I'll take them when I can get them. However, I've long been intrigued by her instructions to me: "they do not need to be refrigerated."

Government tends toward mandating or forbidding in every area of life. 

This struck me as weird. I guess I thought they would spoil if they are left out or maybe gradually become a chicken or something. She assured me no, and her explanation was compelling. If eggs have never been refrigerated, they don't have to be. Commercial eggs are, so that's why we put them in the fridge.

Sounds right. But it turns out that the story is actually more complex. No surprise: the real answer has to do with government regulations over whether eggs should be washed. In the United States, the government mandates washing eggs before commercial sale. In Europe, egg washing is forbidden by law.

Doesn't that just sum up the problem of government? It tends toward either mandating or forbidding in every area of life, even on matters such as whether eggs should or should not be washed.