Who Invented Spoons, Forks, and Knives?

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Now that you know who invented spoons, forks and knives check out this video and find out about That Time the Inventor of the Whac-A-Mole Accidentally Blew Up His Warehouse: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5PQY5d4j915hKc

[@edwin7126]

So who actually invented cutlery ?

[@stalinsmum6475]

I believe that Louis XIV of France bathed regularly, and that story about him not bathing is false, perhaps propaganda. His grandson made a huge bath in Versilles but before that water woukd be heated and brought in.

[@thomasjw5]

Those shirt buttons are stronger than my relationships

[@Ronsonpeters]

Thomas W except it does fit, like it's not hugging his sides? These buttons are confusing me, but I do have some shirts that do that no matter what. Maybe it's just his chest. Which I don't mind lol

[@Tom-ef1mz]

and your relationships are stronger than mine... :((

[@keriezy]

Thomas W I think they're trying for the first real reason to have 3-D KZbin. *points screen away from face

[@davidfrancis6727]

Thomas W it's a sweater

[@thomasjw5]

David Francis Oh shit I just got fucking roasted!

[@Kieshaleigh]

You guys are constantly answering questions I had no idea I wanted answered. This is awesome!

[@jacquelinezanders683]

6:52 "However, knives weren't domesticated or fashioned exclusively for table use until the Bourbon dynasty in France." ...For some reason when he said "domesticated" I instinctually started imagining some dudes running around in an open field trying to tame wild running knives.

[@zollen123]

@@alexander-mauricemillamlae4567 They were attracted by the smells of cooked meat.

[@b-ryefitz7853]

Can we get a history of multiple shirt sizes

[@keriezy]

Brian Fitzpatrick haha

[@_Super_Hans_]

I don't think Simon has any expertise on this subject

[@aaronsmith5864]

Brian Fitzpatrick maybe he's just super buff under that shirt and he wants people to know

[@BibleStudent4U]

During the US Civil War forks were still considered too dainty for most of the soldiers to use for eating and usually only officers carried mess kits that included forks. The rank and file used extra wide knives that were rounded at the tip to scoop their food like a spoon. You can still commonly find such cutlery today in old silver sets.

[@user-vz8rl5tq4u]

Who ever invented the 'spork' deserves a reach-around.

[@lindah6954]

KFC still holds the rights to the spork. lol

[@ikmnification5737]

Everyone: Does Simon whistle? Simon: ummm....eating utensils!

[@tedgordon5381]

Simon man! Watching this video and compared to your more recent ones I can see how you have matured. Like a good wine, you’ve gotten better with time

[@stuckinaconstant7132]

I love how Theodora from the Byzantine Empire brought forks, but the usage of forks in the Byzantine empire and to Greece before the Byzantine Empire isn't even mentioned.

[@JailanSimon]

I want to know who created the layout for keyboards we use today

[@mahraba874]

Jailan Simon go Simon

[@lukasschmidt2478]

Jailan Simon Just search for "qwerty" on google.

[@revmpandora]

Lukas Schmidt then search 'dvorak' for an alternate keyboard layout.

[@TodayIFoundOut]

There you go :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXqUd5KZbbKDjMU

[@lukasschmidt2478]

Then search for the alphabet

[@patrickwienhoft7987]

0:40 wrong text?

[@Ronsonpeters]

Patrick Wienhöft saw that glad someone saw it

[@ColinKeenan]

Yeah. It's at both 0:37 and 4:37. It only belongs at 4:37. Maybe it'll be fixed?

[@Knight_Astolfo]

Yeah, I had to pause and read it. Then I was just like, "ok, maybe he's getting around to that point."

[@Tomyb15]

Why do we eat 3 main meals a day? Where did it come from and when?

[@JonathanSmyth5]

metabolism

[@jimmym3352]

@@JonathanSmyth5 I eat 2 meals a day

[@JonathanSmyth5]

@@jimmym3352 no way!

[@stalinsmum6475]

@@jimmym3352 I don’t eat. Starving is way more fun.

[@osamabindiesel3389]

It was just one of those weird things that came from upper class people in medieval europe. They thought having seperate meals at certain times of day makes them more sophisticated and now it’s a thing adopted all over the world. Not exactly a bad thing, just unnecessary for the most part

[@lewisarcher5117]

I've always wondered who invented toothpaste? and what promted them to figure it out? Also what people used before toothpaste, like what did the Egyptions/Romans/Greeks and people before them do about their teeth?

[@lewisarcher5117]

just found out that the Egyptians are believed to be the first people to use a paste to clean their teeth!! the more you know..

[@DodiTov]

One thing I can tell you is that in the US, there were tooth powders. One was made by Colgate and it was spearmint flavored and very popular. It was a regular thing throughout the 1950's and early 60's. There were even commercials for it. You tipped a bit out of the can into your palm and dipped a damp toothbrush into the powder. It foamed a bit and that's how you brushed with it. The ease of a paste was that you didn't get your hands involved in the brushing process. Google up Ipana, Pepsodent, and Colgate histories and you might find your answer.

[@aturchomicz821]

they used Taback

[@Arcsinner]

People in the past had less problems with their teeth as we would imagine. They consumed virtually no sugar (coca cola, ice cream, sugared tea, ...) and therefore caries and so on was not really an issue. If we go even further back in history (hunters and gatherers), people back then had even less dental problems. They did not eat bread, which contains starch and other things that stick to your teeth and has a lot of energy (that feeds bacteria in your mouth). So bad teeth are only really a problem due to modern diet

[@chat427]

charcoal and salt

[@devskiiis13]

I just heard the word "spoons" so many times that it lost meaning and now I'm questioning my sanity

[@nothanks3330]

I randomly wondered this and it comforts me that ppl have already thought and figured this out

[@loser-by-choice1269]

And I'm over here eating a sandwich and chips with my hands like some sort of savage.

[@owinoakhart6725]

An intelligent channel for intelligent people. The amount of research you guys do is what makes the difference. Bravo.

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Thanks :-)

[@theoriginaledi]

Ok, here are some questions for you: When we say that people of a certain era "rarely bathed", what does that really mean? Did they never wash themselves at all? Did they only wash particularly visible parts more regularly? Or maybe particularly stinky parts? Or something else? I know it's because I'm just used to being clean, but I feel absolutely miserable (sticky, stinky, itchy, etc) when I'm dirty. Were people in those times miserable all the time or were they used to it? I guess they also had to deal with things like fleas and lice more than we do, so maybe they took itching in stride. In any case, I'm really interested in the details of this subject.

[@keziahschuler2617]

In Europe, baths had always been associated with the Roman baths, which after a while came to be places of ill-repute, and given that Europe was mostly Christain, they thought it was a sin to take baths. Usually, people only had one bath in their lifetime, when they were baptized as babies. Many people, often rich women would carry around strong perfumes and fragrant bunches of flowers to mask the stink. Poorer people just ignored the stink and the bugs, they were usually too drunk to notice anyway.

[@Albukhshi]

@ 1:48 fun fact: the Jannissary cap's brass front was supposed to be a nod to the first Janissaries and their habit of tying spoons to the front of their headgear (this symbolized comradeship: you ate with your comrades in arms, and died with them).

[@crovax1375]

I can't help but think about the part in Mel Brooks "History of the World Part 1". When the cavemen are holding meat over a fire with there bare hands , in obvious agony. And then when one of the caveman skewers the meat with a stick. And the rest of the cavemen gasp in amazement!

[@picolete]

Chinese invent the fork, an now they use chopsticks

[@东皇太一-k7y]

@Randi M Roble in the past ,using chopsticks means you are noble or high class while using folks and knife is too low....

[@willcomedevil3916]

chopsticks can do manything fork can not do. its the most useful tool to use!

[@red-nb3lj]

@@nigelmarvin1387 after two years, i give you WHY the Chinese move on from fork to chopsticks. Simple answer is because chopsticks is easy to get and useful. Because at that time there are no such metal or plastic fork. And they are more hard to make than chopsticks, so if someone need to eat at any place but didn't bring the chopsticks with them, so they just need to find small tree branches to made it. So they left behind fork.

[@pigeon2503]

@MrBigEnchilada but with a fork you can cut meat (even without a knife section to the fork, depending on the meat) while chopsticks ... can't really? I also can't see what chopsticks can achieve that forks can't, for noodles you poke the fork in and twist, and that works just as well, for anything that requires picking up, you poke with the fork and that works better and more accurately than having to learn the delicate balance of the chopsticks What am I missing with the functionality of the chopsticks?

[@torinjones3221]

Alternatively we could all accept that knives are superior to both forks and chop sticks as you can cut and stab with a knife.

[@cgcanada88]

How about an episode about the Turkish - Cypriot conflict and the Turkish invasion of 1974? Few people outside Cyprus, Greece and Turkey know about this and each side has its own version. I would love an independent and impartial view of historical facts. Love your videos Simon, they are part of my daily routine! Cheers!

[@brightbulb9778]

Excellent, fast paced, informative presentation. Thank you!

[@Lyndiloo]

Now I know why people gave us spoons when I had a baby. It also explains some odd decor choices I've seen... tiny spoon collections seemed super weird.

[@meatystew5088]

De Medici is pronounced "De Medichi" since it is an Italian name

[@meatystew5088]

Assassins Creed 2 was fucking sweet

[@ganaraminukshuk0]

"Forks were an insult to God. You have perfectly good natural forks: your fingers. Why not use those?" Oh my fork, really?!

[@Butt_Slayer]

Bonus Fact: Aluminium cutlery was more expensive than gold cutlery when Napoleon was knocking about.

[@614BlueBerry]

Do a video about Chop sticks please! Always been curious why they chose 2 sticks over anything else lol.

[@MrTuffarts]

No mention of the great Aussie invention the Splayd, not to be confused with the spork, it has a dull blade on one side

[@StellariumCelestia]

Should we start calling Simon 'The Beard of Knowledge'?

[@What-ef8wj]

Something about this reminded me of the bald eagle...

[@andythrust1]

Who invented buttons should be his personal favorite. His nickname must be "Too Tight Timmy"

[@sarahkuhr420]

Queen Elisabeth 1 popularized bathing when she had her bathtub taken with her on "progress". Her servants had to heat water for her daily baths which were thought to be insane. She also forbid her court to see her at any time unless they bathed first. She had a sensitive nose and could not tolerate body odor.The rest of Europe was stinky at the time. In fact infectious diseases were terrible because of unsanitary conditions. Peasants may have bathed more frequently than the upper classes. Queen Elisabeth 1 also popularized forks during her time, much to the disgust of many of her courtiers who couldn't understand what was wrong with knives and spoons. She lived to be 70 years old, a veritable ancient person in her time.

[@KabirPankaj]

How have I not thought of this ?

[@CaptTerrific]

Kabir Pankaj i know, right!?

[@_Super_Hans_]

because you're a forking idiot

[@hydrolito]

Tri means 3 so 3 pronger is called a trident. Four pronger of course is fork. Bi means 2 so is 2 pronger a bident or a bik?

[@KnowArt]

Can you tell how you research all this stuff? Just google or...?

[@ryanbeer8949]

Why do worms crawl to the sidewalks after it rains?

[@marfisilva]

Ryan Beer I've seen that too but only with heavy rain. I think they'll suffocate since all the little spaces between soil particles would be filled with water, but... why do they go to side walk and not only to the surface of the soil they are in??? 🤔🤔

[@ryanbeer8949]

Thats what i was thinking. I find them on the sidewalk or out in the middle of a parking lot. Why not borrow father underground or just to the surface and not on to cement. That's what i am hoping Simon can find out :-D

[@thunderball11111]

Ryan Beer QQ

[@jerotoro2021]

I think all worms surface, crawl for a bit on the surface, and then dig down again. The ones that found their way on to a hard surface cannot dig back down... and those are the ones you see dying on side walks. All the rest of them managed to dig back down and live (if a bird didn't find them, anyway).

[@JeffKing310]

Ryan Beer because they cannot breath underground when the ground is wet

[@LycanWitch]

I am surprised you only Mentioned Gold and Silver were reserved for Upper Class, but didn't mention Aluminum as before industrial innovations in the later half of the 1800s with the ease to extract aluminum more cheaply from ore, Aluminum before then was more valuable than Gold and Silver. For example, Emperor Napoleon III reserved a prized set of aluminum cutlery for special guests at banquets (Less favored guests used gold knives and forks). Aluminum bars were also kept in vaults along side the Crown Jewels of numerous nations.

[@lauriemclean1131]

So I found out some years ago when I ate at a "Medieval Times" dinner theatre in Myrtle Beach, SC. When I asked for some cutlery, the person who was serving my dinner informed me that cutlery had not yet been invented in that time period.

[@ashleyhyatt6319]

Louis also suffered from a ruptured anal fistula that reeked of pus and faeces. The royal barber miraculously performed a successful operation to treat the fistula, which later led to the operation becoming fashionable regardless of whether one was a sufferer or not.

[@rabidfurify]

The more I learn about French court culture during this period the more I am amazed that anyone actually lived through it

[@generalpopcorn6427]

IKR. They also sprayed themselves with a lead-based powder. Come to think of it, doesn't lead cause insanity?

[@chicoarraes]

the ale also helped you to "accidentally" stab the annoying baron who keeps making comments on your wig

[@HamsnetworkOrg]

Cool! Thanks for answering the question I posed in the comments on your chopsticks video!

[@MrMegaPussyPlayer]

Also not long ago I came across a lately made TV show (of supposed educational character) that suggested we go back to the twice a lifetime bathing / washing habit ... also because of health reasons. They said on the skin are living bacteria that normally would prevent any kind skin condition and (strong) body odor, but only growing slowly (takes 6 weeks to fully cover the body, even with help of daily use of starter kits) but washed away by first contact of water. After 5 weeks he (was also staying at a guest family) was only allowed in the gazebo (a few dozen feet away from the house), because the stench was so unbearable. (he was not allowed to go in in any enclosed space, not even the garden shack) Which (according to the show) then dropped off after week 6, so that in week 7 (last week of experiment) was allowed back in. Or that is at least what they said (and I don't believe a single word from).

[@bobbyharper8710]

It is noted that the Americans are still using their fingers to eat their hamburgers and fries along with fried chicken and any sort of fruits. Anyone using forks and spoons would be quickly ridiculed.

[@tracytracyWM]

I love this channel

[@humblesoldier5474]

Never have I been so happy to be alive in this time period. How humans managed to get through such a poor hygiene area is impressive, but ugh I've been around people who don't bath, and I can't get away fast enough. I'm polite if I have to hold conversation, but the bath, and soap are the greatest inventions ever created.

[@bswift1991]

Some of the overlay text in this video shows at the wrong time or just cuts off weirdly. Unusually sloppy for TIFO =P I'm just messing, keep up the awesome work guys

[@Weltz.z]

I want to know in the UK, why there is a constant watershed on the radio (No profanity at all) but after 9pm the watershed on the television goes off (so they can swear). why does radio not adopt this?

[@carsonking5549]

Simon, stop being comfortable, stop eating crap, you look like the Incredible Hulk. Great video, loved the bonus facts.

[@elicasey3967]

brilliant, informative, articulate. congratulations on the excellence of presentation.

[@agxec2932]

Peter Damian describes Maria Agrya - the inventor of fork and knife eating “Such was the luxury of her habits that she scorned even to wash herself in the common water, obliging her servants instead to collect the dew that fell from the heavens for her to bathe in. Nor did she deign 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. . . . this woman’s vanity was hateful to Almighty God; and so, unmistakably, did He take his revenge. For He raised over her the sword of His divine justice, so that her whole body did putrefy and all her limbs began to wither.”

[@flyingninja1234]

Fun fact cannibals of Papua New Guinea, used wooden forks for eating.

[@Unirule]

I went from studying to looking to background music to eventually this. And I wonder why my homework takes hours.

[@Backroad_Junkie]

Does anyone else think that in 30 years Simon will look just like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons? If they ever do a live action version of the Simpsons, he'll be a lock for the part... :) (Just kidding, in case he actually reads this comment. HAhahahahaha...)

[@landinjor]

Just when the sweaters starting fitting right, now it's the button-downs!

[@richardnewbold9153]

I liked this one a lot. I'm not sure why; the content was no more spectacular than other episodes. Oh the thing about the fork having a negative stigma shows up out of sequence at 0:39

[@Akumac4]

What happens to confidential documents after security disposal companies shred them? What's to stop someone putting the shreds together? Do they burn them or turn them into pulp to be remade into new paper? Or does it just go into a landfill?

[@almostcertain6537]

At 4:00 : Not every mention of something in the Bible is a stamp of approval on the object or its use. With regard to the use of forks cited from 1 Samuel 2:13-14, that practice was actually the way that the evil priests (sons of Eli) would steal the offerings that worshippers were making to God. Granted, this is an abuse of a fork (itself morally neutral), but that might have been why forks were looked on somewhat suspiciously. "Thieves use forks, so maybe they are kind of creepy."

[@richadams4564]

wow.... That is A LOT of cutlery knowledge!! great video!

[@edwin7126]

The use of cutlery doesn't tell us who actually invented cutlery .

[@adityayuwono2255]

What about shovels then ? which came first, the spoon or the shovel ?

[@ColinKeenan]

Text incorrectly shows up at 0:37, having nothing to do with what's being talked about, and then shows up later (correctly) at 4:37.

[@TucsonKhan]

What I want to know is, what is that plate and cutlery set that keeps being shown, like at 7:39? It looks super cool!

[@davidbradley6040]

Who invented the very tight buttoned shirt?

[@kevin7rxxx346]

🤣🤣🤣

[@TheJanitorIsIn]

The guy who spoke about God abhorring forks sounds like Jonathan Swift or some other British parodist.

[@camgood2437]

interesting. I never knew Kings used to wield their mighty spoons of Christ.

[@MultiSciGeek]

Could you do another video on Medieval hygiene and hygiene throughout history and different places on earth in general? Like where do these ideas come from and how they developed.

[@AvailableUsernameTed]

Well that was nice of Queen Isabel to bathe that one time for her husband Ferdinand. Lucky guy.

[@danielgoodrich264]

Additional bonus fact the spork is the result of a drunken one night stand between a spoon and a fork.

[@MichaelHowell]

"Forks in the western world continue to carry this negative stigma due to their association with eastern decadence." 0:41 I think somebody got the call-out text mixed up.

[@M-20-100]

There’s an old joke in France that the average French person bathes only 3 times in their lifetime: Once when they are baptised; once when they are about to get married; and once for their funeral. In other words, they bathe *voluntarily* only once!

[@csreiter]

Everyone in here picking at Simon, but he's a well handsome chap.

[@honesttroll6332]

Yet ppl say I'm disgusting for not always bathing on my weekend...

[@SlobboVideo]

I absolutely refuse to believe that one can stand not bathing for more than a year. Especially if they have no trouble getting a bath. It's literally impossible for me to avoid bathing for more than 4 days.

[@jasonbowman9669]

Ummm how did people prevent getting galded if they didn't wash? Like in the USA here we tend to wipe with toilet paper and that can get you through on day but after then, well delicate parts get "sore" if you don't wash and in the summer areas like the thigh can get sweat trapped there but washing every day easily remedies what could potentially turn into an infection in like say a week or a month depending on bacteria level. I think if I didn't wash for a month my man parts would be red and swollen and nasty.

[@thomasmann9216]

Loved the bonus facts.

[@davidbuschhorn6539]

I've never found a naturally spoon-like rock. Handle or no.

[@jjc5475]

did you ever look for one?

[@davidbuschhorn6539]

I. Never. Stop. :-)

[@scottandrewhutchins]

A coworker told me he saw a medieval movie in the 1960s in which people were introduced to forks and balked at using them. He thought it might be The Lion in Winter (it isn't). Anyone know?

[@Scout-Fanfiction]

I get the sense that Simon wanted to wash his hands of the content in the video once it was done (especially the part about Louie the 14th not bathing).

[@Netasuke]

Can you do an episode on the orgin of bows or guns? Who and where were they made first?

[@joshuawangadi1710]

Finally! I've been wondering this for quite a while, but I'm too lazy to do the research. Thanks for the video and research!

[@LizzyMarieTina]

I sit here while being freshly bathed and eating my breakfast with a fork. lol.

[@denelson83]

"You call that a knife? This 🥄 is a knife!"

[@scabbynack]

@6:45 love how much of a knife guy you are!

[@quiquaequod322]

Nice video. Thank you. I'm curious about Eastern eating utensils. Chopsticks, of course, but also spoons for soup, and the shallow, saucer-like cups used for drinking. Why the differences, and who uses what eating implements on a global basis? Cheers.

[@XYGamingRemedyG]

Can I get a hell yeah for the "Master Spoon"? Breath of the Wild releases in 2 days, baby!! #NintendoSwitch

[@kevin7rxxx346]

Heck yeah

[@TheTexas1994]

1:48 that spoon looks like a coffee bean on a stick

[@adrianpintea9675]

Loved the bonus facts on this one.

[@francoislacombe9071]

Who invented the hard hat?

[@MrHypnofan]

The story I was taught was that they were invented by the workers who were building the Hoover Dam. To prevent injury by falling rocks in the narrow canyon, they dipped their standard workers caps in tar and let it harden.

[@sintanan469]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[@jojojiles]

The "Barack" period lol. I love British accents!

[@lindah6954]

I can imagine how pissed off people would be trying to eat spaghetti with a spoon. lol

[@CandyRayne]

I personally love the titanium spork

[@deadfreightwest5956]

And remember what Yogi Berra said, "when you come to a fork in the road, you take it."

[@tuckerallen1421]

Everything has changed. And yet, nothing has changed.

[@benjohnson3104]

0:40 and 4:40, Looks like someone made a mistake with the background text. Otherwise, I enjoyed the video, a nice answer to a question I didn't know I'd like an answer to.

[@buffypython]

0:39 Why is that paragraph about forks there when you're talking about spoons & it's completely unrelated?

[@josephkrager4180]

Would have loved a bonus fact about 'chop sticks' or maybe a new video on the subject...?

[@JamesPawson]

And now in our steadily more and more pussified society, sharp knives are becoming much less common. I've had roommates and been to many homes where all they have are extremely dull knives-- even for food prep. When I offer to sharpen their knives, they look at me like I am from another planet. I would watch them saw and pry and struggling to cut meat and vegetables, and still they'd refuse my offer. It's bizarre.

[@Poodleinacan]

Never bathing..... Once you pull down your pants, the whole kingdom becomes aware of it.

[@pifie]

Why are animals mostly symettrical from left to right but not top to bottom?

[@hezechiahjones8365]

pifie Because you don't need legs on your head.

[@LughSummerson]

Because food goes in one end and out the other. Animals evolved from worm-like tubes. Adaptations formed that got more food to go into the front hole.