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An egg of Columbus or Columbus's egg ( ) refers to a seemingly impossible task that becomes easy once understood. The expression refers to an
The Columbus egg story may have originated with Italian historian and traveler Girolamo Benzoni. In his book ''History of the New World'', published in 1565, he wrote:
The factual accuracy of this story is called into question by its similarity to another tale published fifteen years earlier (while Benzoni was still travelling in the Americas) by painter and architect
''Our Paper'', vo. 10
Massachusetts Reformatory, 1894, p. 285. According to Vasari, the young Italian architect Filippo Brunelleschi had designed an unusually large and heavy dome for Santa Maria del Fiore in
Columbus and the egg
', 1903. {{Authority control Christopher Columbus Creativity Eggs in culture Italian folklore
apocrypha
Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...
l story, dating from at least the 16th century, in which it is said that Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
, having been told that finding a new trade route was inevitable and no great accomplishment, challenges his critics to make an egg stand on its tip. After his challengers give up, Columbus does it himself by tapping the egg on the table to flatten its tip.
The story is often alluded to when discussing creativity
Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...
. The term has also been used as the trade name of a tangram puzzle and several mechanical puzzles.
Source of the story
The Columbus egg story may have originated with Italian historian and traveler Girolamo Benzoni. In his book ''History of the New World'', published in 1565, he wrote:
The factual accuracy of this story is called into question by its similarity to another tale published fifteen years earlier (while Benzoni was still travelling in the Americas) by painter and architect Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...
.The similarity of Vasari's story to the egg of Columbus story was first pointed out i''Our Paper'', vo. 10
Massachusetts Reformatory, 1894, p. 285. According to Vasari, the young Italian architect Filippo Brunelleschi had designed an unusually large and heavy dome for Santa Maria del Fiore in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, Italy. City officials had asked to see his model, but he refused, proposing instead:
When the church was finally built it had the shape of half an egg slightly flattened at the top.
See also
* Egg balancing, a Chinese tradition * Gömböc, an egg-like (convex, homogeneous, solid) 3-D body that has only one stable equilibrium *Gordian Knot
The cutting of the Gordian Knot is an Ancient Greek legend associated with Alexander the Great in Gordium in Phrygia, regarding a complex knot that tied an oxcart. Reputedly, whoever could untie it would be destined to rule all of Asia. In 33 ...
, a legendary impossible knot
* Hindsight bias, the inclination to see events that have already occurred as being more predictable than they were before they took place
* Superegg, an egg-like shape designed by Piet Hein that stands on its ends
* Tesla's Egg of Columbus, Westinghouse Electric display at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition
*Väinämöinen
() is a deity, demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical sing ...
in Kalevala was asked to tie an egg into a knot, in which he succeeded
Notes
References
*Baldwin, James.Columbus and the egg
', 1903. {{Authority control Christopher Columbus Creativity Eggs in culture Italian folklore