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Ask Chicagoist: What's Up With That?

By Thales Exoo in Miscellaneous on Nov 22, 2006 8:22PM

2006_11_askrandom.jpgSometimes Ask Chicagoist gets random questions which seem to not require a full entry, but based on their sheer randomness we hate to pass by. So in that vein, we'd like to tackle some of these more, um, interesting submissions all at once, further proving that there's really nothing we won't try to answer for you (hint, hint).

How long is an egg inside of the chicken before it is laid?

We're not sure why we haven't thought about this before, but since getting the question, we've been a little distraught thinking about chickens with eggs stuck up their ...

Not very long at all. A chicken egg starts out with just the yolk (or oocyte), which is produced by the chicken's ovaries during ovulation. At this point (Chicagoist is thrilled, incidentally, to be teaching chicken sex ed) the yolk is released into the oviduct where, assuming the chicken had a few drinks and got lucky that night, it may be fertilized by a cock. (What? We're talking about roosters!)

Even if fertilization didn't occur, or the chicken took a dose of Plan B, the yolk continues its fated journey down the oviduct, where a membrane is formed around the yolk and the albumin (egg white) is created. Twisty structural fibers called chalazae are also developed that hold the yolk in place inside of the albumin. Yum! Finally, the eggshell is formed over the entire package in the very lower part of the oviduct. The shell is made of calcite, a form of calcium carbonate, which responds well to cheap food coloring. The egg is laid right after the shell is formed. This entire process takes about one day, which still seems altogether too long. Who wants an omlette?

More randomness after the jump.

I've noticed a large population of Yugoslavian residents here in Chicago. But there is no more Yugoslavia. In the interest of promoting social and international harmony here in our fair city, how should I refer to these people? What is the best way to address their national identity?

Chicagoist still maintains that the best way to find out what people want to be called is to ask them. You'll be surprised how often people will actually respond positively to genuine inquiry. However, Yugoslavia is an interesting situation. The complete history of Yugoslavia aside, we think the main thing to concentrate on is that Yugoslavia was originally made up of a multitude of different ethnic groups, and people from those individual regions seem to have stronger ties (because of the history and years of conflicts) to those names than to Yugoslavia the former country. So depending on who you are talking about, you might want to use "Slovenians," "Croats," "Macedonians," "Bosniaks," "Serbs," or "Montenegrins." "Yugoslav" is still used by some, but really, since it refers to a political union that didn't really take, we'd suggest that if you need something more all-encompassing in a pinch, use exactly what you said to us in the question: "people of the former Yugoslavia."

You know what I really hate? Holes in my socks. I like to wear snazzy socks, ones with lots of colors and stripes that look cool. But they always seem to get holes in them. I really hate that. I cut my toenails, and all that jazz, but sometimes I get holes in my socks the first or second time I wear them. Can you tell me how to prevent this, or recommend a brand that will be hole averse??

Are you sure about the toenail thing? Maybe you're rocking some jagged edges that are getting caught on the sock? Or perhaps you simply have abnormally long toes or an odd gait? Chicagoist wonders exactly where on the sock you're getting these holes, in order to conduct some rigorous scientific experiments on the matter. But in lieu of that, maybe you're buying cheap socks? In which case you may want to just view them as disposable temporary fashion accessories. Not very environmentally aware, we realize. For those extra-special socks that keep getting holes, you could always learn how to darn (honestly the thought of darning socks makes Chicagoist want to damn socks, but that's neither here nor there).

Either way, it sounds like you're pretty rough on your socks, and may need to start investing in some higher quality ones and forego the Target and Gap brands. The good people over at GQ also recommend making sure you are wearing properly-sized shoes, we assume to prevent rubbing and friction on the sock, thus creating holes. Apparently you can also get sized socks.

As for good brands to purchase, since you're looking for something stylish and not rugged mountaineering gold-toe socks, we'll turn to our readers. Anyone know what sock brands are of hole-preventing caliber?

Image via chickenboy

Got a random question? Need some advice? Email ask(at)chicagoist(dot)com.