Eggs and Rain

It's a rainy day here in Siena and, of course, I forgot to pack my umbrella.  So I'm now the proud new owner of a 3 Euro blue plaid umbrella.  Either way, today has been an eye opener.  Human beings are incredible at adapting, perhaps too much so.  I was walking to class and then realized that I wasn't impressed.  These millenia old buildings and amazing landscapes were just part of the common backdrop.  Granted, as soon as I realized that I was just falling into a habit, I realized how amazing this place is, but it was a scary thought that less than 24 hours in this place and I was already beginning to take it for granted.  On the flip side, I found my way back to my apartment from the Piazza without getting lost for the first time.  Anyways, as I'm actually here to take a class, I figured that I'd keep you all updated on some of the cool facts we learn about the science of cooking.  We spent two hours learning about eggs.  How they're made, how they're cooked, what forms they can take once cooked, etc.  So here goes, fun facts about eggs:

• they're older than the chicken by about a billion years, as animals were using eggs to reproduce long before the chicken evolved.
• an egg is laid blunt end first
• some farmers add marigold petals to the hen's diet to enhance the yellow color of the yolk
• USDA grading system is an approximation of the quality of the egg when it is first collected, prior to shipment and selling
• If an egg floats in water, it's rotten
• if you're making a suffle, you can open the door of the oven as long as you close it quickly and without jostling the suffle

If you have other questions about eggs, please feel free to ask, I literally have 8 pages of notes on eggs, which is condensed from around 50 or so powerpoint slides... This afternoon we'll be learning about meat, so there's that to look forward to. Cheers to the daily adventure.