Invention of the Egg Carton
The Egg Carton's True Origin
How one broken basket in Canada gave eggs their safest home yet.
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Eggs Broke For Centuries
For generations, farmers carried eggs to market piled loose in open baskets. Many arrived cracked or leaking long before they reached a kitchen.
Source: British Columbia Magazine
A Hotel Argument in 1911
In 1911 a farmer named Gabriel Lacroix delivered eggs to the Telkwa Hotel in British Columbia and found many broken, sparking a furious row with the innkeeper.
Source: Bulkley Valley Museum
The Editor Who Fixed It
Local newspaper editor Joseph Coyle overheard the argument and sketched a fix: a rectangular carton with a cushioned slot cradling every single egg.
Source: Bulkley Valley Museum
A Patent in 1918
Coyle began hand crafting his egg cartons around 1915, and on 15 January 1918 Canada granted patent number 181662 for the design jointly to Coyle and provincial agriculture inspector Frederick Dundas Todd.
Source: Bulkley Valley Museum
One Idea, Millions of Cartons
The carton spread to factories in Vancouver, Chicago and Los Angeles, and the same idea, a cushioned slot for every egg, is still how most eggs are packed worldwide.
Source: British Columbia Magazine
A century after one broken basket, that same simple carton still keeps every yolk safe on its way to a Multan breakfast table.
References
- British Columbia Magazine bcmag.ca
- Bulkley Valley Museum virtualbvm.omeka.net
- Bulkley Valley Museum virtualbvm.omeka.net
- Bulkley Valley Museum virtualbvm.omeka.net
- British Columbia Magazine bcmag.ca
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