Foon is fine, but spork sounds so much better. It has been around for over a century, but this odd-man-out has had a much tougher time finding a permanent seat at the standard table. Forks, spoons and knives have been staples of place settings for generations, the traditional utensils of everyday use in the Western World. Yet when you saw your first spork in some school cafeteria, how could you help but be struck by ingenious simplicity of this fork-and-spoon hybrid?

Metal Sporks – Colorful Titanium to Stainless Steel: Carved wood, dull metal and cheap plastic varieties have made been tried time and again, so to break the mold (so to speak) some designers have cranked the materials up a notch: how about a sleek and shiny stainless steel or even a super-strong titanium spork? For the camping folds, there are folding Swiss-Army-style spork options or even the spork-and-chopsticks combination pack if you are hiking from West to East (ThinkGeek &Moosejaw)

Plastic Sporks – Compact Portables to Folding Flip-Outs: But do not give up on classic plastic yet: the flip-side of such a cheap, flimsy and disposable material is, well, the assets of each of those aspects. Take, for instance, the self-assemble spork shown on the left – it tucks neatly into a small space but can be put together when you need it. Likewise, the rotating fold-out spork on the left slides easily on plastic hinges. (DorothyReinhardt & MPGear)

Wooden Sporks – Carved Curves to Small Stackables: Wood has its advantages as well. For sustainability-minded cutlery connoisseurs there are some cool variants carved out of bamboo. Some have the spoon on one side and fork on the other, while others tuck into even neater little packages of tiny stackable sporks great for mini-meals at work or take-out lunches-to-go. (Bambu & MOMA)

Sporks Insufficient? Add a Knife! If the classic fork-plus-spoon design simply is not enough to satisfy your tastes, you guessed it: some people have attempted to integrate knives as well for the ultimate all-in-one dining utensil. Made of anything from teflon to titanium, these variants offer a cutting surface to be reckoned with (LightMyFire & Wikipedia)

Of Sporks, Foons & Knoorks: Perhaps the spork is destined to forever be the fourth wheel in the world of classy tableware, but who knows: perhaps some designer will hit upon the exact right three-in-one combination foon, spork or knoork and change our culinary habits forever. (Tadgear)