Forks, a short history of the youngest utensil, and various other human habits

Fork – derived from the Latin, Furca - meaning pitchfork

-The fork was not commonly used in Europe until the 10th century – although its origin is certainly earlier – one imagines men in the very early civilizations, even as hunter-gatherers, holding meat over a fire with a pronged stick or similar tool. The question of why the Fork did not in fact become popular earlier is rather mysterious in my opinion….
-Archaeological records show that the Ancient Greeks had forks, although it’s not clear as to how often or during which occasions they actually used them. The fork is mentioned in the Old Testament, in the Book of Samuel, ("The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the fresh flesh was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand...” 2 : 13 -
-Bone forks have been found in the Archeological records of the Qijia dynasty and later dynasties in China – and the Romans probably used some version of the fork from the 2nd century AD.
-Before the fork was introduced, the spoon and knife were the only utensils used for eating – although generally people were reliant on their hands to rip apart meat and bring food to their mouths.
T-heophanu, the Byzantine wife of Emperor Otto the 2nd is said have introduced the use of forks in Western Europe in the 10th century – although her ‘delicacy’ and strange manner of eating were chastised by many in the Royal Court…
-By the 11th century, the table fork had made its way to Italy…it became quite popular by the 14th century, and was commonly used for eating by merchant and upper classes by 1600 - It was proper for a guest to arrive to a dinner party with his own fork and spoon enclosed in a box called a cadena; this usage was introduced to the French court with Catherine de' Medici's entourage…
-The adoption of the Fork in Northern Europe was slow –it was generally seen as unmanly! Some members of the Roman Catholic Church expressly disapproved of its use –seeing it as an excessive delicacy…and very effeminate!
-In the 17th century the fork begins to be used in England –although at this point only by upper classes, nobility, etc…. The Clergy opposed and protested its use as sacrilege – apparently because it provided a substitute for the ever so delightful digits that God gave us….



From The Book Of Wonders
Why Do People Shake Hands With the Right Hand?

In the days of very long ago when all men were prepared to fight at any and all times because one could not know whether another approaching was a friend or an enemy, all men went armed. This was before the day of guns when the sword was the great weapon of defense.
Upon occasion when one man approached another, each had to decide whether the other came on a peaceful mission or not. People in those days were mostly right handed as they are now and when fighting carried their swords in their right hands. If, then, a man wished to speak with a stranger, or, as might easily be necessary, to one who may even be known to be unfriendly, he put out his right hand upon approaching to show that he had no deadly or dangerous weapon in it. The other man could see this and knew from the extended open hand that no harm was intended and that the approach was peaceful. If, then, he was willing to meet the other, he also extended his right arm with the hand open to show him who was approaching that his fighting hand was empty also; and when they met each would grasp the hand of the other so that neither one could change his mind and assume a fighting attitude without the other having an equal warning.

What Are Ghosts?
The idea of ghosts is the result of a mistake of the brain or an attempt to account for something of which we see the results, but have no actual knowledge. There are no ghosts. There are no ghosts.

There are many forces at work in the world of which we know nothing as yet. Many of the wonderful things that occur in the world are as yet mysteries to the mind of man. Every little while man discovers one of these new forces, and then he is able to understand many things plainly which were up to then surrounded with mystery and in the minds of superstitious people attributed to spirits or ghosts. Long before we understood as much as we do now of the workings of electricity (and they say we know only a little of its wonders as yet) many of the natural wonders produced by electricity were attributed to ghosts. Most of the marvelous tales of the wonders performed by and visits from ghosts are the result of disturbances of the brain in the people who think they see the ghosts and the results of their work.
A creature without imagination does not pretend to see or believe in ghosts. Man is the only animal which possesses the ability to imagine things and so the ghosts we hear about are the creatures of the disturbed brains of men….

Why Are Cooking Utensils Made of Tin?

Tin is the least important of the six useful metals. It is also inferior in many ways to the others in this group of elements, but is tougher than lead and will make a better wire, though not a really good one. It has a whiteness and a luster that are not tarnished by ordinary temperature and is cheap. That is why it is used in making cooking utensils, pans, etc., and for roofs. But the pans, roofs, etc., are not pure tin. They are thin sheets of iron coated with tin. Pure tin would not be strong enough for these purposes, so a sheet of iron is first taken to supply the strength and then covered with tin to improve the appearance of the tin pans and keep them from rusting rapidly.

Why Do Girls Like Dolls?

Girls like dolls because they come into the world for the purpose of becoming mothers and the love which they display for dolls is the mother instinct which begins to show itself early in life. To the little girl the doll is a make-believe child. It satisfies her as long as there are no really babies to take its place, but any little girl will drop her dollie if she is given an opportunity to play at dolls with a real live baby instead. This is a very interesting fact in connection with the human race. Boys sometimes play with dolls, but not so often, and any kind of a boy will give up playing with a doll as soon as a toy engine or some other boy’s toy appears for him. A boy has certain mannish instincts which a girl has not. We have many other instincts besides the instinct of parenthood and each of them has its origin in some certain kind of feeling which is born within us and is capable of development along interesting lines.

What Is Worry?

Worry is a feeling of fear, but is never of the present. It is always about something that may happen or that has happened. It is generally in the future, sometimes in the past, but never in the present (????)
An animal that knows neither future nor past cannot worry. Babies, living only as they do in the present, cannot worry. All creatures, excepting human beings, live only in the present and therefore they do not worry, for such creatures cannot remember what happened in the past or guess what is going to happen. A human being after arriving at a certain age is give such powers that his mind can go back to the past and cast itself forward into the future as he thinks it will be, because he has imagination. As a matter of fact we live less in the present that in the past or future.
Lola R.Thompson