Since I seem to haven gotten on the topic of eating tools lately, I thought before putting the subject to rest, it would be only fair to mention the one we all probably use the most… the fork.
Today when we sit down at the table for a full meal, each place usually has a knife, fork and spoon — all used to prepare, or to shovel the food into our mouths. In the history of these utensils, apparently the knife came along first — of course some version a knife, which is is just some kind of sharp thing, and can be used for lots of other things besides eating. Next was probably the spoon… spoons somewhat mimic the shape of a a cupped hand, that was originally used to scoop up food.
But on to the fork, which is basically a stick with prongs on the end. It was originally used to grab and flip meat on the grill or cooking surface by the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians, but wasn’t used for eating until somewhere around the 8th or 9th century.
My extensive research on forks revealed that in the 11th century, people, especially in the western world, viewed the fork with fear and hostility. This was probably due to the association with the Devil and his pitchfork. (The word fork comes from the Latin world “furcus” that means pitchfork.) The fork became popular in Europe when Catherine de Medici brought the device to Italy and France, where it became a trendy dining accessory.
The early forks usually had two big prongs and were relatively heavy and cumbersome. Owning one became a status symbol and people who owned them often carried them to meals with them, sometimes in a lavish carrying case. By about the 18th century, the fork had established itself as an accepted eating utensil and was used by most dinners alongside the spoon and knife.
At any rate, over the years the fork seems to have won out as the preferred eating utensil – I guess that’s progress, except in those places that don’t use forks. Those people probably have a different view… maybe they question if it is really progress if a cannibal uses a fork?
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