你可能不知道的鸡蛋那些事儿

They're incredible, they're edible, and if you lived in Roman times you'd also think they were magical. Here are a few facts about eggs, cooked just the way you like.

鸡蛋很棒，也很好吃，如果你生活在罗马时代，你还会觉得它们十分神奇。下列是有关鸡蛋的一些事儿，想怎么烧就怎么烧吧。

1. EGYPTIANS WERE THE FIRST TO CRACK THE EGG BUSINESS.

1. 埃及人首先孵出了小鸡。

Around 1400 BCE, Egyptians figured out how to incubate eggs inside small underground caves. This freed up hens to lay more eggs, which proliferated through the kingdom as a food source. Egyptians also regarded eggs as sacred, and would keep baskets of them inside their temples to ensure a bountiful flood.

大约在公元前1400年，埃及人想出了如何在小小的地下洞穴中孵出小鸡的方法。这就使得母鸡下更多的蛋，作为一种食物来源，鸡蛋开始在埃及扩散。埃及人认为鸡蛋十分神圣，他们会在寺庙内放几篮鸡蛋以确保雨水充足。

2. THE ROMANS INVENTED THE OMELET.

2. 罗马人发明了煎蛋饼。

They sweetened it with honey and called it ovemele, which literally translates to "eggs and honey." Some say this is the origin of the word "omelet," while others point to the French word amelette, which describes the omelet's flat shape. The Romans also thought eggs were good luck charms, and would often line eggshells beneath their floors. Which means they were literally walking on… well, you know.

他们在煎蛋饼上放入蜂蜜使其更甜，并将其称为ovemele，字面意思就是"鸡蛋和蜂蜜"。有些人认为这就是"煎蛋饼"一词的起源，但其他人则认为法语词amelette（描述了煎蛋饼的扁平形状）才是煎蛋饼一词的来源。罗马人也认为鸡蛋能够带来好运，所以他们通常会在地板下面铺上鸡蛋壳。这就意味着他们走在了……上面，你肯定懂的。

3. WE'VE BEEN DYEING EASTER EGGS FOR CENTURIES.

3. 几个世纪以来，我们都在给复活节彩蛋染色。

In the Christian religion, eggs came to represent rebirth, and in medieval times and even before, they were often dyed red to symbolize Christ's blood. Numerous sources claim that egg dyeing actually predates Christianity, stretching back to pagan rituals that welcomed the spring season.

基督教认为鸡蛋代表着重生，在中世纪甚至更早以前，他们通常将鸡蛋染红，象征着耶稣的血。很多消息来源声称实际上，早在基督教前就已经有给鸡蛋染色的传统了，这可以追溯到迎接春季到来的异教徒仪式。

4. A 19TH CENTURY EGG PROPHET RAN QUITE A CON.

4. 一枚19世纪的鸡蛋预示着世界末日。

In 1806, an Englishwoman named Mary Bateman convinced hundreds of people that her chicken would predict the world's imminent end. "Christ is Coming" read the eggs that the hen laid. Bateman sold protective wards to people for a shilling apiece, but her con was exposed after a local doctor caught her shoving a handwritten egg back up into her poor hen. Bateman went on to practice medicine, and was executed for poisoning several of her patients.

1806年，一位名叫玛丽·贝特曼的英国女性说服数百人相信她的母鸡能预测世界末日。那只母鸡下的蛋上写着"耶稣就要来了"。贝特曼向人们出售保护病房，并向每人收取一先令，但是在当地医生抓到她将手写的鸡蛋放回那只可怜的母鸡身后时，她的骗局被拆穿了。贝特曼后来继续从医，后因毒死几位病人被处以死刑。

5. A GENE MUTATION ALLOWS CHICKENS TO LAY EGGS YEAR ROUND.

5. 基因突变使得母鸡一年四季都能下蛋。

In wild animals, a thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor, or TSHR, gene helps regulate reproduction to specific seasons. Chickens, though, have a mutation in this gene-developed through years of selective breeding-that allows them to breed and lay eggs throughout the year.

在野生动物中，一个甲状腺刺激荷尔蒙受体基因有助于调节特定季节的繁殖。然而，鸡的基因存在变异--选择性繁殖几年后就会发生基因突变--使得它们全年都能繁殖、下蛋。