Funny facts of chopsticks

Best Chopsticks presents new facts about chopsticks, including facts about history, current issues, interesting tidbits, and more.

Almost one-third of the world uses chopsticks every day, about as many as use a knife and fork. Chopsticks were developed about 5,000 years ago in ancient China. Their use spread to other Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam between 250-550 AD.

The Han dynasty historian Sima Qian writes that chopsticks were known before the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BCE) but there is no textual or archeological evidence to support this statement. The earliest evidence is six chopsticks, made of bronze, 26 cm (10 inches) long and 1.1 to 1.3 cm (0.43 to 0.51 inches) wide, excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang (Henan) and dated roughly to 1200 BCE; those were supposed to be used for cooking. The earliest known textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi, a philosophical text written by Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE) in the 3rd century BCE.

In early Chinese dynasties, emperors used silver chopsticks thinking they would turn dark if they came into contact with the poison. Silver chopsticks were highly prized and if a commoner was caught using them they would be imprisoned or sometimes executed.

Each year about 60-80 billion disposable chopsticks are used every year consuming the equivalent of 20 million trees. China is encouraging its citizens to switch to using non-disposable chopsticks and silverware to stem deforestation.

Chopsticks hold an important place in Japanese Buddhist funerals. A pair of chopsticks stuck upright in a bowl of rice and placed on the altar as an offering to the spirit of a deceased relative. Virtually all bodies are cremated and family members participate using chopsticks to retrieve remaining bones transferring them to an urn. They do this in pairs, two people retrieving a bone piece together. Because of this, it is taboo for two people to grab the same piece of food at the dinner table.

Chopsticks have been made from a variety of materials including wood, bamboo, bone, ivory, silver, bronze, horn and ceramic. Today chopsticks are also made of glass, carbon fiber and titanium.

Each country or region has its own style of chopsticks. Chinese chopsticks are very long and typically square in the handle and round in the tip. Japanese chopsticks are shorter and taper gracefully from handle to tip. Korean chopsticks are stainless steel and flat like the handle of a spoon.

Modern surgical techniques are increasingly using tools inspired by chopsticks to perform less invasive surgery. Chopsticks are successfully used by pickpockets to steal wallets and mobile phones. Used disposable chopsticks are being repurposed into furniture, baskets and one man has even made a canoe.

And finally, the fear of chopsticks is called ‘Consecotaleophobia.’

For those seeking more fun and fascinating stories and facts, there is a website devoted to chopsticks news and information at All About Chopsticks on BestChopsticks.com.

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Best Chopsticks(Mingzhu Houseware)(https://www.mzchopsticks.com) has been a leading Manufacturer & Supplier of chopsticks since 2007, specializing in good quality chopsticks.