December 28, 2005

The Kitchen Gadget

Hallo... there are so many kitchen gadgets these days, many find it hard to decide which to select for what. But, time and again, despite the wide array of gadgets to pick from, I go right back to one gadget... if I may call it that - the scissor. Oh yes, the scissor has proven to be award-worthy, as it comes in handy to cut open all sorts of paper and plastic seals, in and outside the kitchen! We have to give it a medal for being so multi-useful.

No wait! The award rightfully goes to the inventor and not the invention, but who invented scissors? Jump on the cyberspace highway and you find out that scissors are credited to the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Leonardo Da Vinci, and who knows who else can be googled and yahooed? So, I am going with the most likely true story...

Invented around 1500 B.C., scissors are the creation of the ancient Egyptians. They were excavated from ancient ruins. Interestingly, these scissors were made from a single piece of metal... no double cross blades pivoting around a fulcrum like we have today.

Then around 100 A.D., the ancient Romans invented the double cross blade a.k.a. - the modern scissor. It comes in different shapes and sizes, even folded and specially designed for left-handers like me. Sorry, Leonardo... will have to write about one of your inventions next time. Check: Wiki: Scissor

snip snip,
-zensufi-