Could you stop yourself from eating an Easter egg for 45 years?
One man managed to do exactly that, and kept his entire family from scoffing the treat for decades too. John Gartlan, from Kilcurry in Co. Louth, Ireland, was given an Easter egg a staggering 46 years ago, and last year he revealed that he hadn't eaten it because he felt it was "too nice to eat" - so he kept it in the fridge instead.
As of 2023 the man - who was just five years old when he was given the egg - still had the chocolate treat in his fridge and had no plans on ever opening it.
The egg has been sat at the back of every fridge he has ownedJohn said that back in 1978 when he was given the special Kitty's Cottage egg, many Easter eggs were much simpler in design, so his gift - which came with a toy kitten and was packaged in a colourful box - was very unique. The egg was so precious that he kept it in near-pristine condition for decades, and it's sat in the back of every fridge he's owned.
"A first cousin of my mum's, Gertie Carragher from Tullydonnell, County Armagh gave it to me when I was five. At that time, Easter eggs were much plainer than they are now and not much to look at," he told the Irish Mirror in 2023. "But this was different. It came in a greenish-yellow box with a little toy kitten beside it. I remember that it looked so nice that I didn't want to eat it and it was put in the fridge. The next year, we didn't think it would be safe to eat, so it stayed in the fridge."
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Sadly, John's parents have both passed away but the egg is still standing in the fridge over four decades since it was given to him. Importantly, his family have all agreed they won't touch it, and John has said he's not even remotely tempted to open it.
He said: "We've probably gone through about four different fridges but the egg is still there - in the corner of the top shelf. It's just like part of the fridge now. I don't even think of it really anymore.
The egg was accompanied by a toy kitten as well (Irish Daily Mirror)"The egg is still wrapped in foil but there is a little bit exposed and it doesn't look mouldy - but I still wouldn't chance tasting it. I once had in the back of my head that it could be the oldest on record but there are reports of much older Easter eggs out there on the internet."
John's chocolate egg is thought to be one of the oldest in the world, but there's at least one woman with an even older Easter treat - Ann Gibbs, who last year said she owned an Easter egg that was a staggering 90 years old.
Ann is actually one year younger than the egg she keeps in its original packaging, and there's a heartbreaking reason she can never throw it away, as it belonged to the sister she never got to meet. The woman explained the egg was bought for her sister who had been in an accident, and she never got to eat it because she sadly passed away in hospital just one month before her fifth birthday.
The grandma was born one year after her sister died, and although she never knew her, she still finds the story behind the Easter egg "heartbreaking" - which is why she hasn't been able to part with it.
A version of this story was first published on 4th April 2023.
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