Apple and eggs: How eggs inspire the visionaries

Steve Jobs, the visionary designer behind the Apple Mac computer, took his inspiration from eggs, according to a friend and colleague.

Jobs, who died at the age of 56 in October after battling pancreatic cancer, was widely regarded as a creative genius. He was a co-founder of Apple, left amidst disagreements in 1985 but returned in 1996 to restore the company’s flagging fortunes. He introduced the iMac computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. His death came just a day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 4S model.

It has now been suggested that the inspiration for his design genius came from the egg. According to former Apple executive Jay Elliot, the author of ’The Steve Jobs Way’, Jobs gained clues from the egg for the design and tactile feel of his innovative products.

’What is the greatest product design in the world? It is an egg,’ Elliot said in an interview with Business Focus in South Korea. ’Steve loved eggs because holding them in his hand, the design of them was incredible, the tactile feel of it was incredible, and the way it protected the inside was incredible. It is a perfect product. So these were the models, and these were the challenges Jobs gave himself to get something out (of it for products),’ he said.

Jobs is not the only creative genius to draw inspiration from eggs. Between 1885 and 1917 the Faberge jewellery house in Russia created thousands of jewelled eggs - mostly miniature ones given as gifts at Easter, but some fantastically expensive pieces created for rich customers. The most famous eggs produced by Faberge were those made for the tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia. In all, 50 such eggs were produced. Of those, 42 have survived to this day.

It is not just designers who have taken strength from eggs. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher - who is still the only woman to have served as the country’s Premier - launched her bid for 10 Downing Street on a diet of eggs. Documents released since she retired show that she ate 28 eggs a week ahead of the 1979 election. Details of her diet were found amongst papers released by the Margaret Thatcher Foundation. The diet was typed on a sheet of yellowing paper folded up and tucked inside her personal diary for 1979.

Charles Saatchi, co-founder of the world’s largest advertising agency and a multi-millionaire art collector, who has sponsored such well known names as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, apparently lost 60lbs in weight by eating nine eggs every day for 10 months. Research carried out in recent years has found that eating eggs at breakfast time is a great slimming aid ’ two studies have shown that it can both help cut calorie intake by up to 415 calories per day, and increase weight loss, as eggs keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Other famous individuals have given their names to egg dishes. French composer Hector Berlioz gave his to a dish of soft-boiled eggs with croustades, duchesse potatoes, truffles and mushrooms in a Madeira sauce. And a New York stockbroker gave his name to a well-known hangover cure. Lemuel Benedict went into the Waldorf Hotel suffering from the effects of the night before and asked for a restorative in the form of toast, bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce on the side. The ma’tre d’ took an interest in the order and adapted it for the Waldorf menu, substituting English muffins and ham, adding truffles and naming it Eggs Benedict.

Finally there are the celebrities who have become egg victims. Eggs have been a favoured weapon of choice for many protestors seeking to show their disapproval of public figures. BNP leader Nick Griffin was pelted with eggs and forced to abandon a press conference outside Parliament after the party won its first two seats in the European Parliament. Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was famously egged on the election campaign trail, although he gained immediate revenge with a right cross to the head of the protestor responsible. More recently Rupert Murdoch came under attack whilst giving evidence to a House of Commons inquiry into phone hacking by News of the World journalists - although he was the victim of egg product. His attacker used custard on the media mogul.