A spork is a hybrid form of cutlery taking the form of a

spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

-like shallow scoop with two to four

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...

-like

tines Tines (; also spelled tynes), prongs or teeth are parallel or branching spikes forming parts of a tool or natural object. They are used to spear, hook, move or otherwise act on other objects. They may be made of metal, wood, bone or other hard, ...

. Its name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordspatent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s for spork-like designs date back to at least 1874. Sporks are commonly used by fast food restaurants, schools, prisons, militaries, backpackers, and

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...

. The word ''spork'' is a portmanteau of ''spoon'' and ''fork''. It appeared in the 1909 supplement to the ''

Century Dictionary ''The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia'' is one of the largest encyclopedic dictionaries of the English language. In its day it was compared favorably with the ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' and frequently consulted for more factual informati ...

,'' where it was described as a

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

and "a '

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordstrademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

in the US and the UK.

History

Ice cream fork, Shreve & Company, Iris service, silver, 1903-1917

In the US, patents for sporks and proto-sporks have been issued. A combined spoon, fork, and knife closely resembling the modern spork was invented by Samuel W. Francis and issued on February 3, 1874. Other early patents predating the modern spork include , for a "cutting spoon", granted on November 24, 1908, to Harry L. McCoy and , for a spoon with a tined edge, granted to Frank Emmenegger in November 1912. Many of these inventions predated the use of the term "spork". Given this significant prior art, the basic concept of combining aspects of a spoon and fork is well established; more modern patents have limited themselves to the specific implementation and appearance of the spork. These

design patent In the United States, a design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of an article of manufacture. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers ...

s do not prevent anyone from designing and manufacturing a different version of a spork. Examples of modern US design patents for sporks include patent number D247,153 issued in February 1978 and patent D388,664 issued in January 1998.

Etymology

The ''word'' "spork" originated in the early 20th century to describe such devices. In 1951, Hyde W. Ballard of

Westtown, Pennsylvania Westtown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,827 at the 2010 census. History County Bridge No. 148 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Geography Accordin ...

filed an application with the

United States Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

(USPO; now the United States Patent and Trademark Office) to register "Spork" as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

for a combination spoon and fork made of stainless steel. The Van Brode Milling Company subsequently registered SPORK for a combination plastic spoon, fork and knife at the USPO on October 27, 1970, but the registration expired 20 years later. The word Spork accompanied by a stylised design is registered in the US in relation to hand tools, in the name of a UK-based individual. In the UK, Plastico Limited registered Spork as a trademark in relation to cutlery with effect from September 18, 1975 (reg. no. 1052291, now expired). The trademark is also registered in the UK in relation to gardening tools in the name of the same UK based individual who owns US trademark registration no. 2514381. Another British company, Lifeventure, sells

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

and plastic versions using the name "Forkspoon". In an unsuccessful lawsuit in 1999 where the company Regalzone sought to invalidate Plastico Limited's UK registration for Spork, Justice Neuberger wrote:

Materials and uses

Materials such as stainless steel,

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

, and polycarbonate plastic have been used in spork manufacturing. Plastic sporks are common in prisons in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

because they are difficult to form into

shiv The word Shiv or shiv may refer to: People with the name * Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a West Indies cricketer nicknamed Shiv Arts, entertainment, and media * Shiv, a fictional location in Magic: The Gathering, see Dominaria * Shiv, a villain in the ...

-type

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...

s to attack other inmates. Prepackaged meals may come with a disposable plastic spork. Sporks are also frequently used by backpackers,

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

and other outdoorspeople as they are a lightweight and space-saving alternative to carrying both a fork and spoon.

In popular culture

The

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

animated movie ''

Toy Story 4 ''Toy Story 4'' is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's ''Toy Story'' series and the sequel to ''Toy Story 3'' ( ...

'' introduces a character named

Forky Forky is a fictional character in the '' Toy Story'' franchise created by Disney and Pixar. His first appearance is in '' Toy Story 4'', which was released in June 2019. In the ''Toy Story'' universe, he was made by Bonnie, who stuck googly e ...

, an animated spork voiced by

Tony Hale Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series '' Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy ''Veep'' from 2012 until ...

References

* ''D. Green & Co. (Stoke Newington) Ltd. and Plastico Ltd. v Regalzone Ltd.''

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'', *1965 Italian film *Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 ...

ETMR 241 (CA)

External links