# Behold the spork... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2001, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945 "2001-02-26T18:10:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JoeyBlades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a87d85/32.png) [@JoeyBlades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeyBlades)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/1 "2001-02-26T18:10:17Z")
I debated whether this should go into the GD forum and thought about MPSIMS, but decided it would be pointless to ask it there… As I sit here eating my lunch, I find myself contemplating the meaning of life and other really deep stuff. I wonder why the spork, undeniably the greatest eating utensil known to man, isn’t a staple of fine cutlery. I know this because I’ve been looking for new flatware and note that there is not a spork among any set I’ve seen. Why so? Sporks are infinitely more useful that those little cocktail forks… In fact, the only non-plastic sporks I’ve seen are those wooden salad servers and an old zinc plated army issue thing. So the real question, and yes there is a bit of a serious question here… has anyone seen a proper flatware set that contains sporks? ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/2 "2001-02-26T18:20:53Z")
You might be interested in this Mailbag article: [Why is it so hard to get a good spork?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspork.html) If you count titanium as “proper flatware”, the article references a place to purchase one 🙂 Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/3 "2001-02-26T19:27:27Z")
My parents had something like a spork that came with their flatware set. There was only one of them, so I assume it’s intended for serving and not for eating with (it’s about the size of a tablespoon). Since “spork” is a proprietary name, most flatware manufacturers probably have a different name for them. A [Runcible spoon](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a961108a.html) is something similar, but I couldn’t find any on the Oneida website, so maybe they use yet another name. One site I found says they are popular in Japan. Perhaps you could find a website selling Japanese flatware sets. ---
**Author:** ![Grok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Grok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grok)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/4 "2001-02-26T19:37:18Z")
Ever noticed that sporks are the perfect utensil for eating Ramen noodles? Use a regular spoon and you’ll never get a grip on the slippery suckers. With a spork you get noodles and broth all at once!!! OK, I’m easily impressed… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TwoOnes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@TwoOnes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoOnes)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/5 "2001-02-27T00:53:22Z")
For those looking for an alternate use (or meaning) for the spork try here: [http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/7275/index.html](http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/7275/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![tarnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tarnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarnik)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/6 "2001-02-27T01:40:15Z")
My parents have a fancy Scandinavian silverware set whose forks have a bowl-like head. Something like a cross between the true spork and the fork. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/7 "2001-02-27T04:45:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Ever noticed that sporks are the perfect utensil for eating Ramen noodles? Use a regular spoon and you’ll never get a grip on the slippery suckers. With a spork you get noodles and broth all at once!!! Maybe, but nothing beats the real thing: eating it with cheap wooden chopsticks and drinking the soup straight out of the bowl! ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/8 "2001-02-27T11:06:03Z")
[http://www.rei.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=4884577&prmenbr=8000](http://www.rei.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=4884577&prmenbr=8000) Titanium, baby. ---
**Author:** ![AKAmame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aca169/32.png) [@AKAmame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AKAmame)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/9 "2001-02-27T11:08:27Z")
Are these thingies [http://www.splayds.com/products.html](http://www.splayds.com/products.html) what the US people call sporks? If so, a google search on “splayd” will find you some flatware. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behold-the-spork/55945/10 "2001-02-27T17:03:28Z")
> [@](#): > > My parents have a fancy Scandinavian silverware set whose forks have a bowl-like head. Something like a cross between the true spork and the fork. I think you may have discovered the ever-elusive **foon**.