Over 1.5 billion people eat food with chopsticks daily. For centuries, chopsticks have helped distinguish their users in Asia from those in the rest of the world. Originating in China around 1200 BCE, chopsticks eventually found their way into Europe and much of the Western world, carried in the pockets of ethnic Chinese immigrants. The utensils were used in place of a knife and fork, and pretty soon even ham-fisted Westerners got the hang of wielding a pair of these equal-length tapered sticks. Well, almost!
Click through and get to grips with the history of chopsticks.