The Kinder Egg

The Kinder Egg is a uniquely European treat. Made by the Italian company Ferrero since 1972, they’re a huge seller in Germany to kids and collectors alike. Collectors have been known to shake, weigh, and listen to their eggs before they buy in order to find the higher-quality toys packaged in every seventh egg.

Incidentally, Kinder Egg is not the name of the product. Its real name in Germany is Kinder Überraschung (Children’s Surprise). Kinder Egg (Kinder Ei) just happens to be what everybody calls it.

So let’s find out what’s in an egg.

Under the wrapper is a candy shell made out of white and milk chocolate. Inside that is a thing that looks like a time capsule. From it, I pulled toy parts and what appears to be an inordinately large wad of paper. Being a writer, I’m naturally going to examine the paper first.

There’s a pictorial instruction sheet that also has a code for an Internet game. Besides that are two separate warning sheets printed in thirty-seven (count ’em) THIRTY-SEVEN different languages. Now I’m afraid to go near the egg.

It turns out that I’m the proud owner of a parachuting penguin. How well does it work? Let’s just say that penguins still haven’t mastered flight. I guess I should have shaken my egg.

Maybe you’re in Europe, and you want to buy some Kinder Eggs to take home to the family. Don’t do it. This simple act of charity will transform you into an international smuggler. United States law forbids the sale or importation of Kinder Eggs. They’re considered a choking hazard. Since 1989, at least seven deaths have been reported worldwide as a result of children choking on Kinder Egg parts. So customs agents have been known to confiscate Kinder Eggs out of people’s luggage. Good! No sacrifice is too great to keep us safe.

On the other hand, since 1973, over a hundred and ten children have died in the US alone as a result of choking on latex balloons. Hmm. We have nothing to fear but spheres themselves.

To read my latest blog posts, please click on the “Green and Pleasant Land” logo at the top of this page. Photos taken in November, 2011, in Kaiserslautern and Rodenbach, Germany. Text and photos copyright 2011 by Clare B. Dunkle.