# What is the origin/evolution of chopsticks?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-evolution-of-chopsticks/261028>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 23, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-evolution-of-chopsticks/261028 "2004-08-23T00:42:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-evolution-of-chopsticks/261028/21 "2004-08-23T18:16:08Z")

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Just to add another datapoint, my Brother (aged 12) can’t use a knife and fork. He so rarely uses them that he hasn’t mastered it.

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**Author:** ![nonpolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@nonpolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonpolar)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-evolution-of-chopsticks/261028/22 "2004-08-23T18:26:10Z")

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> [@Shalmanese](#):
>
> Just to add another datapoint, my Brother (aged 12) can’t use a knife and fork. He so rarely uses them that he hasn’t mastered it.

Hey you right, we eat actually most of our food with hands (pizza ,burgers,burritos ,subs etc)at least in sophisticated USA/Canada we do.

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**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-evolution-of-chopsticks/261028/23 "2004-08-23T19:14:28Z")

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> [@nonpolar](#):
>
> I have question :how many trees have to be cut to make chopsticks? ,I guess a lot.

From [here](http://greennature.com/article565.html)

> [@](#):
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> Environmentalists in China are campaigning to significantly reduce the number of disposable wooden chopsticks used in the country from the current annual number of 45 billion pairs.
> 
> …
> 
> Over 25 million trees are used each year in chopstick manufacturing, a number that could result in the total loss of China’s forests within a decade, environmentalists say.

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