Keep the shell on and the smell stays away.

The shell is your best defense: keep the egg unpeeled until you eat it, and you’ll barely get any smell.

The smell comes from hydrogen sulfide gas released when the egg compounds break down. Unpeeled, that gas stays trapped inside the shell — an unpeeled hard-boiled egg basically smells like nothing. So just leave it in the shell and toss it in the lunchbox as-is.

If you need to peel it in advance, don’t let the naked egg wander around loose. Put it in its own small airtight container — a little glass jar or a snap-top plastic container. That keeps the smell from reaching the rest of your lunch. For extra insurance, drop a piece of bread or a cracker in there; starchy things are surprisingly good at absorbing odors.

Also, don’t overcook. The green ring around the yolk is where the sulfur smell comes from. A 10-to-12 minute cook followed by an ice bath gives you creamy yolks and far less stink.

Not the most exciting lunch hack, but it’ll definitely save you from polite office stares.