60 Uses for a Fork: Divergent Thinking Practice

This challenge is an indirect writing exercise.  Indirect because I'm not actually going to write but it's a practice in creative/divergent thinking which is the life source of fictional writing.  I was inspired by RSA's video Changing Education Paradigms.  They mentioned a test in which they asked people to think up as many uses as they can for a paper clip.  Some could come up with 200 unique uses.  I've always been meaning to give it a try just for the fun of it.  However, instead of a paper clip I'm going to use a fork.  This exercise is untimed and you stop when you can't think of any more ideas. It's also fun to set a number goal or to make it a game between friends to see who can come up with the most uses.  Feel free to try it yourself with whatever object you wish.  If you post your list on a blog or website please leave a link below in the comments.  I'd be great to see all the ideas you guys come up with. 

  1. Eat  . . (I won't list every food on the planet)
  2. Feed another person or animal
  3. Scramble things
  4. Mix things
  5. Stir stuff
  6. Poke things or people
  7. Give it to a small farmer as a pitch fork
  8. Give it to to a small mermaid to use it as a trident
  9. Use it as a make-shift comb
  10. Dig around in the dirt
  11. Use it to catapult stuff
  12. Bend it and make modern art
  13. Scratcher
  14. Get something out of a fire
  15. Cook marshmallows
  16. Murder weapon
  17. Tool of torture
  18. Use it as the stick for a musical triangle
  19. Stick it up into the sky during a storm as a lightning rod
  20. Pry open stuff
  21. Stick it in the ground and watch the shadow like a sun dial to tell the time
  22. Conductor's baton
  23. Marker in a really big book
  24. Stick it in a wall and hang stuff on protruding end
  25. Use it as a toy and imagine it whatever you want it to be
  26. Pick your teeth with
  27. Take a picture of it
  28. Play spin the fork
  29. Stick in a time capsule so that it may be preserved for future generations
  30. Melt it and use the metal to make something else
  31. Wand
  32. Be a hungry monster for Halloween and use it as an accessory
  33. Prop in a play
  34. Throw it away
  35. Donate it
  36. Give it as a gift
  37. Practise telekinesis
  38. Inspire a blog post
  39. Draw it
  40. Tie it on a string and use it as a Christmas tree ornament
  41. Bend it into an oval and you have a bracelet
  42. Glint it in the sun as a signal
  43. Bend it into a horse shoe shape and play horseshoes
  44. Go up to a person who speaks a different language and point at the fork and learn what fork is in their language
  45. If the fork is made out of wood you can burn it
  46. If the fork is made out of an edible material eat it
  47. Set the table
  48. Weight
  49. Make a texture on a soft surface by impressing the fork on it
  50. Use it in a science experiment to test metal properties
  51. Make a wind chime with multiple forks
  52. Kite handle
  53. Handle can be a straight edge to draw a line
  54. Break off middle prongs and you have a difficult field goal for paper football
  55. Break off all the prongs but one, dip it in ink and you can write a little
  56. Card holder for desk(Stick the handle in a wad of clay and weave a card through the prongs)
  57. Make a small rake by spreading prongs and bending the ends
  58. Become super famous and auction your fork off to your fans
  59. Prop something open
  60. Form a code with a series of tapping using a fork


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear Mandy,
Yesterday I discovered your post by chance...

Here is my uses for a fork list (in spanish and catalan)
http://www.spoonch.com/2013/07/10-maneras-de-usar-un-tenedor/

Regards from Barcelona
Joan