by the post did anything, they hopefully put into perspective that penguins in South Africa, and around the world are to be admired, protected and appreciated. Their eggs especially, no matter how interesting they appear when boiled, don’t need to be part of your breakfast at all.
Picture: bviral