I happened by an antique store with lots of nicknacks and tchotchkes and was instantly drawn to a pair of oversized, primitive-looking shears. They were particularly appealing since I had no idea what they were for. Had it not been for the random channel surfing I was doing during lunch one day, I would never have known what these bulky scissors were designed to do: cut food.

It seems obvious via hindsight, but it only clicked in my head once I saw a Korean drama set in traditional Korea centuries ago. There were two Dduk (Korean rice cake) vendors competing for customers downtown. They walked down the main road with these shears in hand, calling out to customers in need of a snack. When competition between the two became stiff, they took their quarreling behind a row of buildings and beat each other bloody.