Oh pshaw, on Wed 17 Oct 2007 10:11:34a, Janet Baraclough meant to say...

> The message .com>
> from javawizard > contains these words:
>
>> It's hard to imagine that until about four hundred years ago, European
>> people ate everything with their fingers. When a few people started
>> using forks in England, everyone else thought the idea of using tools
>> to eat was totally ridiculous. - from the Food History section of
>> www.odd-info.com
>
> You'll be glad to hear, that history is reversing itself and once
> again, European people are strating to eat with their fingers, even
> adults in restaurants. First they gave up the knife and started holding
> their fork in the right hand, like Americans; then they laid down their
> forks and started picking up food with their hands and wiping it round
> the gravy. Around the same time, many of them started holding their pen
> or pencil by four fingersd against the palm, like a dagger. Soon, we
> will be back to scratching pictograms on rocks, and tearing bits of raw
> meat off the dog while we squat around the log-effect gas fire, grunting
> to each other and fighting over the remote control.
>
> Janet.
>

I've noticed the "holding the pen" thing with quite a few younger people
lately. Do they not teach penmanship in school anymore? I doubt that I
could scrawl any legible holding it that way.

It has long been proper in the US to eat asparagus with the fingers, as
well as artichokes. Don't think I've witnessed the whole meal eaten that
way yet, except for someone sopping up gravy with bread.

--
Wayne Boatwright
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Answers: $1, Short: $5, Correct: $25, dumb looks
are still free.