the.com/tongs
the proof that humans refuse to grab anything that might bite back.
means A tool with two hinged or sprung arms used to grip and lift things you'd rather not touch with bare fingers — hot coals, ice cubes, sugar lumps, awkward food.
from From Old English 'tang' or 'tange,' a gripping tool, related to a Germanic root meaning 'to bite' — a cousin of words across the old Northern languages for things that nip and seize. The image is fitting: tongs are jaws made of metal, biting so your hands don't have to. The word has come down to us mostly in the plural, since one arm alone grips nothing.
- ancient tech
- Egyptians used bronze tongs over 3,000 years ago
- leverage
- a class-three lever, like your own forearm
- blacksmith staple
- smiths forge tongs to forge everything else
- salad duty
- clack twice before serving, a universal kitchen instinct
- surgical roots
- forceps are tongs that went to medical school
salad tongs — common kitchen utensil used to serve and toss salads since the 18th century
ice tongs — metal tongs used by bartenders and home cooks to grab ice cubes from containers
blacksmith tongs — specialized metal-handled tongs used by blacksmiths to grip hot metal during forging