The spork, a combination of a spoon and fork, was invented by Samuel Ward Francis. He patented the design in 1874 under the name "Improvement in Combined Knives, Forks, and Spoons." Francis was an eccentric inventor and physician from Rhode Island, and his spork design featured a concave bowl of a spoon with the parallel teeth of a fork, as well as a flat knife-like edge. Although the word "spork" appeared later and the plastic version became popular in the mid-20th century, Samuel W. Francis is credited with the original invention of the spork.