Why We Fold Origami at the Dinner Table

At lunch the other day, my mom, aunt, cousin, and I all folded little boats out of the paper wrapping on our chopsticks and turned them into chopstick stands. As you all know, origami is a traditional Japanese art form that people of all ages enjoy, and which has inspired high fashion and astronauts alike. Fact: if you sit at a casual dinner table with a bunch of Japanese people, it's likely that most of them will fold their chopstick case into some kind of origami creation. I do it every time. This morning, I am contemplating why we do this, and here are some reasons I came up with:

1. It's fun.
2. We have fidgety hands. (I do, at least.)
3. We are culturally inclined to make things compact.
4. It's a conversation starter—everyone knows how to fold something. In this case, it was a group activity, and then we discussed the quality of our boats.
5. Resting chopsticks directly on a table isn't that sanitary.

Comments

[Peter Dolan]

Those are really cool little boats! Folded from the chopstick wrappers? Do you have a link to some instructions?

[kups]

6. i was tortured...

[kanatin]

Me too! i do it every time.

[tokyokevin]

I always wonder what people do with the chopsticks while they are folding the wrapper.

[pirikara]

Hahah yes, we are definitely a compact group of people. I always do the boat too, though when I'm lazy I just make a knot. That'd make a good blog post, a chopstick holder pictorial!

[leathej1]

Interesting - I fold chopstick paper so that it comes out like a little fishing boat. Yours looks like a battleship. I must have learned from a pacifist.

[vagrant]

6. Bored while waiting for food.

It is interesting what people fold to place their chopsticks on. Not everyone does this, but it would be interesting to see what people make. Personally, I fold up the wrapper, so that it makes a little sleeve to tuck the sticks into, with a bit of wrapper jutting out to keep them off the table.

[blooflame]

I've just discovered this blog via Boing-Boing and already I feel the urge to comment!

I "fold" my chopstick paper into a Moebius strip by making one twist in it, folding the corners of the closed end, and tucking it into the open end. Kind of a math nerd thing, but it can be a conversation starter when you point out that it only has one side.