Spork

It appeared in the 1909 supplement to the Century Dictionary, where it was described as a trade name and "a 'portmanteau-word' applied to a long, slender spoon having, at the end of the bowl, projections resembling the tines of a fork".

A combined spoon, fork, and knife closely resembling the modern spork was invented by Samuel W. Francis and issued US patent 147,119 on February 3, 1874.

Given this significant prior art, the basic concept of combining aspects of a spoon and fork is well established; more modern patents have limited themselves to the specific implementation and appearance of the spork.

[10][11] The Van Brode Milling Company subsequently registered SPORK for a combination plastic spoon, fork and knife at the USPO on October 27, 1970, but the registration expired 20 years later.

If one then explained what it was and how the word came about, one might then be told that it was obvious or that it was clever.Materials such as stainless steel, silver, aluminum, titanium, copper and polycarbonate plastic have been used in spork manufacturing.

Sporks are also frequently used by backpackers, Boy Scouts and other outdoorspeople as they are a lightweight and space-saving alternative to carrying both a fork and spoon.