2nd '1-in-a-billion' spherical egg found by another S'pore family in same month

A Singapore family recently made headlines after they stumbled upon a spherical egg in a carton they bought on May 27, describing it as a "one-in-a-billion" discovery.

But just how rare is a spherical egg?

And another one

Days after the buzz began, Kathleen told Mothership that her family found a spherical egg in a carton purchased earlier than the first family, on May 18.

She believed hers to be "definitely much rounder", measuring about 4.1cm in diameter.

Viraj Swaroop, whose family bought the May 27 carton, told Mothership his egg was about 6.35cm wide.

There were more similarities to their round wonders, however.

Both their eggs came from Chew’s Agriculture cartons at NTUC FairPrice outlets — NEX for Kathleen, and Hougang 1 for Viraj.

Kathleen's family's discovery

It was Kathleen's 13-year-old daughter Eunice who first realised the egg was different.

The same day they bought the carton on May 18, Eunice wanted to fry a sunny side up for herself.

She chose a small egg from the carton, and when she was about to crack it, she noticed how round it was.

Amazed, she called her mother and brother over.

"We were all so excited because we are a family of egg lovers and would be cooking many eggs every day, but never once have we seen such a small and round and cute egg before," Kathleen told Mothership.

Since then, the family has been keeping their discovery safe in the fridge.

Kathleen's 12-year-old son Marc would "check on it every day to make sure that it's safe and good", she said.

Marc also saw from news reports from around the world that spherical eggs are considered a one-in-a-billion rarity.

In 2015, a woman in Britain auctioned off a "perfectly spherical" egg hatched by her hen for £480 (S$827) on eBay.

Kathleen's children want to auction off their egg as well, hoping to donate the proceeds to animal welfare causes such as Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD) and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

"Since the egg came from a chicken, it should go into helping the animals too," Kathleen explained.

Viraj's family's discovery

The spherical egg bought by Viraj's family nearly met an untimely end.

Viraj's mother first spotted the odd shape in the tray and was planning to boil it when Viraj's wife Sharmista quickly intervened and saved it.

While it looks and feels like any other chicken egg, its spherical shape makes it special.

"I think the chicken must've known something was up too," Viraj told Mothership.

His family has affectionately christened their find "Wah-Lau-Ehg" as a nod to its Singaporean roots.

Similar to Kathleen's family, Viraj's family is thinking of selling the egg, with proceeds going towards helping patients with Retts syndrome, a condition that affects their friend's daughter.

But they might also end up keeping it.

"Such things land in our lap and we haven't though too much yet. Who knows, maybe we'll keep it and make it a celebrity," Viraj said. "It's got a story, doesn't it!"

For now, the egg is safely housed in the deepest part of their fridge, which offers a more consistent temperature than the door.