Close up of young woman grocery shopping in supermarket. She is holding a box of fresh organic free range eggs in front of refrigerated section.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average retail price for a dozen large eggs has been steadily rising year over year. In fact, nationally, the average retail price for a dozen large eggs is $3.59 when it was just $1.72 a year ago. Eggs have quickly become, well, "eggspensive."
The reasons for this are myriad, but boil down to a few factors: First, inflation and supply chain issues have plagued the prices of many staple foods, from turkey to tomatoes and more.
Also, the nation is currently experiencing the deadliest avian flu outbreak in history, which has already killed more than 50 million birds in the U.S. in 2022. Because of this, people are seeing the prices of eggs soar higher than a chicken ever could fly.
Still, even with all the drama about egg prices shooting to as much as $7.37 in California and $5.29 in Montana, folks across the internet are taking the time to insert a little levity into the whole situation.
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Here are some of the most "eggspertly eggsecuted" jokes:
“Impress her with something expensive,” @Buffyinnyc tweeted, showing a man proposing with a dozen eggs instead of a likely much less expensive diamond.
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“He went to Kroger!” tweeted another user in response to the tweet, referencing the popular meme that has sprouted from the "egg-flation" we’re experiencing right now.
“Decided to put a college fund together for the kiddos,” reads Facebook post by Clint Fiore, along with a refrigerator door full of dozens and dozens of loose eggs.
“Back in my day there was so much toilet paper and eggs that we would throw them at the houses of our enemies,” @RyanTbaum tweeted, referencing the toilet paper shortage of 2020.
“My son just dropped a carton of eggs,” @uppityhobbit tweeted along with a GIF of a baby tossing a stack of cash out of a window.
"eggs are EIGHT DOLLARS? looks like we painting potatoes for easter!" tweeted @BLaze4490.
“Things are getting out of hand at our local grocery store,” wrote one Redditor, sharing an image of an egg carton with an anti-theft tag and wire typically used on high-ticket items attached to it. (No, this has not been proven to be actually happening in grocery stores, but if it were, how would one be able to check for broken eggs?)
People are even taking their "eggcentric" comedy stylings to TikTok with hilarious results.
“Omw to the nearest farm to steal some chickens because egg prices are too high,” reads the on-screen text on a video by TikTok user @craycraybrandeburavision.
The video shows a woman dressed in her best all-black heist-wear, complete with a balaclava and a trenchcoat, carrying an empty cage. Very nefarious.
“You got them eggs?” says a man in a TikTok from user @niyabmatthews. The man surreptitiously approaches the porch of a house with a secretive air about him.
“Nobody follow you here, did they?” says a woman, looking around for witnesses. “How many do you need?”
It becomes clear that they’re not talking about the sale of anything illegal; these two are just talking about eggs. After the man pays the woman for two, he runs away with his newly scored pair, likely with an omelet in his future.
“Anyone else paying double for eggs right now?” reads the caption on a TikTok from Iron Hawk Safe Company. In a clever ad for its safes, a man gets ready to make breakfast, goes to his fridge, where there’s a safe, holding his valuables, which include a dozen eggs under lock and key.
Other folks are finding humor in memes created specifically for the eggravating times we all are living in right now.
“Flex 2026,” reads one side of an image, along with a picture of a Lamborghini. The other side of the meme shows the words “Flex 2023” along with dozen brown eggs.
“Take me somewhere expensive,” tweeted @RampCapitalLLC along with an image of a nicely dressed couple enjoying a candlelit dinner at the most exclusive part of their grocer’s refrigerated section: the egg shelves.
“I am never going to financially recover from this,” reads another tweet by @RampCapitalLLC along with a picture of a single broken egg.
“I read that eggs are overly expensive cuz bird flu is killing a ton of chickens,” tweeted Billy Markus, co-creator of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. “There’s an obvious solution to this,” he writes, adding a photo of a chicken wearing a facemask over its beak.
Eggcellent idea.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY
