At the weekend, several newspapers carried photos of thieves in China using chopsticks to pick people’s pockets as they browsed market stalls. The chopsticks are used essentially to make the thief’s fingers much longer and thinner – a sort of variant on the Edward Scissorhands look. It also means that the pickpockets don’t have to stand quite so close to their victims.

We were discussing how useful it would be to learn how to use chopsticks to extend the reach of one’s hand. A number of potential uses, some more bizarre than others, were mentioned. We considered their use in piano playing; after all, there’s already a well-known beginner’s piano piece called Chopsticks. ‘Perhaps you could use chopsticks to stretch those big intervals in Chopin that you always say you can’t stretch with your small hand’, suggested Bob. After a pause, he said, ‘Chopinsticks’.