The differences between the United Kingdom and United States are often vast, frequently interesting and often perplexing.
For Americans, guns and baseball are a way of life. For Britons, it’s tea, scones and fighting in pubs. In America, you can drive for hours and never see another living soul. In Britain, you’re lucky if you can turn a corner without running into someone you went to school with and very dearly hoped you’d never see again.
We share a culture with the United States, but we are also divided by it. We have our way of doing things, they have theirs. We eat with the fork in our left hand and the knife in our right. They wrap all of their food in the Stars and Stripes, lather the parcel in hog fat and launch it out of a cannon into space.
One perhaps surprising culinary difference between our two nations has recently come to light: apparently Americans don’t have egg cups, as revealed by Twitter user @innesmck.
I'VE JUST BEEN INFORMED AMERICANS DO NOT HAVE EGG CUPS AND I AM SO ANGRY RN
— i n n e s (@innesmck) July 9, 2017
If you’re an American and are wondering what the heck these darn egg cups are all about, here is an example of one in action.
This is what we call ‘Egg and Soliders’ or ‘Dippy Egg’. It’s a soft-boiled egg with strips of toasted bread (the aforementioned Soldiers) which are dunked in the runny egg. The egg cup holds the egg in place so you can dip your toast without scalding your hands on the hot egg or getting yolk everywhere.
But it seems that this is not a thing in America, or at least not a very widely known thing, as the replies to @innesmck’s tweet suggest.
Some confirmed that yes, egg cups are foreign to American minds.
Hi. I'm american. Wtf is this? Why are you eating an under cooked egg? I'm so confused #help
— Natalie “My Leg Hurts” Grace (@GracefulNatalie) July 10, 2017
I had to search to see what an egg cup is. Have never seen one before.
— Ryan Warnick 🐀 (@rigarium) July 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/kirstyhambrick/status/884210034510614528
Egg whats?
— ASwampWolf (@ASwampWolf) July 9, 2017
Others claimed the contrary.
Of course we have egg cups. We also have kettles (both stove-top and electric).
— Isobel Carr (@IsobelCarr) July 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/emilybuckshot/status/884196190417330176
https://twitter.com/beccahallstedt/status/884176044479176704
Further light was shone on the matter.
The only eggs we commonly eat are hardboiled & sliced (like on a salad) or scrambled/omelets. Poached eggs are common for eggs benedict tho
— War of Velana | DEMO ON STEAM! (@warofvelana) July 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/rootsworks/status/884181817984638976
In general, people just couldn’t believe it.
How do they cup their eggs ??
— Rik (@hot_pengu) July 10, 2017
THE ACTUAL FUCK
— Lotte 'just an idiot' May 💖🍓🌈🐹🎮☕🍫🍩 (@LotteMakesStuff) July 9, 2017
HOW DO THEY EAT BOILED EGGS? DO THEY KNOW THAT YOU CAN BOIL AN EGG?
— 🍉 Melon 🍉 (@DrMelon) July 9, 2017
My ghast is flabbered.
— Sam Fleming (@ravenbait) July 9, 2017
This is why Americans always seem angry, they don’t even realise they’re missing egg and soldiers
— Johnny Blanchard (@JonnBlanchard) July 10, 2017
And then people started listing other things Americans don’t have/do.
They also don't put butter on their sandwiches, the monsters!
— Jon Wardle (@wardlejon) July 10, 2017
I hope you're aware that they don't have cordial drinks!
— chab (@TomChabbs) July 10, 2017
the dont have electric kettles either 🙂
— grumpyboy (@grumpyboy) July 10, 2017
I've asked & it's really true. The most horrifying thing is they seem fine about it. It's chilling, but then they don't have custard either.
— Chella Ramanan 🇬🇩🍒🍫☕️ (@ChellaRamanan) July 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/DunDoTweets/status/884324978207883264
It’s a strange old world, but at least we’ve got egg cups in ours.