Chopsticks in the News

Record Set for Eating M&Ms with Chopsticks

Oct. 1, 2003

OAKLAND, Calif. - Three minutes after Jim Hager started eating M&Ms with a pair of chopsticks, he was headed for the Guinness Book of World Records.

The 47-year-old Oakland resident gobbled 115 M&Ms in 3 minutes Sunday, breaking a previous record of 112 Smarties consumed by Kathryn Ratcliffe of England in December 2002. The new record won't become official until event organizers send documentation to the Guinness association, including a videotape, photographs and written declarations from witnesses, but it seems likely he'll have his place in the list.

For his efforts, he received 25 pounds of M&Ms courtesy of a local candy store that sponsored the event. “His kids were very happy,” said store owner Wendy Winter. She said the association gave very specific guidelines: Contestants had to use wooden chopsticks, the M&Ms had to be of the standard variety and they had to be carried to the mouth - one at a time - in the chopsticks.

Source - Associated Press, October 1, 2003

Man Makes a Canoe from Recycled Bamboo Chopsticks

April, 2008

A former city employee in the Fukushima prefecture town of Koriyama has built a 4-meter (13-ft) long canoe from thousands of used disposable chopsticks recovered from the city hall cafeteria. Bothered that perfectly good wood was going to waste after a single use, Shuhei Ogawara -- whose job at city hall involved working with the local forestry industry -- spent the last two years of his career collecting used chopsticks from the cafeteria.

An experienced canoe builder, Ogawara spent over 3 months gluing 7,382 chopsticks together into strips to form the canoe shell, to which he added a polyester resin coat. The canoe weighs about 30 kilograms (66 lbs), which is a bit heavier than an ordinary cedar canoe, but Ogawara is confident it will float. A launching ceremony is planned for May at nearby Lake Inawashiro.

Original source: http://pinktentacle.com/2008/04/canoe-made-from-disposable-chopsticks/.

A Funny Letter Regarding Chopsticks...

Dear Miss Mind Over Manners,

I am finally going on a date with a woman I have liked for a long time. The only problem is she wants to eat at a Japanese restaurant and my chopstick skills are downright embarrassing. Do you have any tips?

Sincerely,
A Sticky Situation

Dear Sticky,

Please repeat after me: Sticks and stones may break my bones but eating utensils will never scare me.

All right, I admit it, being left without the comfort of a fork and knife can be pretty traumatizing, especially when it seems like everyone is watching. So while you might be preparing for the worst, remember, it is a far greater sin to request a fork than it is to put pride aside and give chopsticks a try.

To begin with, chopsticks are for eating. Period. They are not for balancing on your finger, forehead or nose, nor are they for impressing others with your Boy Scout skills by trying to make a fire at the dinner table. Acts like that will quickly extinguish any sparks of passion between you and your date.

The correct way to hold chopsticks is to place the first one between the crook of your thumb and your pointer finger. Then push it up a little higher so it isn’t able to move (chopsticks should be held toward the end of the sticks). The other chopstick will be held against the side of your forefinger by your thumb, under your pointer finger. This is the one that will move.

Source: www.mustangdaily.calpoly.edu

Pickpocket caught using chopsticks to steal mobile phone. (Picture: Rex)

Man Caught Using Chopsticks to Steal Mobile Phone

A pickpocket was caught on camera using a pair of chopsticks to steal a woman's mobile phone as she rode down the street on her bicycle. The story was shown on the English website metro.co.uk on Thursday 4/11/2013. The thief, Wang Hongbo, 32, was caught on camera lifting the victim's cell phone from her pocket as she bicycled through Zhengzhou in China's Henan province. After stealing the phone he was also photographed examining the phone contents before selling the phone to a nearby store. The photos were posted online and widely circulated both on the internet and in print. Hongbo turned himself in to the police.

Build a Crossbow Using Chopsticks

StormTheCastle.com posted this fun chopsticks crossbow project that should be done with adult supervision and a due amount of caution. The chopsticks craft project was created by Kenneth Z. and includes excellent illustrative step by step photographs. See the full project details on How to Make a Crossbow With Chopsticks. And please follow their safety warnings! Happy building.

Plastic Chopsticks Become Deadly Weapons

Here's a story from WeirdAsiaNews.com about a man who demonstrates the power of chopsticks, that is his ability to take everyday plastic Chinese style chopsticks and literally throw them through a stainless steel bowl. I only wish he would wear some safety goggles!

Read the full story on Weird Asia News: http://www.weirdasianews.com/2013/03/25/plastic-chopsticks-deadly-weapons/

Here was a story posted March 28, 2013 in the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Massachusetts by Bob Dunn, Staff Writer.

Personalized chopsticks, flat-screen television allegedly link Maurice Edwards of Amherst to assault and robbery

By BOB DUNN Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 (Published in print: Thursday, March 28, 2013)

NORTHAMPTON — A pair of personalized chopsticks and a flat-screen television allegedly link a 22-year-old Amherst man to a January assault and robbery. Maurice Edwards, of 170 East Hadley Road, pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court Monday to charges of unarmed robbery, assault and battery and larceny from a building before Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder. Edwards was held on $2,500 cash bail. According to court records, on Jan. 5, Edwards was a guest in a Northampton home when an argument began. Edwards allegedly hit another man repeatedly and was later seen leaving the home carrying a flat-screen television. Later that night, Edwards was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by police. Inside the vehicle was the TV reportedly taken by Edwards and other items including a pair of personalized chopsticks allegedly belonging to the victim. Edwards is due back in court June 21 for a pre-trial hearing.

Go chopsticks!

Using Chopstick Rests as Inexpensive Makeup Brush Holders

The website Nouveau Cheap has posted an article about using chopstick rests as inexpensive and anti-germ makeup brush holders. Nouveau Cheap specializes in tips and news on affordable cosmetics. Here's a brief excerpt from their post. See their article for a full reading.

You've heard of spoon rests, right? Well why not have a brush rest for brushes that you're currently using but don't want to place directly on your vanity, bathroom sink, etc.?

OK, that's not what it really is, but that's how I use it! This is actually a chopstick rest. If you're not familiar with chopstick rests, they come in millions of varieties and you can get them at your local Asian market or online stores such as Everything Chopsticks (here!).

There are so many different designs out there, but I find the best ones are long and narrow, because you can rest multiple brushes on them at one time (foundation brush, a few eyeshadow brushes, eyeliner brush, etc.). But if we're going purely on looks, I do love my "origami" crane rest because it looks ridiculously cute on my vanity (although I can really only rest one or two bushes on it at at time). If you favor cuteness over function, there are chopstick rests shaped like kitty cats and piggies and everything in between out there. What's awesome about these is that they're so tiny--they will take up about zero space on your crowded vanity (how do I know your vanity is crowded? Duh! Don't even try to lie to me...)

And More Thieves Using Chopsticks

Be weary of shifty-looking men holding chopsticks outside of restaurants! Two dark-coated men armed with chopsticks are caught on video pickpocketing shoppers in China. Rather than using the chopsticks for their proper purpose, the shameless thieves use them to carefully lift items from the back pockets of unwitting shoppers. Police in China believe gangs of opportunist pickpockets are using them to target busy shoppers, usually women laden down with heavy shopping.

Source: dailymail.co.uk News.