The age-old problem of how to cook the perfect boiled egg may have been solved - simply do away with the boiling water.
A British inventor, Simon Rhymes, has created a machine that uses light bulbs to cook the egg and lops the top off at exactly the right height for toast soldier dunking.
Mr Rhymes, 23, dreamt up the Bulbed Egg Maker (BEM) while studying project design at Bournemouth University. "I thought that boiling an egg was rather labour intensive for the rewards you get," he said. "I read that light bulbs gave off so much heat it might be more energy efficient to leave lights on in the house to heat it rather than using central heating.
"I started to experiment and cooked an egg under a table lamp and that took about half an hour.
"Then I came across the halogen lights and adapted them to put in the BEM. I experimented with about 600 eggs. I got sick of testing them but now I can produce the perfect boiled egg every time."
The egg is lowered into the 30cm (12in) high glass and metal machine, which has four halogen bulbs. In six minutes it produces an egg with a yolk runny enough for toast soldiers. The time can be altered for a softer or harder result.
Once the egg is done the top is cut off at a circumference of 40mm (1.5in), which Mr Rhymes, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, has calculated is wide enough for soldiers.
He has patented the idea and is in talks with manufacturers. "Hopefully the machine will become a common household item like a toaster," he said.
Hmmm ... wonder what Delia Smith would think
