Double-Yolked

As some of you may (or may not) know, Dr. Seuss’ birthday was yesterday (March 2). Since school was out “due to inclement weather” (a.k.a. people below the Fall Line do not know how to act when white stuff falls from the sky), we celebrated this much beloved author’s birthday in our classroom today instead.

After an expressive reading (if I do say so myself) of Green Eggs and Ham, and a round of “I Need a Word” (a clapping/chanting rhyming game), we proceeded to make our very own green eggs and ham. We plugged in the electric skillet, busted out the food-coloring (yellow and blue so we could talk about subtractive color mixing), and opened the carton of eggs.

“How many are in a dozen?” I “wondered” aloud. “eleven!” “four!” It sounded like lottery numbers being called by 6 year olds.

“Well, let’s find out...One egg.” I cracked an egg into the bowl. “Two.” I cracked another into the bowl. But something was odd…there were not 2 yolks in my bowl, there were 3. “That’s weird,” I blurted out. “There are 3 yolks!”

I walked the bowl around the room so the students could see the amazing double-yolked egg (it does sound a little like a side-show event doesn't it?)

"It’s a sign of luck.” Said the inclusion para-pro in my room. “I don’t know about luck, but I’ll take all the blessings I can get!” I said. Satisfied that we had seen an intriguing oddity of nature, we were back to discovering the number of a dozen... “Three eggs, four eggs…Hey, this one is double-yolked too!” Now I really felt singularly privileged. This time, I ran next door to tell Ashley (my suite-mate teacher).

We were both amazed at the phenomenon, but my class was soon back to the discovery of a dozen. We kept cracking open eggs…and to my amazement, out of the entire carton, there were not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5 double-yolked eggs!!! We were astonished. If double-yolks are lucky or a sign of blessing…we’ve received it five-fold. (The picture above shows the eggs. Anywhere the yolks are pressed up to each other-"kissing"- is a double-yolk)

Curious, I came home to find out about these double-yolked ovals. Considered a rarity by some, “not all that rare” by others, I will have to say that over all the years of helping my mom cook and cooking myself, I’ve never seen a double-yolked egg. So what does it mean? Heredity, un-synchronized cycles in the hen, young hens…? According to one source, “throughout history and in different cultures, finding a double yolk has been considered to mean anything from an impending wedding to a financial windfall to a death in the family. (healthdiaries.com/eatthis).

Here’s hoping, since I found 5 of these double-yolked incredible edibles, that either five handsome, Prince Charmings will come begging for my hand in marriage or I will unexpectedly win 5 million dollars. That's what I'm going to expect anyway...