You’re probably so sick of stories that talk about “what came first — the chicken or the egg?”

That question is actually rather easy to explain. ASAP Science will make us all feel like idiots for pondering it for so long. It points out that egg-laying animals, like reptiles, existed before chickens, therefore, duh, the egg came first on a technicality.

So, the more appropriate question is “what came first — the chicken or the chicken egg?”

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Technically, the protein needed for chicken egg formation is only found in chickens. This means the chicken would need to be in place first to produce the chicken egg.

But as ASAP Science points out, we really should ask what the definition of a chicken egg is.

“Is a chicken egg one laid by a chicken or only one that simply contains a chicken?”

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

“If an elephant laid an egg from which a lion hatched, would it be an elephant egg or a lion egg?”

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

If two “proto-chickens” mated and through a mutation created what is now the modern day chicken, then would the egg have technically come first? Or would it technically be a “proto-chicken egg”?

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

It takes a series of mutations to create a new species, which doesn’t happen overnight — it happens gradually — so the above scenario doesn’t quite work.

Here’s what ASAP Science leaves us with:

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

All in all, regardless of if it was a proto-chicken egg or a chicken egg, in both cases the egg came first. The chicken only has one response to that.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Check out the video after the jump!

If you haven’t had enough eggs yet today, take a look at this amazing egg within an egg video. TheBlaze reported on the phenomenon of an egg within an egg a couple days ago and included a museum curator saying its a very rare occurrence. But just a day later we were emailed this video from a Blaze reader who also had an egg holding such a surprise (Note: Some strong language):