Unplugged tech: the Roman army knife

An ancient precursor to the Swiss Army Knife, this Roman folding implement dates from the third century of the common era, and boasts a fork, knife, spoon, and a trio of other barbed and plucky tools. It’s not clear that it belonged to a centurion, although a Roman soldier would have found it useful. It’s now in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University, and it evokes a world of lost gestures and uncannily familiar tasks. Note the eye-shaped catch for the folding fork/spoon, the sturdy construction, the lovingly tooled details. Victorinox should rush a model into production today.

[via Neatorama]