Canadian newspaperman Joseph Coyle invented the humble egg carton nearly one hundred years ago. Coyle was not the first inventor to tackle the problem of transporting eggs safely, but his carton design, which he patented in the US (US1269394) and Canada (CA181662) in 1918, was one of the most successful. A number of egg carton designs were patented from the late 1890s forward. These are classified under CPC code B65D85/32+.

Coyle continued inventing well into his 70s and received more than a dozen patents relating to egg cartons, among other things. In 1943, he received his last patent (CA415836) for a carton suitable for holding and transporting fruit.

The iconic 12-egg carton that is still in use today was designed in the 1930s by Francis H. Sherman, who received design patent D95,291 in 1935.