"Warning: read and keep," says the piece of paper inside Kinder Surprise Eggs, in 34 languages; yet most people do neither thing. But sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris did read and keep it, and study what the egg is trying to tell us: about Kinder Egg toy safety, yes, but also about multilingualism, about an object that says 'yes!' but the warning says 'no!', about the signs of human idiosyncracy that show themselves even in a mandatory corporate message.

Find out more information about the topics in this episode at theallusionist.org/kinderegg, plus a transcript and the full dictionary entry for the randomly selected word.

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The music is by Martin Austwick, made with Kinder Eggs. Hear Martin’s own songs via palebirdmusic.com.

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150. The Egg's Warning

The Allusionist

150. The Egg's Warning