> wrote in message
...
>I have an odd, and probably very elementary question, but please
> bear with me.
>
> I put a few eggs into boiling water to hard-boil them. Within about
> 30 seconds, I heard a very loud CRACK! noise, looked in the pot and
> saw one of the eggs losing its contents into the water. At the end
> of the boiling period, there was a moderate sized hole in the shell
> of that egg, and it was floating, so probably mostly empty.
>
> I've had eggs crack and lose some of their contents before, but never
> with so much force, making such a loud noise. Has anyone had this
> experience before? It makes me wonder whether something was wrong
> with the egg, eg, maybe it was spoiled, and pressure from gas inside
> the shell (from bacteria) caused it to crack really forcefully. Can't
> say I've ever heard of this happening, though.
>
> They were in the refrigerator prior to being put into the boiling
> water, but that's always the case when I boil eggs (which I do very
> regularly). Also, I usually put salt into the water before adding
> the eggs, which helps keep them from cracking, but I'd forgotten this
> time.
>
> I realize this post is a little weird and might end up fodder for
> jokes, but I'm actually a bit phobic about food poisoning, so I'd
> appreciate at least a *few* serious answers.


Probably just a weak shell. Store eggs typically have really thin shells
these days. You can get little egg pokers that have a spring loaded needle
to puncture the shell to relieve the air when it cooks.

Paul