Chapter 1
Secret histories of your desk drawer
Chapter 2
The global shower
Chapter 3
Secrets of the wardrobe
Chapter 4
The physics of the kitchen
Ch 4 · The physics of the kitchen
misslily Forks evolved from ancient Greek and Chinese cooking tools into tenth-century Byzantine dining utensils, sparking eleventh-century religious outrage in Venice.
Quiz
Why did 11th-century European clergy condemn the use of forks at the dining table?
Quiz
Which empire is credited with first popularizing the multi-pronged fork as a table utensil for dining?
misslily Firewood shortages in 400 AD forced cooks to chop food, popularizing chopsticks.
Quiz
What historical pressure in 400 AD led Chinese cooks to cut food into bite-sized pieces, popularizing chopsticks for eating?
Quiz
What was the original purpose of chopsticks when they were invented in China around 1200 BC?
Fun Fact
Giant microwave: The first commercial microwave oven in 1947 was six feet tall, weighed 750 pounds, and cost five thousand dollars.
Quiz
What military technology was Percy Spencer testing when he accidentally discovered microwave cooking?
Quiz
What was the very first food that Percy Spencer intentionally cooked using microwave radiation?