Instagram egg
You might remember it as the egg, Eugene the egg, world_record_egg
“Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram.”
Most viral ever29 of 32
2019·The platform era·unexpected
A stock photograph of an egg that took the most-liked post on the internet away from a celebrity, on purpose.
At a glanceThe facts
- Remembered as
- the egg
- Began as
- A social-media post
- Where it started
- Format
- Post
- Uploaded by
- The account @world_record_egg
- Made by
- Chris Godfrey, a British advertising creative
- Record
- Most-liked Instagram post from 14 January 2019 to 20 December 2022
- First posted
- On Instagram, on 4 January 2019
- What it said
- “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram.”
- Origin
- Not an upload originally
- Available
- Not held by ViralWorld
What this wasThe story
On 4 January 2019 a new Instagram account, @world_record_egg, posted a stock photograph of a brown hen's egg on a white background with a caption inviting the world to beat Kylie Jenner's record of 18.4 million likes. It passed her inside ten days and kept going, ending above 50 million — at the time the most-liked post on any platform anywhere.
Hulu and the New York Times revealed the account belonged to Chris Godfrey, a British advertising creative, working with Alissa Khan-Whelan and CJ Brown. The egg then visibly cracked across a series of follow-up posts and finally broke open in a Super Bowl commercial about mental health and social-media pressure.
Why it matteredWhat changed
A stock photograph of an egg, posted by a new account to beat a celebrity’s record, was the most-liked picture on Instagram for nearly four years.
TimelineIn order
- Posted
The egg is posted, with the stated aim of beating the 18 million likes on a photograph by Kylie Jenner.1
- Record
It passes her, in just under ten days. Within two more days it has 45 million likes.1
- Found
The people behind it are named. The egg appears cracking, in a video about the pressure of social media and mental health.1
- Record
A photograph posted by Lionel Messi after the World Cup final passes it.1
- Later
The account is sold for a seven-figure sum.1
What people misrememberSet straight
Commonly remembered asNobody ever found out who did it.
ActuallyIts creator was named a month later, by the New York Times and the streaming service that ran the follow-up.1
More from hereIn this collection
RelatedMore like this
Records this one is explicitly related to — a copy, a remake, a parody, the same meme or the same maker.
Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · it got out of its own corner of the internet fast · still being watched and quoted years later
This first circulated as a social-media post, not as a video upload. Originally published on Instagram.
Where it came fromWhat we know
There is no original upload to identify: this did not begin as one. What it began as is recorded here, and what is shown is a later copy.
Nothing here is claimed to be the first publication of this Moment, because the first publication was not an upload. This first circulated as a social-media post, not as a video upload. Originally published on Instagram.
Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.
- When
- The sources below date the original to 2019-01-04. ViralWorld records this as a cited claim rather than an established publication date, because it holds no copy to check it against.
ConnectedFollow it further
- It took the place of DespacitoSound · 2017
Within twelve days of being posted the egg had 45 million likes, passing the video for Despacito.
SourcesWhat was read
Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things