TikTok Is Using Medical Forceps To Eat Ramen
We get it. Eating ramen chopsticks can be tricky. Even after meals and meals of practice, it can sometimes still be hard to know the right way to use chopsticks if you are unfamiliar with them. They are also pretty handy once you do get the hang of them, allowing you to eat, and even cook with ease and precision. For those who aren't quite ready to make the leap into full chopstick territory, however, there are alternatives.
One option is training chopsticks with animal-shaped toppers that connect the sticks like a joint. These can help kids get to where they need to be. As the New York Times's Wirecutter points out, sometimes even an added hinge at the top of a pair of regular chopsticks can help you improve your ability to use them. The same idea can be applied to chopstick-like instruments. One TikTok user even reached for a medical tool to eat ramen, sparking a range of reactions and even some division.
Surgically precise ramen consumption
TikToker kathhrynsmithh used what she called "the easier version of chopsticks" to eat ramen in a video that now has over 1 million views. While the TokToker characterized them as footlong tweezers, many other users were quick to tell her what's what. Some commenters said they used this tool for feeding reptiles. This tracks as Petco lists very similar-looking "stainless steel feeding tongs" on its site. Multiple people identified the object as a medical instrument. User elissasander created a stitched TikTok with the original post to explain what she thought it was.
@elissasander #stitch with @kathrynisfunny honestly a genius idea, might have to take one home myself. #nursesoftiktok #ornurse
Wearing scrubs in what appears to be a hospital setting, she explained, "Girlypop, that's called a forcep." After displaying a pair of packaged forceps, she closes out the video by saying, "You ordered a surgical instrument, but you know what, pop off." (And indeed, people can buy footlong forceps that look like this from a medical supply company.) The video has generated a lot of discussion about what the instrument actually is.
Kathhrynsmithh and elissasander have since made response videos. The former emphasized in their TikTok that they purchased the tool as tongs from Amazon. The latter doubled down in their follow-up post to explain that it is a pair of forceps, noting that they can be used by everyone in the medical, culinary, and even reptile communities. The moral of the story is: Whether human or reptile, you can still use 12-inch tweezer-like tools to eat your food.