Columbo sometimes arrives at the crime scene with a boiled egg. I got curious about this because a boiled egg isn't what I would call convenience food.

Here's what I found out.

The egg symbolizes one of the festival offerings brought by Jews in Temple times. To prepare it, hard-boil an egg and, with its shell still on, cook it on the stove until part of it is scorched. Eggs are traditionally a symbol of mourning in Judaism. (The roundness of eggs symbolizes continuity and the circle of life.) The egg on the seder plate is a symbol of Jews' loss of the Temple and the hope that it will be rebuilt. While the roasted egg from the plate is not eaten during the seder, Jewish folklore says that anyone who secures the egg after the seder will prosper and have his or her wishes fulfilled. Many Ashkenazi Jews—those from Eastern Europe—eat hard-boiled eggs dipped in salt water toward the beginning of the seder meal. This custom symbolizes the mourning aspect of the egg; it can also symbolize the luck the egg is supposed to bring.

i remember when he cracked it open on the murder weapon in stitch in crime!

Well, that would certainly figure if symbolism was implied, but for my purposes, it's exactly what a slovenly police lieutenant would do.

You know ... eating on the run, and out of his coat pockets.

yay! scrolling eggs!!!

This has got to be one of my favourite posts. My jaw dropped when I read that. Many thanks, Mitch. Your idea appeals to me. It appeals to me very much.

Or It Can symbolise Columbo was hungry and hadn’t time to eat…