A Taiwanese dessert shop, Dessert Attic, recently caused a stir online after cracking an unusual egg while preparing a recipe. Photos and videos of the bizarre egg, uploaded to the shop’s social media on Threads, quickly drew attention from netizens.
In the clip, two eggs were cracked into a metal bowl. One egg had no visible yolk and appeared as a white, soft sac resembling a giant cicada pupa, with a tail-like filament attached — giving it an almost “alien” or “xenomorph” appearance. The shop’s social media account wrote, “I’ve been handling eggs for decades, and this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. Does anyone know what this is?”
Netizens reacted with curiosity and humor: some called it an “egg within an egg,” others compared it to a canned lychee or speculated it was a “chicken about to hatch.” Some shared that such eggs, though rare, are normal; in large-scale kitchen operations, one to three out of every 300 eggs can appear this way.
A professional netizen explained the phenomenon as a so-called “wind egg” or “no-yolk egg.” These occur when the egg white forms around a tiny piece of mucosal tissue without incorporating a yolk. The translucent outer membrane is the soft shell membrane, similar to the part that makes tea eggs difficult to peel, and the curled tail is caused by pressure from the hen’s oviduct.
Experts say the egg is safe to eat, though its unusual appearance can be startling.
