fork

 

I got this when randomizing a question to put it on my profile, but then i reckoned that it was an interesting one so why not blog about it. My first thought was ofc no, but then i got curious and did a research about the evolution of forks and here we are!

To answer the question, no, forks aren't evolved from spoons. Actually, fork designs haven't changed drastically from when it's first seen/created to now! And forks have been around for a very long time, just not as cutlery. 

Its first creations were found in China (yeah, not Europe, surprising right?) by archaeologists in the shape of two-pronged forks. Apparently, they were used during the Bronze Age but no one really knew what their purpose -- cooking, serving, eating, or hunting -- was, as there is barely any documentation about this.

Later on, forks were used widely in ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt, but mainly for carving and lifting meat; they still didn't have a place on the dining table (how sad). It was until the 11th century when a Byzantine princess, Maria Argyra, used a two-pronged golden fork to eat and refused to use her fingers did the use of forks in dining become more known, not in a good way tho. Maria's actions caused a scandal to the conservative members. People from that time believed that hands were gifted from God to do things and to eat, so her refusal to get her hands dirty was seen as arrogant and vain, quoted by a man "Such was the luxury of her habits … [that] she deigned not to touch her food with her fingers, but would command her eunuchs to cut it up into small pieces, which she would impale on a certain golden instrument with two prongs and thus carry to her mouth." And later when Maria died from the plague, that man even regarded it as "a punishment from God for her vanity", now this is why men suck, but i digress.

Forks were also viewed as evil because it resembled the devil's pitchforks which led to even more skepticism by those who feared God.

Their first appearance as cutlery was in 13th in a cookbook as a mean of picking up slippery lasagne! Then by the 15th century, forks appeared more in Italian cookbooks, making them common use. But that was only the Italian, later, thanks to Catherine de Medici, Italian wife of King Henry II, that forks become popular in the French court when she brought a bunch of silver forks with her. From there, the common use of forks spread all Europe and then to countries colonized by Europe.

Anyways that was it, there were a few details that i didn't mention for the sake of this blog's length (yes i wrote this myself and didn't copy anything except the quote), but hey it was pretty interesting tho, to me atleast! I don't think anyone would actually read this lol, 

okay stay safe and love yourself  <3

ruby's out!!

P/S. The question and short answer are still on my profile !