Last night, I was chatting with Suzie and a few friends over drinks when the topic of sporks came up. Initially I thought it was just a fobby slip of the tongue. But no, I did hear right. Sporks actually do exist! Apparently, this ingenious utensil is deeply enmeshed in American culture… and I’ve been completely unaware. My friend’s girlfriend Nadia told me that while she was that growing up, the spork was her must-have lunch box utensil.
So for you fobs that are clueless about this American phenomenon: a spork is a hybrid between a spoon and a fork. It’s pretty handy for those too lazy to switch between spoons and forks.
Its origins are a bit hazy, but Wiki says sporks have apparently been mass manufactured since the late 1800s. Samuel W. Francis issued a US patent for one of the earliest forms of the spork in 1874.
For spork fans out there, I found a Facebook fan group that celebrates the genius of Spork. Join it today!
(Thanks to Lu who inspired the spork discussion! It’s apparently the only cutlery he has in his house.)
