Most Duke students don't give much thought to toothpicks unless they're plucking a poppy seed from their teeth after a bagel at Alpine Bagels.
But Henry Petroski, Aleksander S. Vesic professor of civil engineering, said he believes it is important for people to understand the everyday objects that surround them-toothpicks included.
"Everything is designed and manufactured and sold to us," said Petroski, who is also a professor of history. "By being able to look critically at those things, we're better able to understand and appreciate them in a number of ways."
Petroski discussed the toothpick and its scientific and social evolution in "The Toothpick: Technology and Culture," a book published Oct. 16 by Knopf. He has made a career out of explaining the significance of run-of-the mill tools in the 12 books he has authored, all of which have been published since he came to Duke in 1980. Other titles include "The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance" and "The Evolution of Useful Things."
Writing has long been a passion of Petroski's. He said he discovered the interest as an undergraduate at Manhattan College and began to write "recreationally" in graduate school.
"At first it was really a diversion," he said. "I'd study all day and go to classes with really technical subjects. After I'd done my homework, I'd relax by writing. Eventually I began to think, 'Well, maybe I should write longer things.'"
From there, Petroski's writing progressed from poetry to short satires, some of which were published in the op-ed pages of The New York Times.
When interviewing at the University, Petroski said administrators seemed to think his writing was a "worthwhile thing to do," an impression he did not get from all the institutions that offered him positions.
"I sort of came to Duke for the reason a lot of students come to Duke," he said. "A lot of engineering students have told me that they chose Duke for the strong liberal arts tradition that comes with Trinity College [of Arts and Sciences], and I can appreciate that."
Petroski said he drew inspiration for "The Toothpick: Technology and Culture" from a series of lectures he was giving at Princeton University. He added that he wanted to begin the three-part lecture series with the simplest object he could think of because it is the easiest way to illustrate theories. He said he decided on the toothpick as the ultimate in simplicity, since it is a single piece with a single function, but realized he had underestimated the tool when he began his research.
"Before I started my work I thought a toothpick was just a toothpick, but it's really not that simple," Petroski said.
He spent a summer in Maine, the heart of the toothpick industry, conducting research for the book in old factories, cultural centers and libraries.
The introduction of the toothpick in American society reflects the trends of mass production that emerged in the 19th century, Petroski said. But he said he also enjoyed exploring how it was once acceptable for Americans to go about in public with toothpicks dangling from their mouths.
Equal space is devoted to culture and technology in the book because the two are "very closely related for even so simple an object," Petroski said.
He has also analyzed the structural design of tools like the paperclip in his "Introduction to Structural Engineering" course, and said the toothpick will likely be the subject of future lectures.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.