Karen wrote:

> And, some of us aren't very good at using them, either. (me) Is
> considered that eating with chopsticks tidier than eating with a knife
> and fork? It seems less tidy to me and some slurping and splattering
> occurs in the course of using chopsticks.

Is that YOU can't use them the crux of the problem you have with them?
My skills with them have certainly improved over the years and with use.
I would rather see someone work to use chopsticks than hold their fork
like an entrenching tool and shoveling the food in their maw,
lipsmacking, dribbling sauce onto their chest or belly and feeling smug
over those heathen that use chopsticks.

A Chinese friend of mine told me that as a child he learned to use
chopsticks later in life, perhaps around 8 or so. He told me that to
help children learn they take a rubber band to the pair of chopsticks to
make them hold tight together better. As they become proficient, they
lost the band.