Talk:Spork

An event mentioned in this article is an August 11 selected anniversary

Best. Wikipedia. Article. Ever.

I'm pretty sure the spork was introduced to a wider audience by KFC. I remember them being a part of their standard service when I was a kid in the late 1970s, when some were still called Scott's Chicken Villa (which I believe was the original Canadian company that did a reverse takeover of KFC, dunno for sure). The rest of the Yum lineup is much newer, Scott's go back to the 60's at least.

Given that the OED records a 1909 usage of the term Spork, I'd say that the rumoured origin is pretty much incorrect --Imran

Is this in the most recent supplement to the OED? I have not seen it. -- IHCOYC

From the online version of the OED. --Imran 11:27, 2 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I removed the references to unsubstantiated rumors. Every reference I can find to sporks in occupied Japan has Gen. MacArthur's named spelled wrong (McArthur). All seem to point back to one comment on the newsgroup some years back. I don't believe this information is encyclopedic at this point. It is probably just another urban legend. If someone can verify it, great, but find a real reference. H2O 08:12, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

The text removed was:

According to a rumor, the spork was invented in the 1940s by the United States Army, which introduced them to occupied Japan. It was hoped that the use of the spork would wean the people there from the use of chopsticks. This pointless hope did not come true; yet the spork that was spurned by the Japanese found a home in the United States of America, where its versatility and disposability were well adapted to the cuisine of the United States.

The truth of the rumour about sporks in occupied Japan is also subject to serious question...

—siro χ o 08:54, Aug 11, 2004 (UTC)