In 1942, "Bambi" was released by Walt Disney, Jimi Hendrix was born and folks were instructed to eat forkfuls of spaghetti four noodles at a time.
A vintage issue of Time Life provided a step-by-step guide to teach people how to eat noodles with charm and dignity. No, it's not as simple as transporting the food from plate to mouth; there is a certain art to eating tube-shaped sauced carbohydrates. If you're interested in learning the most polite method of spaghetti consumption, look no further than the tutorial below. All quoted captions are Time Life's originals.
Step 1: "Four strands of spaghetti should be segregated from the pile."
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No more and no less. Anything larger would be positively vulgar.
Step 2: "With soup spoon as prop, twirl fork and spaghetti gently."
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No diner should have to endure the indecency of loose pasta splattering on a pristine tablecloth. The spoon acts as a noodle hood, mitigating potential twirling mishaps.
Step 3: "A ladylike mouthful of spaghetti is ready for consumption."
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After the taxing work of segregating and twirling, this mouthful is just about ready to eat. Admire the masterpiece wrapped around the fork.
Step 4: "Full forkfuls should be consumed in entirety. Nibbling is out."
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If you plan to nibble, well, don't. Nibbling is out! The spaghetti has been twirled into a sizable portion, meant for a chomp, not a delicate, rabbit-like bite.
Step 5: "Truant strands require patience, lip facility, suck-power."
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Noodles will inevitably escape from your mouth, but we have lips for a reason. According to Time, that reason is "suck-power."
Step 6: "With end in sight, diner has consumed 160 in. of spaghetti."
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You've done it! You are prim, you are proper and you're ready for another four noodles. Some may be exhausted by this process by the end of the meal, but with practice you'll become a disciplined diner worthy of an etiquette trophy.
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