Tongs are a type of

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates b ...

used to grip and lift objects instead of holding them directly with hands. There are many forms of tongs adapted to their specific use. The first pair of tongs belongs to the

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

. Tongs likely started off as basic wooden tongs and then over time progressed to bronze bars as early as 3000BC. Over time they progressed to what we now know as modern-day tongs. An Egyptian wall painting from 1450 BCE shows a crucible supported between two metal bars. The same painting shows someone holding a small object over a fire with a tong-like instrument. Bronze loops capable of handling heavy crucibles also happened to appear at this time. # Tongs that have long arms terminating in small flat circular ends of tongs and are pivoted at a joint close to the handle used to handle delicate objects. Common fire-tongs, used for picking up pieces of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

and placing them on a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...

without burning fingers or getting them dirty are of this type. Tongs for

grilling Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above, below or from the side. Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat a ...

, tongs for serving

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridg ...

are

kitchen utensils A kitchen utensil is a hand-held, typically small tool that is designed for food-related functions. Food preparation utensils are a specific type of kitchen utensil, designed for use in the preparation of food. Some utensils are both food prepar ...

of the same type. They provide a way to move, rotate and turn the food with delicate precision, or fetch a full serving in one grab. # Tongs consisting of a single band of bent

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

, as in

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

tongs, most

asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus '' Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

tongs (which are no longer common) and the like. Sugar tongs are usually silver, with claw-shaped or spoon-shaped ends for serving lump sugar. Asparagus tongs are usually similar but larger, with a band near the head that limits how far the tongs can expand. Asparagus tongs for serving were introduced in 18th-century England, with smaller versions for eating asparagus appearing in the 19th century. # Tongs in which the pivot or

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

is placed close to the gripping ends are used to handle hard and heavy objects. Driller's round tongs,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

's tongs or crucible tongs are of this type. Design variations include resting points so that the working end of the tongs does not come into contact with a bench surface. A myth contained in the classical Jewish text

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from ...

states that the first pair of tongs were created by God right before God rested on the Seventh Day. The reasoning is that a blacksmith must use a pair of tongs in order to fashion a new pair of tongs. Accordingly, God must have provided humankind with the first pair of tongs.Scherman, Nosson. ''Ethics of the Fathers'' Annotations. ''The Complete ArtScroll Siddur''. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 1984. 544-586. Konnevesi

References

{{Kitchen tools Serving utensils Food preparation utensils Metalworking hand tools Tools

See also

References