This thread, in all of its eloquence, does not answer the important question of which came first.
The egg, of course. They've been around much longer than chickens have.
I'm still going with the chicken ... referencing Genesis 1 (NIV)
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds,
and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas,
and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—
the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land
produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
As I drive down my road, I keep having to stop for my neighbour's chickens as they are crossing the road. The chickens look up, but do no answer. My neighbour is still doing research on this. My guess is that they cross the road, because it is there. My chickens do not engage in the raod work activity.
Strangest locations that i have observed the activity of an egg being laid, is in mid-flight (when the bird was startled, getting out of my way as I gathered eggs) about a foot of the ground, landing softly in the shavings. I have also observed a chicken sitting on the edge of a water bucket, lay the egg into the water. Strange critters.