Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

A Nail found within a Hen's Egg

Abstract

ON the morning of January 1, 1957, we sat down together for breakfast; one of us (G. T. K.) removed the shell from the blunt end of her four-and-one-half-minute egg, and added salt and pepper to the exposed albumin. A moment later my wife and I looked with amazement at an object which she had removed from her mouth under the impression that it was a bit of shell. This object was a sharp, clean nail of the type frequently known as a brad about 1.5 cm. long. While it is not possible to state precisely in which layer of albumin the nail occurred, it undoubtedly lay in the chalaza fairly close to the shell membrane.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bonnet, R., Deutsche Z. f. Thiermedicin u. vergleich. Path., 9, 239 (1883).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Romanoff, A. L., and Romanoff, A. J., “The Avian Egg” (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1949).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Perrault, C., Mem. Acad. Roy. Sci., Paris, 10, (1666–99).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

KIRKMAN, H., TRACY KIRKMAN, G. A Nail found within a Hen's Egg. Nature 181, 1159–1160 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811159a0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1811159a0

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing