Friday, May 26, 2006

Well I have been saying this for years, but now that it is on the internet it must be true...

Chicken or Egg? No, I'm not probing the deep mystery chronology of the Chicken McNugget vs the Egg McMuffin. I am waxing philosophically about that deeper mystery, of which came first the chicken or the egg.

Now I have long held the belief, and a belief which I have forced others to listen to ad nauseam that it was in fact the egg that came first not the chicken. My rational is simple, evolution. You see at some point in history there was an animal which we will call proto-chicken. Within the proto-chicken population so recombination of proto-chicken genes resulted in an egg, an egg which contained the first chicken. It may have taken many generations of proto-chickens before a animal we know as chicken was born, but in those intervening generations, as we spiraled inexorably towards true chicken, there were no chickens. The parents of chicken, were most likely and their proto-chicken peer group were of course able to breed with chicken to produce more hybirds (waka waka waka) which eventually bred true for true chicken, and what made proto-chicken non chicken vanished from the gene pool. The fact remains is that animals do not spontaneously change species during their life time, nor does their DNA spontaneously recombine, but only through off spring are changes made, and it is by those off spring that a new species arose. So naturally the egg has come before the chicken.

Some may argue from a creationism or ID perspective that a divine power, or intelligent force created chicken, but they are a bunch of ignorant cranks (and I'm a blustering science-phile, but its a cross I must bare.)

The reason I bluster about it today, is that in spite of my many attempts to gain attention to the chicken egg issue over beers at a bar, or while marching on parliament wearing a sandwich board and carrying a pro-egg placard (look I didn't realize that embryo-rights was a anti-abortion group*) media has by in large ignored this plight, until now. Thanks to the magic of Disney, and some scientists CNN has picked up the fight, and posted this story on the subject.

And since it is posted on the internet.... it must be true ;P

*Embryo-rights may or may not exists, but was selected at random for its comedic chicken/egg pun value, and to my knowledge I have never knowingly or unwittingly participated in any march or protest related to abortion. Which isn't to say I don't have an opinion on the subject, I'm just not sharing it with the masses at this time, so nee neer nee neer nee neer.

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