Nepedia
Back to Discover
Independent Reader
💻

Tongs

technology Maturity 5-7 Next article →

Tongs are tools used to grip and lift objects. They let you move things without using your hands. This keeps your fingers safe and clean.

kitchen-tongs
kitchen-tongs

Tongs have a very long history. The first pair belonged to the Egyptians. They may have started as simple wooden tools. By 3000 BC, they were made of bronze. An Egyptian painting from 1450 BCE shows metal bars holding a pot.

18-03-25-Küchenutensil-DSCF1426
18-03-25-Küchenutensil-DSCF1426

There are many types of tongs. Some have a pivot, or a joint, near the handle. These help you pick up delicate items. You can use them to serve salad or spaghetti. Fire tongs help you move hot coal.

Grilling-tongs
Grilling-tongs

Other tongs are built for heavy work. These have a joint near the gripping ends. Blacksmiths use these to shape metal. A blacksmith needs tongs to make new tongs.

Some tongs are just one piece of bent metal. Sugar tongs are often made of silver. They have ends shaped like claws or spoons. They help you serve lumps of sugar. Asparagus tongs are also made from one band of metal. These were first used in England in the 1700s.

184 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (5)
File:kitchen-tongs.png
kitchen-tongs.png
File:Grilling-tongs.png
Grilling-tongs.png
File:18-03-25-Küchenutensil-DSCF1426.jpg
18-03-25-Küchenutensil-DSCF1426.jpg
Eddystone,_Pennsylvania_-_Railroad_parts._...
File:Konnevesi.vaakuna.svg
Konnevesi.vaakuna.svg
More to explore

✨ What else?

Related topics you might enjoy

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.