From Fingers to Forks The Evolution of Dining Etiquette
Have you ever feasted on chicken wings, your hands stained with barbecue sauce, and thought, Why don’t we just eat everything like this? As it turns out, we did — people only started eating their meals with cutlery fairly recently. Many cultures around the world still eat primarily with their hands. So, why are placemats adorned with forks, spoons, and knives commonplace today? To find out, we have to get our hands dirty — because the history of cutlery, much like the history of civilization, is complex, nuanced, and full of gossip. BIG SPOON LITTLE SPOON Perhaps unsurprisingly, spoons are the oldest examples of cutlery people used consistently for millennia. After all, what good is a fine pot of communal soup without a spoon to eat it with? Likewise, knives have always been used to cut up meat and prepare our
meals, but only the advent of individualized meals rather than buffet-style brought along the advent of dinner knives.
on. Royals increasingly ate with cutlery and became weary of dirtying their hands with their food. By the 1800s, cutlery was widespread in the Western world,
Forks, however, are an altogether newer invention. Although large serving forks can be traced as far
and today, most people and establishments serve meals with silverware!
ANTIQUITY — MAKING A COMEBACK
back as Ancient Egypt, the individual, smaller version has its roots in the Byzantine Empire. Around one thousand years ago, the Byzantine noblewoman Theodora Doukaina brought a golden fork to her wedding feast in Venice. It
There’s a reason movie theater popcorn doesn’t
come with a popcorn spoon and your favorite burger joint doesn’t offer sporks; some food is meant to be eaten with your hands. While most sit-down meals will always be the domain of the cutlery-wielding elite, finger food isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and if history has any say, it never will.
became quite controversial among the Italians, with many shunning the novel tool as posh and overly decadent. However, as royals began to intermarry, the fork gradually caught
Fluffy’s Heroic Deed Saves a Veteran
In 2020, Ron Williams, a Korean War veteran in his mid-80s, lived alone. His only lifeline was his Life Alert, a small device designed to alert healthcare officials if an emergency occurred. That was until he was gifted a black-and- white spotted cat named Fluffy. From the moment they met, it was clear the two would make a perfect pair. But what Ron didn’t know was that he had been given more than a companion — he had been given a savior. FELINE FRIEND While Ron did not have many people to talk to, he did have Fluffy. The two shared mostly one-sided conversations, likely interspersed with the occasional meow. Whenever Ron received a call on his cellphone, he got in the habit of saying, “Ring-a-ding.” While the two shared a deep bond, Ron never considered that Fluffy was actually listening. “I just fell in love with him,” Ron said of Fluffy in an interview with FOX17 in Michigan. As it turned out, Fluffy loved him back. FLUFFY TO THE RESCUE One fateful day, at around 8 a.m., Ron slipped and fell on his way out of the shower. He landed on his arm, which became pinned under him. His Life Alert, which he had relied upon for situations like this, was charging in the other room. His cell phone, his only other means of calling for help,
was on the bathroom counter, out of reach. The hours ticked away, and Ron lay in agonizing pain on the bathroom floor. At just past midnight the next day, Ron had an idea. Fluffy had wandered into the bathroom to check on his friend. “Ring-a-ding,” Ron told him, and Fluffy knew to retrieve his phone and bring it to him. Ron was able to call for help in time to save his life. Fluffy’s quick thinking prevented tragedy. This heroic act is a great reminder that our pets care — and listen — more than we may ever give them credit for.
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