Glowing Egg Is a One-Oeuf Solution for Tracking Cycles

If something happened to you every three weeks or so that significantly affected your mood, behavior, and even the possibility of creating new life, you’d probably want to keep a close eye on it, right? Many people use phone apps to track such things, but most of these apps collect and misuse personal data, which can be frustrating and invasive. Understandably, this has led to some creative solutions.

One such solution comes from Jakoba the Online Witch, who was tired of the privacy concerns associated with cycle-tracking apps. To address this, she created a unique glowing egg timer that changes color based on her current cycle stage, letting her know when she is fertile or when “Aunt Flo” is expected. This way, she can stay informed about her cycle without worrying about privacy breaches.

The timer itself is a literal egg from one of Jakoba’s backyard chickens, and it wasn’t easy to make. The egg needed multiple holes of varying sizes drilled into it without breaking, which took four tries. After successfully drilling the holes and bleaching the insides, the egg was ready to glow. The simple internal electronics include a Wemos D1 Mini ESP8266, a WS2812 LED, and a heatsink.

The finished egg timer is encased in a unique enclosure made from an inverted peanut bowl with a glass ornament hot-glued on top. Jakoba integrated the device with Home Assistant, using the current calendar state to trigger various services through YAML configuration. This creative, privacy-focused approach provides a personalized and visually engaging way to track her cycle without relying on potentially invasive apps.

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