--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Curiously, among the few survivors from…" description: "\"“Curiously, among the few survivors from this culinary onslaught is one that is most difficult to understand: the fish knife. Though it remains the sta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/bill-bryson-340_custom_curiously-among-the-few-survivors-from-t_2430680.jpg" --- # Curiously, among the few survivors from this culinary… ![“Curiously, among the few survivors from this culinary onslaught is one that is most difficult to understand: the fish knife. Though it remains the standard instrument for dealing with fish of all kinds, no one has ever identified a single advantage conferred by its odd scalloped shape or worked…” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/bill-bryson-340_custom_curiously-among-the-few-survivors-from-t_2430680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/bill-bryson-340_custom_curiously-among-the-few-survivors-from-t_2430680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/bill-bryson-340_custom_curiously-among-the-few-survivors-from-t_2430680.jpg) > ““Curiously, among the few survivors from this culinary onslaught is one that is most difficult to understand: the fish knife. Though it remains the standard instrument for dealing with fish of all kinds, no one has ever identified a single advantage conferred by its odd scalloped shape or worked out the original thinking behind it. There isn't a single kind of fish that it cuts better or bones more delicately than a conventional knife does.”” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The fish knife’s odd shape persists despite lacking clear functional benefit, highlighting how tradition can outweigh practicality. **In simple terms:** We keep using tools that may not be the best. Key Takeaway Question usefulness over habit. Themes tradition design utility skepticism Mood curious analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - kitchen tool selection - product design - cooking education - museum curation Key Concepts cognitive bias path dependence ergonomics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to familiar tools? - What evidence would change your mind? A Different Perspective The knife may have niche uses not yet studied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conventional Knife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventional-knife-277448/) [Custom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/custom/) [Difficult To Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-to-understand/) [Dining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dining/) [Ettiquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ettiquette-57802/) [Fish Cuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish-cuts-277447/) [Fish Knife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish-knife-277446/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Knife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knife/) [Silverware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silverware/) [Understand Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-fish-277449/) ## Related quotes > [“Control thy lingo and mind thy demeanor in synonymy with the social etiquette,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mukesh-kwatra/control-thy-lingo-and-mind-thy-demeanor-in-synonymy-with-the-social/) [Mukesh Kwatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mukesh-kwatra/) > [“Democracy was supposed to champion freedom of speech, and yet the simple rules of table decorum could clamp down on the rights their forefathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/democracy-was-supposed-to-champion-freedom-of-speech-and-yet-the/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [“Bedtime tales, myths, legends, fairy tales, lie the lessons and examples of what a Goddess would do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-mildon/bedtime-tales-myths-legends-fairy-tales-lie-the-lessons-and-examples/) [Emma Mildon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-mildon/) > [“Courtesy, is a constant repitition of reflecting established virtues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/courtesy-is-a-constant-repitition-of-reflecting-established-virtues/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“The Goddess ethos is: living for love, light, and legacy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-mildon/the-goddess-ethos-is-living-for-love-light-and-legacy/) [Emma Mildon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-mildon/) > [“Silverware should have rubber grip handles, like bicycles have. Especially for eating fast food. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/silverware-should-have-rubber-grip-handles-like-bicycles-have/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [The records only count when we have won silverware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciro-immobile/the-records-only-count-when-we-have-won-silverware/) [Ciro Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciro-immobile/) > [It's getting so people no longer count the silverware when I come to dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-mizner/it-s-getting-so-people-no-longer-count-the-silverware-when-i-come-to/) [Wilson Mizner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-mizner/) > [“I don’t eat food with silverware—I use sponges. I always clean my plate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-don-t-eat-food-with-silverware-i-use-sponges-i-always-clean-my-plate/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“It’s not fun to pet cats when you’ve already poured gravy on them, and you’re holding silverware.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/it-s-not-fun-to-pet-cats-when-you-ve-already-poured-gravy-on-them-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Some men eat dinner with silverware. Some use chopsticks. I prefer zippers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/some-men-eat-dinner-with-silverware-some-use-chopsticks-i-prefer/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I have sat at the sumptuous tables of power, but I have not run away with the silverware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diosdado-macapagal/i-have-sat-at-the-sumptuous-tables-of-power-but-i-have-not-run-away/) [Diosdado Macapagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diosdado-macapagal/) > [I like the thought of playing for money instead of silverware. I never did like to polish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-sheehan/i-like-the-thought-of-playing-for-money-instead-of-silverware-i-never/) [Patty Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-sheehan/) > [“In Michaela's favourite restaurant, I lift my glass and cutlery spills onto the expensive tiled floor. The sound crashes high as the skylight. Looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/in-michaela-s-favourite-restaurant-i-lift-my-glass-and-cutlery-spills/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [I'll admit a little something: If I go to one of those hotels where there's, like, a $50 omelet, I'm taking the silverware home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-olyphant/i-ll-admit-a-little-something-if-i-go-to-one-of-those-hotels-where/) [Timothy Olyphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-olyphant/) ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-dining-table-was-a-plain-board-called-by-that-name-it-was-hung-on/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“From almost nothing, France in four years built up an aircraft industry that employed nearly 200,000 people and produced some 70,000 planes. Britain built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/from-almost-nothing-france-in-four-years-built-up-an-aircraft/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More Custom quotes > [My favorite event of the season is the Costume Institute Gala at the Met in May. To that I'll wear custom Vera Wang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-winston-wolkoff/my-favorite-event-of-the-season-is-the-costume-institute-gala-at-the/) [Stephanie Winston Wolkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-winston-wolkoff/) > [Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-the-course-opposite-to-custom-and-you-will-almost-always-do-well/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [If God Was A Woman… Men would come with software to be custom designed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-god-was-a-woman-men-would-come-with-software-to-be-custom-designed/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Custom is custom: it is built of brass, boiler-iron, granite; facts, reasonings, arguments have no more effect upon it than the idle winds have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/custom-is-custom-it-is-built-of-brass-boiler-iron-granite-facts/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We read that Adam and Methuselah lived so many centuries; at that time, it was the custom to marry in the family - marry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/we-read-that-adam-and-methuselah-lived-so-many-centuries-at-that-time/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [Many have original minds who do not think it - they are led away by custom!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/many-have-original-minds-who-do-not-think-it-they-are-led-away-by/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Custom, that unwritten law, By which the people keep even kings in awe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-davenport/custom-that-unwritten-law-by-which-the-people-keep-even-kings-in-awe/) [Charles Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-davenport/) > [“The believer is not a slave to fashion. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-ameenah-bilal-philips/the-believer-is-not-a-slave-to-fashion/) [Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-ameenah-bilal-philips/) > [Mankind are apt to be strongly prejudicial in favor of whatever is countenanced by antiquity, enforced by authority, and race commends by custom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/mankind-are-apt-to-be-strongly-prejudicial-in-favor-of-whatever-is/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > [“The customs and practices of life in society sweep us along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-customs-and-practices-of-life-in-society-sweep-us-along/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“This man's spiritual power has been precisely this, that he has distinguished between custom and creed. He has broken the conventions, but he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/this-man-s-spiritual-power-has-been-precisely-this-that-he-has/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Custom may lead a man into many errors; but it justifies none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/custom-may-lead-a-man-into-many-errors-but-it-justifies-none/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [Custom is a violent and treacherous school mistress. She, by little and lithe, slyly and unperceived, slips in the foot of her authority; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/custom-is-a-violent-and-treacherous-school-mistress-she-by-little-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Browse all 148 Custom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/custom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Curiously, among the few survivors from this culinary onslaught is one that is most difficult to understand: the fish knife. Though it remains the standard instrument for dealing with fish of all kinds, no one has ever identified a single advantage conferred by its odd scalloped shape or worked out the original thinking behind it. 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