Another zen koan solved …

Scientists yesterday claimed to have cracked the riddle of whether the chicken or the egg came first.

The answer, they say, is the chicken. Researchers found that the formation of egg shells relies on a protein found only in a chicken’s ovaries.

Therefore, an egg can exist only if it has been inside a chicken.

The protein – called ovocledidin-17, or OC-17 – acts as a catalyst to speed up the development of the shell.

You can read the rest at the UK DailyMail.

Of course, where did chickens come from?

Or as Modell from Diner riffs, “Chickens don’t come from swamps.” For fans of DINER, a great Vanity Fair feature on Diner’s influence on films today (some language NSFW).