Egg cartons as we know them were invented in 1911 by a B.C. newspaper publisher named Joseph Coyle (damn those people are smart!).
Coyle published a paper in the Bulkley Valley near Smithers and was made aware of a dispute over broken eggs between a local farmer and a hotel that they supplied eggs to.
They kept showing up broken.
So he decided to fix the problem by designing a device where each egg would have its own little cushioned pocket.
His invention was made of paper (part of the patent application is shown above), and he developed a system where he was able to mass produce them, and he started doing just that.
He sold his newspaper then set up egg carton factories in Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago and L.A.
He died in 1972 at 100 years old — old enough to watch as people came in and improved upon his invention with plastic and other materials.
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