Per NPR, washing eggs was the historical norm until the 1960s or 1970s...(https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-

Per NPR, washing eggs was the historical norm until the 1960s or 1970s...(https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/wh...) What changed is that the USDA discovered how to wash eggs properly and so mandated the method by which eggs must be washed, while Europe went the complete opposite direction and decided to outlaw washing eggs (prior to sale) but encouraged/mandated that chickens get vaccinated for salmonella (which is not required in the U.S.).