I’m writing this post in a fit of anger so I am aware that my choice of words may not be the politest.
I also know that no one reads this anymore so I can rest assured that my rant will remain lost among the gazillions of words on the Internet.
I came across a post shared on my Facebook timeline about the supposed “FAKE EGGS OMG” (I added the capitalisations and the OMG) today and I almost scrolled past it as one of those dumb things people like to share without thinking. Something made me stop and look, and I realised Yes, it is something people share without thinking and that really, really ticks me off.
In this day and age, information is easily available at our fingertips. Sharing hyped out “information” without actually looking up sources, checking its credibility, looking up some facts and using basic logic and science is not only ludicrously ignorant, it’s plain lazy. I forgive you if you’re over 40 and technologically challenged, but honestly, anyone younger than that with access to the Internet, a high school education and a working mind should think twice or a helluva many times before sharing stupid “YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT IS IN YOUR __________” or something of that ilk.
Let’s go back to those fake eggs. As far as I recall (I can’t look at that collection of photos too many times, it makes me angry), there were five reasons stated why she thought the eggs were fake.
1. “Pattern” on shell scratches off to show smooth shell.
2. Watery something something whites
3. Membrane of egg was thick and papery.
4. EGG CRACKED WHEN HOT WATER WAS POURED ON IT.
5. ALL THE EGGS WERE DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES OMG.
As you can see, number 4 and 5 made me the angriest so I remembered them. Has the writer really not had any egg experiences in her lifetime? Eggs are a biological product – I personally would be a little creeped out if they were the exact same shape and size.
(Aside. When I was in Melb, I did a fair bit of macaron baking as a stress relief. I used to weigh egg whites from each egg to adjust the proportions of sugar etc. and I sometimes felt weirded out when the weight of the whites would be exactly the same down to one decimal point for say, three eggs in a row. I know they grade and sort the eggs, but are the hens producing those eggs robots?? Also, I bought barn or free range eggs whenever I could afford them so it’s not the battery hen thing).
For number 1 and 2, fair enough, perhaps that’s a bit weird. Both Tesco and the egg supplier have come forward to clarify that issue (YOU go look it up if you want to know, don’t take my word for it).
For number 3, I’ve had lots of experiences with eggs with “thick” membranes and I don’t see anything unusual with anything in her picture (I don’t cook a lot. I really don’t. I baked a bit back when I had more free time and energy, but I don’t think my egg exposure is any higher than an average Malaysian).
I looked through some of the 2000 over shares from her post hoping that at least a few hundred would be people laughing over what a silly, unscientific and illogical post it was. I wanted to be fair to them before I wrote this rant, but I saw only one or two sensible people (with egg experience I reckon) who commented on the shares that all four/five of her points were off and in no way proved that the eggs were fake.
And yes, if you believe yourself to be enlightened, don’t take my words at face value. Go and investigate for yourself and then come and fight with me if you think I’m wrong. Don’t just throw out accusations/assumptions until you’ve done some research. I could be lying to you or I could be ignorant and lazy.
This might be a small thing, but this ignorance and this mindset can go into much more damaging and damning areas. You want an example? Anti-vaccination. I’m not going to tackle that in today’s rant (or ever probably) but YOU go look it up and form your own informed opinion based on LOGIC and SCIENCE after you’ve read the arguments and studies from both sides.
Note: Yes, I am aware of the fake eggs from China scare from years ago, but just because there’s been a serial killer in your county, do you share photos of shadows on your street saying that you see faces peeping out? That’s what it feels like to me, and I probably would be more sympathetic to you in the serial killer example.
Note 2: Yes the example above is really bad but it’s all my brain can come up with at the moment. I am all ranted out.
Note 3: Tesco Malaysia and the supplier, QL eggs have already responded with their own version of events here. I wasn’t going to put the link but I remembered that people are inherently lazy. I refuse to link the original post that got me angry.
muted monologue 