No yolking matter

By Catherine Scullion

Research just published suggests that the seemingly harmless, and fairly amusing, practise of pelting people with raw eggs can cause serious damage to the victim’s eyes.

During the period November 2004 – December 2005 more than 18,000 patients with eye injuries were surveyed at a specialist department. 13 of the patients had injuries resulting from raw egg missiles, most of these occurred around Halloween.

The severity of these injuries is surprising; ensuring second thoughts for those planning a yolky attack on a teacher or politician. 8 of the injuries were classified as ‘serious,’ only one of the patients escaped having their eyesight affected and one needed major surgery.

The authors, writing in the Emergency Medicine Journal, did not understate the seriousness of the injuries “The dimensions of an egg are similar to those of a squash ball, with a considerably greater weight, meaning that eggs as missiles can easily fit into the orbital rim, causing severe blunt injury even when thrown by hand.” Puns aside, it is clear that the prank is certainly not harmless.