Sometimes it’s difficult to choose something from a pair of seemingly identical items. You could be picking from two identical items at the store and yet you may start feeling this strong preference towards one of them. These differences are sometimes based on very subtle differences between the objects. They may even be influenced by mood, as far as we know!
This is the phenomenon discussed by mum.me.and.emily on TikTok about two similar-looking spoons which are, according to her, very different!
More Info: TikTok Part 1 | TikTok Part 2
Mum.me.and.emily is supposedly very particular about which spoons she uses and wants folks online to confirm if she's the only one
Image credits: thekirbster (not the actual photo)
"I'm really hoping I can find my people here"
"But I have recently found out that there are some people in the world that can go into a cutlery drawer and pick either of these spoons, doesn't matter to them."
Image credits: mum.me.and.emily
"Now there's clearly a winner spoon here"
"I mean, is it only me?"
Image credits: mum.me.and.emily
"Okay, so you guys have been really wanting to know which one I picked. So here is my answer"
"So first, I'd like to preface that I wasn't expecting the response that I got on this video."
Image credits: mum.me.and.emily
"And I'm actually nervous to give my answer because, obviously, it's going to disappoint quite a lot of people"
"But my answer is, of course, option number one. It has to be."
Image credits: mum.me.and.emily
"This one, the ridges are too sharp"
"The spoon, yes, I will agree the spoon is pretty good, but the ridges are just 'ugh.' It bothers me."
Image credits: mum.me.and.emily
"So this is only ever used for stirring"
"This, this is the winner. Sorry."
Image credits: mum.me.and.emily
Watch the original videos here:
Not all spoons are created equal and the subtle differences are what set them apart, mum.me.and.emily says
The influencer opens her viral TikTok by saying that she hopes to find people similar to her, describing her recent shock. She mentions how she only recently found out that there are people who have no preference for the utensils they use and will just take any one for whatever purpose.
She goes on, saying that one of the spoons is far superior to the other, showing each of the spoons to the camera and labeling them options 1 and 2. One has a slender, plain handle, while the other has a wider, more decorated one. Both the spoons have slightly different bowls.
Having asked what the viewers' choice would be in the last video, she starts her follow-up by saying that people have really been wanting to know what her choice was. She further mentions that she didn't expect such a response from folks online and that she is slightly nervous to give her answer since it will be disappointing for a lot of people.
Finally, the woman says that her pick is, obviously, option 1, the spoon with the unadorned handle. Once again, she emphasizes that the first spoon is superior, as the ridges of option 2 are just unappealing to her, even if the bowl is acceptable. She lastly mentions that the second spoon is only used for stirring.
How and why we make choices is a topic that has received quite a lot of attention, as researchers are trying out what motivates us in making key decisions. A study by the researchers of Johns Hopkins University attempted to answer this question, at least in part. Apparently, the study argues, it isn't that we like the things that we choose, but rather the inverse of that - we like don't like the things that we don't choose.
Image credits: Nenad Stojkovic (not the actual photo)
They achieved this conclusion by showing two different toys to babies, taking them away after the babies chose one of them. After that, they would show the babies two more toys - a totally new one and one that they didn't choose previously. "The infants reliably took the item that they haven't seen before, seemingly showing that they didn't care about the item at all if they didn't choose it in the first place. This seems to show that we like the things we choose precisely because we choose them, after which we tend to assign them other positive characteristics. Perhaps this is how we choose utensils - it's not that we like a specific kind of spoon, we like our choice of the spoon, and we like reinforcing that choice.
In this way, the choices we make may be random, but only random for the first time we make them, as it seems that the first choice influences us to make similar choices in the future. Nonetheless, there may be different reasons why we choose things. A significant factor influencing our choices is past experiences and their outcomes. If we've noticed that something has worked out well for us in the past, we're bound to choose it again. This may be the case in the spoon debate. We choose the spoon that feels better, is of a more comfortable weight, things that we haven't specifically thought about and acted on consciously, only felt.
The original video was viewed more than 13 million times on TikTok with one million likes. The important debate happened in the 100 thousands comments that the post received, with a slight majority of people saying that they prefer the first spoon. Alas, a significant amount of people also said that they prefer the second spoon, with both camps defending their choices fiercely. Share your thoughts and your spoon of choice in the comments below.
People seemed to support the first spoon more, but the other side made themselves heard in the comments as well
