Easter is long on tradition – and we here at AtmosFX love to celebrate any tradition. So when we heard about Egg Jarping – we were IN!
That’s what they call it in England, where they’ve been jarping for years. We call it Egg Tapping or Egg Fighting. No matter what it is called, it is the centuries-old tradition of taking two hard-boiled eggs and tapping one against the other – the one that doesn’t crack wins. Indeed, the Easter-season tradition goes back to medieval times in Europe.
Here at AtmosFX, our own Egg Jarping tradition goes back to, uh, now. But, what we lack in longevity, we can claim in intensity. In fact, our first annual competition was so aggressively contested, we’re certain we will have an ongoing tradition of bitterness, gloating and cheating for years – hello HR Department!
As with most things, the events started innocently enough. With 12 competitors in the office, each picked two eggs, assessing the shells for toughness. Then, we set up some egg-coloring stations, largely to disorient the animators, who don’t know how to decorate anything without their computers.
The rules are simple: Each combatant has two eggs. They face-off directly with a randomly chosen officemate, one person tapping the pointy end of their egg on the top or bottom of their opponent’s egg. The first one that cracks loses. And once the top and bottom of each egg cracks, you’re history.
With the brackets made and “The Eggsterminator” the prohibitive favorite (the boss’ egg), it was time to get it on. Like a good old-fashioned street fight, the staff met in the alley beside the office, armed with eggs. With some harsh words between a few of the participants, Hoppy, the star of Hoppy Easter, restored the peace.
The battle was intense, and not without controversy. (Can you tap the egg from a side angle? Rules will be clarified next year, says the infuriated boss.) In the end, it came down to developer David Turchin vs. The Eggsterminator. Would David take down the Goliath?
History repeats. At least ’till next year.
