CONSIDER THE FORK

“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.