Photo via Adobe Stock.
Human beings can spend years searching for a meaning to life. For some, religion provides the moral framework and sense of collectivism needed to spend another mundane day on this planet cleaning the filter on the drier or sneezing. Others find meaning through generosity, helping those less well off and spreading good in the world. Some think happiness is what truly gives life purpose.Unfortunately, it has all been pointless, because a collective body bigger than the population of Sweden has liked a picture of an egg on Instagram, making it the most liked post of all time and thus confirming the meaninglessness of our existence. According to the New York Times, the egg now has over 30 million likes, beating the former world record holder Kylie Jenner and her picture of newborn daughter Stormi.Here’s what we know so far. At the beginning of this month, an account called “world_record_egg” shared a picture of an egg. It is the only post from the account. The bio gives little more by way of explanation, stating only that it is part of a so-called “EGG GANG.” It is a stock image of an egg. It is not tea-stained, soft boiled, or in a ramen. Is it cooked? Who knows? Who cares?Is it actually meaningless? Or does the egg, in some ways, represent modern day uncertainty? No one knows why it’s here, nor do they know anything about its origins, for it hovers ambiguously in a white nothingness. But in this age of government shutdowns and dire Brexit negotiations, the egg becomes an emblem of the unknown—a representation of the uncertainties of contemporary life.We may never understand the egg. But maybe it is not up to us to solve this eggnigma.