You learn something new everyday!

Everyone who went to school is familiar with the examples that teachers use in order to explain a newly learned concept. Many people think this is the best way to learn, since it teaches the student all the tricks that some questions could possibly have. So where am I going with this?

Well I was sitting in class yesterday, copying after the teacher when he started an example. Of course every professor uses shortcuts and acronyms, and this particular professor used Eg as a short form of “example.” This wasn’t the first time I saw Eg being used, but it was the first time I noticed that Eg, unlike Ex, has a weak relation to the word “example.” The only relations being the letter E and the sound “Eg”. To me, these reasons were not convincing enough for the use of Eg.

So I went to Google, and several other online encyclopaedias and learned that Eg. Actually comes from the word Egg. Yes, you read it right, Egg! It turns out when schools were first established a long time ago, the teacher used to bring in examples in empty eggshells. The reason for this, is that eggshells formed protection from the environment. Keeping in mind that in ancient history, ink and paper were very different from what they are today. So the eggshells protected the questions from slowly fading away over time.

I found that fact very intersting and I thought I would share it with you. So the next time I see a professor write Eg1. I know where the “Eg” comes from. Doesn’t it feel good to learn something new?

Sources: me, I made the whole thing up