Fork

A fork is a utensil with prongs. It is a spoon with gaps in it, and it knows it is a fork at all times because it knows it is not a spoon, a fact it is reminded of every time it is used for soup.^[1]

Forks are found in the cutlery drawer, usually under everything else, apart from the one in the sink, which is the one you wanted.

Prongs

Most forks have four prongs, known as tines. A fork with three tines is a fork. A fork with two tines is a carving fork, and a fork with one tine is a stick, which has been tried and is not recommended for peas.^[2]

Utensil classification by number of gaps

Utensil	Gaps	Good for soup
Spoon	0	Yes
Fork	3	No (tested)
Knife	Not applicable	No (do not test)

Fork in the road

A fork in the road is a place where a road splits into two. Advice to “take it” has been described by the Institute of Directions as “not technically wrong”, and led in 1983 to a driver spending three days at a junction near a lamppost.^[3]

Use

• Pasta: twirled, at length.
• Peas: chased around the plate, then given up on.
• Toast: rescued from a toaster, which you should not do.
• Soup: see the table, above.

See also

• Spoon – a fork without the gaps
• Empty glass – also in the kitchen
• Toaster – do not use one on the other
• List of things that are sharp – a list a fork is on, at one end

References

1. Tine, T. (2002). Gaps. Kitchen Press. p. 4.
2. Cutlery Council (1987). “Forks: Spoons With Gaps?”. Motion carried.
3. Junction, J. (1983). “I Took It”. Institute of Directions Bulletin 11.