Writing inside eggs is invented by Naples polymath Giambattista della Porta. In the 16th century he uses this method to smuggle messages to friends in prison during the Roman Inquisition. His love of cryptograms is inspired by the amazing processes of nature.
Ingenious inventor Giambattista della Porta comes up with his brilliant method in a time of political and religious turmoil. The Italian or Roman Inquisition is established 1542 by Pope Paul III. It's a branch of the Catholic Inquisition, the others being Spanish and Portuguese.
His friends are imprisoned by the Inquisition. Della Porta finds a way to bypass the scrutiny at the prison gate with a seemingly inconspicuous item - an egg. Everything else is inspected at the gate. Prisoners rely on food brought by outsiders, so eggs are normal fare.
With a concoction of plant pigments and alum, Della Porta inscribes messages onto the delicate surface of eggshells. The porous shell allows the ink to seep through, creating an invisible communication medium. After the ink dries, Della Porta boils the egg.
Through this process, the external layer of ink is effortlessly washed away, leaving behind no trace of the covert message. The true brilliance of this invention is revealed when the egg gets to the recipient in prison.
When the shell is peeled off, the hidden message shows up, now imprinted on the white of the egg. His method is a lifeline for his imprisoned friends and a testament to the ingenuity of the human mind when confronted with a challenge.
In 1589, Della Porta becomes the first person to attack in print, on experimental grounds, the ancient belief garlic can overpower magnets. This is an early example of the authority of authors replaced by practical experimentation as backing for a scientific assertion.
Della Porta's conclusion is confirmed experimentally by several other illustriati in the world of science. Amazing. Magnets and garlic both exist in nature for thousands of years; but somehow, a magnet, garlic and a logical mind are not found in one place until 1589.
By 1580, della Porta establishes a scientific society, the Academia Secretorum Naturae (Accademia dei Segreti). The members refer to themselves as otiosi or men of leisure. It's one of the earliest scientific groups in Europe, meeting at the home of della Porta in Naples.
Its primary objective is to investigate mysteries of nature. The mandate requires potential members to present a new discovery in the natural sciences before consideration for membership in the group.
Following suspicions of involvement with the occult, the Academia Secretorum Naturae comes under the Inquisition's scrutiny. Della Porta is summoned to Rome by Pope Gregory XIII, emerging unharmed from the encounter, but the society has to break apart.
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