The best way to crack eggs is the highlander method: beat two eggs against each other. This overly easy method preserves rarely makes a mess, and is tolerant to a lot of different levels of force.

But don't just look on the sunny side: the highlander method has a major flaw. What do you do with the last egg? If you haven't hatched a plan, you may scramble to one of the inferior methods: counter or bowl.

The counter method is the safe option: it consistently produces a small mess, even if your strike is eggsceptional. But if you're ready to leave your shell, the bowl is for gamblers and dreamers: it can produce a mess-free egg if you aim things perfectly, but you'll end up with shell everywhere unless you crack it eggsactly right.