We rarely give the humble egg carton much thought. But before it appeared, getting eggs from the farm to the breakfast table without breaking them was a surprisingly frustrating problem.

And the solution came from a Canadian newspaper publisher in British Columbia.

A Dispute Over Broken Eggs

The story begins in 1911 in Smithers, British Columbia.

A local hotel owner and a farmer were reportedly arguing over who was responsible for eggs arriving broken during delivery.

Nearby newspaper publisher Joseph Coyle heard about the problem and decided there had to be a better way to transport something as fragile as an egg.

His solution was wonderfully simple.

Coyle designed a paper container with individual compartments for each egg, preventing them from knocking against one another during transportation.

The Egg Carton Is Born

Coyle initially made his cartons by hand.

His early design used folded and shaped paper to cradle each egg separately. It wasn't quite the moulded pulp carton we recognize today, but the basic idea was there:

Give every egg its own protected space.

The invention worked.

Farmers could transport eggs more safely, stores experienced fewer broken eggs, and customers were much more likely to receive a complete dozen.

Coyle patented improvements to his egg carrier and eventually developed machinery to manufacture the cartons in larger quantities.

From British Columbia to Breakfast Tables Everywhere

Over the years, other manufacturers improved the design. Moulded pulp, cardboard and eventually foam and plastic versions appeared.

But the fundamental idea remained remarkably similar to Coyle's original solution.

A dozen eggs.

A dozen individual compartments.

One simple package protecting all of them.

Today, billions of eggs are transported in cartons around the world, yet most people have probably never heard of the Canadian inventor behind the idea.

A Clever Canadian Solution

Joseph Coyle wasn't working in a giant laboratory or trying to create a revolutionary new industry.

He simply saw an everyday problem and figured out a practical way to solve it.

More than a century later, we're still using essentially the same idea every time we open the refrigerator.

Sometimes the inventions that change everyday life begin with something as simple as...

a few broken eggs.

Fun Fact:

The egg carton was reportedly inspired by an argument between a farmer and a hotel owner over broken eggs.

Instead of deciding who was to blame, Joseph Coyle decided to solve the problem altogether.