View source for Tongs

{{Short description|Tool for gripping}}
{{About|the tool|the secret society|Tong (organization)}}
[[Image:kitchen-tongs.png|thumb|Silicone-tipped locking tongs designed to withstand temperatures up to {{cvt|500|F}}]]
[[Image:Grilling-tongs.png|thumb|Long handled locking tongs designed for outdoor [[grilling]]]]
[[File:18-03-25-Küchenutensil-DSCF1426.jpg|thumb|Sugar tong]]
[[Image:Eddystone,_Pennsylvania_-_Railroad_parts._Baldwin_Locomotive_Works._Blacksmith_forging_and_hammering_tools._-_NARA_-_518729.tif|thumb|Blacksmith tongs used for [[forging]]]]

'''Tongs''' are a type of [[tool]] used to [[wikt:grip|grip]] and [[wikt:lift|lift]] objects instead of holding them directly with hands. There are many forms of tongs adapted to their specific use. Design variations include resting points so that the working end of the tongs does not come into contact with a bench surface.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/kitchen-whiz-blitzes-the-invention-test-20100825-13ri0.html |title=Kitchen whiz blitzes the invention test |publisher=Fairfax Media |work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=25 August 2010 |author=Belinda Williams |access-date=26 December 2019}}</ref>

The first pair of tongs belongs to the Egyptians. Tongs likely started off as basic wooden tongs and then over time progressed to bronze bars as early as 3000BC. Over time they progressed to what we now know as modern-day tongs. An Egyptian wall painting from 1450 BCE shows a crucible supported between two metal bars.
# Tongs that have long [[arm]]s terminating in small flat circular [[Friction#Coefficient of friction|ends of tongs]] and are pivoted at a joint close to the [[handle (grip)|handle]] used to handle delicate objects. Common fire-tongs, used for picking up pieces of [[coal]] and placing them on a [[fire]] without burning fingers or getting them dirty are of this type. Tongs for [[grilling]], and tongs for serving [[salad]] or [[spaghetti]] are [[kitchen utensil]]s of the same type. They provide a way to move, rotate and turn the food with delicate precision, or fetch a full serving in one grab.
# Tongs consist a single band of bent [[metal]], as in [[sugar tongs]], most [[asparagus]] tongs (which are no longer common)<ref name="Oulton">{{cite web |url=https://www.cooksinfo.com/asparagus-tongs |title=Asparagus Tongs |last=Oulton |first=Randal |date=2018-05-10 |website=Cook's Info |access-date=2019-09-08}}</ref> and the like. Sugar tongs are usually silver, with claw-shaped or spoon-shaped ends for serving lump sugar. Asparagus tongs are usually similar but larger, with a band near the head that limits how far the tongs can expand. Asparagus tongs for serving were introduced in 18th-century England, with smaller versions for eating asparagus appearing in the 19th century.<ref name="Oulton"/>
# Tongs in which the [[lever|pivot]] or [[Joint (mechanics)|joint]] is placed close to the gripping ends are used to handle hard and heavy objects. [[Drilling and threading|Driller]]'s round tongs, [[blacksmith]]'s tongs or [[crucible tongs]] are of this type.

A myth contained in the classical Jewish text [[Pirkei Avot]] states that the first pair of tongs was created by God right before God rested on the Seventh Day.  The reasoning is that a blacksmith must use a pair of tongs in order to fashion a new pair of tongs.  Accordingly, God must have provided humankind with the first pair of tongs.<ref>Scherman, Nosson.  ''Ethics of the Fathers'' Annotations.  ''The Complete ArtScroll Siddur''.  Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 1984.  544-586.</ref>
[[File:Konnevesi.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright|[[Logging]] tongs in the coat of arms of [[Konnevesi]]]]

==See also==
{{Sister project links|wikt=tongs|commons=Category:Tongs|v=no|n=no}}
*[[Fire iron]]
*[[List of food preparation utensils|Food preparation utensils]]
*[[Forceps]]
*[[Tweezers]]

==References==
{{Reflist|1}}

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{{Kitchen tools}}
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[[Category:Serving utensils]]
[[Category:Food preparation utensils]]
[[Category:Metalworking hand tools]]
[[Category:Tools<!-- For uses other than in food and metalworking -->]]