So, regarding eggs: We almost always buy vegetarian-fed eggs from small local farms, which have good thick tough shells, so a good smack on the counter (as noted) and a little pulling to separate, and voila, clean break, no shell bits.

Whenever I'm cooking at my folks' (or R's folks') kitchen, though, or anywhere else where someone's bought the factory-farmed, thin-shelled weak eggs, I almost always forget that for about the first egg, which I smack onto the counter like it had a real healthy shell, and, um, make a mess. Oops.