Chopsticks

I found out that August 4th is the "Day of Chopsticks." Eight is "hachi," and four is "shi." Thus 8/4 can be read as "hashi" (Japanese for chopsticks). Hashi are very popular tool worldwide, and I guess that many of you may be even more comfortable using hashi than regular
cutlery.
I know that for our foreign staff, though, you must get sick of Japanese who keep asking if you can use hashi. From New York to New Delhi, Japanese and Chinese food is both popular and usually served with chopsticks. So I wonder why Japanese are stuck with the notion that
somehow they are the only nation using them.
One of my friends from US was sick of being asked over and over about his hashi handling abilities, and started responding by asking his hosts if they could use a knife and fork. Since cutlery is widely used here now, their initial reaction is to wonder why he'd ask such
a silly question... and then, they realize what he is trying to tell them.
Being at LINC Media -- where there are so many nationalities, 16 at last count, and so many non-native speakers who are fluent in other countries' languages and customs -- you soon learn to drop the stereotypes!
Happy Chopsticks Day!