Спорк: ложка-вилка и история изобретения

Item of cutlery in the form of a spoon with fork tines
the utensil

A spork is a form of cutlery and combination utensil taking the form of a spoon like scoop with two to four fork like tines. Spork like utensils, such as the terrapin fork or ice cream fork, have been manufactured since the late 19th century; patents for spork like designs date back to at least 1874. Sporks are commonly used by fast food restaurants, schools, prisons, militaries, backpackers, and airlines. The word "spork" was later registered as a trademark in the US and the UK. A utensil with a fork on one side and a spoon on one side is also known as a spork.

In the U. S., patents for sporks and proto sporks have been issued. A combined spoon, fork, and knife closely resembling the modern spork was invented by Samuel W. Francis and issued on February 3, 1874. Other early patents predating the modern spork include , for a "cutting spoon", granted on November 24, 1908, to Harry L. McCoy and , for a spoon with a tined edge, granted to Frank Emmenegger in November 1912. Many of these inventions predated the use of the term "spork". 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. These design patents do not prevent anyone from designing and manufacturing a different version of a spork. Examples of modern US design patents for sporks include patent number D247,153 issued in February 1978 and patent D388,664 issued in January 1998.

Materials such as stainless steel, silver, aluminum, titanium, copper and polycarbonate plastic have been used in spork manufacturing. Plastic sporks are common in prisons in the United States because they are difficult to form into shiv type weapons to attack other inmates. Prepackaged meals may come with a disposable plastic spork. 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.