“One of my favorite things in the world is the spatula,” confesses Diane T. Sands, host of the podcast This Fact is Overdue. In the episode “The Spatula and the White City” (March 1, 2021), she shares interesting connections between this simple and useful kitchen utensil and the 1893 World’s Fair.

Along the way, listeners will learn about Anna M. Mangin, a young Black woman who invented the pastry fork in 1891. Her invention was exhibited in the New York display in the Woman’s Building. The story also passes through Ida B. Wells’ protest publication The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World’s Columbian Exposition, Frederick Douglass, and the systematic attempt to exclude Black contributors from the great exhibition halls at the World’s Columbian Exposition. Sands reminds us of several interesting exhibits from African American inventors and creators, including Miss Mangin’s pastry fork.

Anna M. Mangin and her invention, exhibited at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from “Anna M. Mangin: Invented The Pastry Fork In 1891” at blackthen.com.]