A Hawaii woman is building a better pair of chopsticks, and hoping the world beats a path to her door. Mylen Yamamoto got the idea for her "Cropsticks" while watching her old-fashioned chopsticks roll off the edge of a table. Her solution was to add a detachable platform to the top of the sticks (you know, where they join), where the utensil can rest when it’s not in use.
Her invention is due to be unveiled this week when Chef Roy Yamaguchi starts putting them on the tables at his famed Eating House in Waikiki. She says the Cropsticks are made from bamboo, which is a crop, hence the name.
But really, Yamamoto says the whole idea was about honoring her family’s ingenuity, as well as the island heritage she’s so proud of. What happens next? She’s taking it in stride – and picking it up with chopsticks. "My husband and I, we want to take care of our kids, but it's bigger than us," she says. "For the planet, and it starts with this little chopstick here."