I’m no expert on the origins of the urban use of “easter egg”, but the disambiguation is easy… hidden but edible or hidden and not. Seriously though, the first time I heard the term used for anything not “holiday related” was from a Bell repairman who told me he was searching for the easter egg in an array circuit bridge connectors. Meaning that he was simply pulling and resetting them until he found the prize (in his case a fix), that was circa 1972. Later I heard that TV repair guys had been using it for decades to describe the poke and hope method of tube replacement in the field. That method sounds like today’s shade tree mechanic throwing parts at a problem till it’s fixed — all the while hoping it doesn’t take more guesses than he can afford.
Using the new gold standard for irrefutable facts, the internet has a mix of attributions, some similar to mine but most giving credit to either “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (film 1974) or Atari’s Steve Wright’s moniker for programmer’s hidden gems (initially referring to the game “Adventure” and the one pixel egg of Warren Robinett — marking his art, when discovered his egg exposed the text “Created By Warren Robinett”).
One thing I’m sure of is that humans leaving hidden humorous surprises for others to find in their work and art probably goes back to the.. the first prank so to speak. Of course no one can say for sure when humor originated.
Personally my favourite Hollywierd easter egg is the “This is Spinal Tap” (film 1984) hat that was worn by Meathead (Rob Reiner). It makes an appearance in Reiner’s “The Princess Bride” (film 1987), hanging in the bedroom behind a fairy tale reading Peter Falk.
So the Easter Egg thing is rather ubiquitous today. Google Maps proved to be a voyeurs playground, oft catching a lot of us in compromised or embarrassing moments or maybe just giving a peek into to our previously unseen backyards? Social media is littered with eggs, both intentional and accidental, just awaiting discovery. So when I pulled the street view of my father’s childhood home the arborist in the background wasn’t all that shocking, but the cut limb caught in fall was…
I’m reticent about sharing this one, the pose speaks for itself…
— attempting to orchestrate a delivery?
Since my dad was known for hiding his signature and planting Easter Eggs in his work, I would be negligent not to provide a link to CBR’s Brian Cronin’s Easter Egg Expose below…
To finish this post, I have a humorous tribute to my father’s dedication to the Easter Egg mission — the following tale from my childhood… Easter Sunday always included baskets and a living room easter egg hunt (chocolate, not chicken). So, my Dad would hide chocolate eggs and treats throughout the living room, after tearing into the baskets lost its shine the search for hidden treats ensued. How my mother tolerated this can only be explained by her love for me and my dad, because if witnessed the dirty small hands opening every drawer and door, moving every cushion and pillow, well you get the picture.
But that’s not the story, the real rub of the hunt comes some ten tears after the last childhood Easter. While helping my mom replace the living room drapes out rolled an ancient undiscovered foil wrapped chocolate egg from within the pleats. Mind you these drapes have been vacuumed and steamed many times over the years since the last hunt, a testament to my father’s dedication to crafting the hunt, I’m still finding his Easter Egg gems 10 years after his death. But that’s another story, enjoy the ride.
