“Not Your Average Chicken” stoneware sculpture bykayti sweetland rasmussen
We spend a lot of time hunting, catching and cooking our food, but how much time do we devote to the way we transport it from the plate to our mouths?
The original method was probably a knife. It was pointed, sharp and handy, and if someone objected to a second or third helping, it made a good weapon. The problem arose when LouisXIV, the Sun King, proclaimed the practice of picking ones teeth with the knife was disgusting.
When nomadic people stopped roaming from place to place, the and the eating of soup became common, people needed a means of getting it out of the pot into their bowls, so spoons became the method of choice. One major plus in the use of a spoon is that they could not be used as a weapon which was a civilizing aspect, as the pot of bubbling soup was a welcoming sight to weary travelers.
Sardine Fork
The fork is a late comer in the history of human tools, derived when something was needed to scoop food up out of boiling liquid, however, Poseidon was brandishing his trident centuries before it caught on as an eating tool. Bear in mind the old adage: “there’s nothing new under the sun” each time you pick up a fork, and wonder what the next new tool will be.
Pachofa-Unfinished 
Yes, those eating tools, the paper clip, nappy ( diaper) pin and the cloth peg are some of the best inventions ever made.
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You never know what you’ve been missing until someone invents it. And the Chinese are still using chopsticks! Amazing.
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It’s all in what you’re used to, isn’t it? I’ve never really mastered chopsticks. Love the elephant! (The chicken, too.)
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Years ago I was on a Chinese cooking spree, and I actually did learn to use them, but it is so much easier and faster to use a fork. I was amazed to learn how many varieties of fork there have been and for how many different uses. For instance, this sardine fork. I never thought much about spearing a sardine.
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When I got to the knife as a weapon if someone demanded a second or third helping, I laughed out loud. It is worth remembering that, without the fork, we wouldn’t have those “forks in the road,” and we wouldn’t be able to “stick a fork in it.” For that matter, sixth-graders wouldn’t have a euphemism for that really bad word that begins with “f” and ends with (you guessed it) “k.”
The combination of the sculpture and the utensil does remind me of the old joke: “How do you eat an elephant?” The original answer was, “One bite at a time,” but I think we could revise it to “One forkful at a time.”
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That sixth grade word actually is a most useful word; verb, noun, adjective and even an adverb if needed. We have a friend who tells us he was kicked off the school bus for using it in Baltimore when he was a child. What a shame. He probably still uses it at 75!
There is probably a fork which can jab through the tough elephant hide. Probably have to use a knife first though. I hesitate to think how one would use the spoon afterward though. I’ll give it some though. Ask the chicken.
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Here’s a related travel tidbit. When traveling through the Liberian bush, on foot from village to village, it’s traditionally considered good manners to carry along your own rice bowl and spoon, since almost no villagers would have extra utensils. And, the usual dish of rice-with-something-on-top was better handled with a spoon than a fork, anyway.
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Point well taken, which would suggest that the spoon is probably the most valuable eating tool. Different sizes for different uses; you can’t stir a pot of stew with a teaspoon. Old people seem to do better with spoons too.
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I like this! Great research! I love inventive minds, and am amazed at the new inventions of today—mostly attached to “apps”!
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“There’s nothing new under the sun—” until someone invents it. Isn’t that the truth? The tech industry is a prime suspect. One would have to stay awake nights to try to keep up with it So many inventive minds all over the globe.
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As someone who collects eggs, egg cups, egg scissors, and chickens of all sorts, I am in love with your whimsical and well named sculpture. I also enjoyed this interesting post.
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I remember two beautiful English egg cups I had kept for many years which suddenly disappeared after a move. I wonder if the rest of the world collects things as we all seem to do? I also had a salt and pepper collection when I was very young. Who knows–they might be worth something now if I knew where they went.
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I’ve always thought that – to benefit the environment – we should all carry our own utensils around with us, maybe a sort of combination tool, and on a belt to leave our hands free. Actually, I think you will see that very thing at the Renaissance Faire.
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