Things Asians Do

Whenever a group of Asians are eating at an Asian restaurant, it is inevitable that at least one of them will make a chopstick stand out of the paper chopstick wrapper. The stand is constructed after ordering food but before the food arrives at the table.

This pre-emptive unwrapping accomplishes two things, both of which Asians like. The first is maximum eating efficiency by eliminating the time spent unwrapping the chopsticks after the food is placed on the table. The second is that it gives them something productive to do while waiting for the food, slightly assuaging their natural impatience.

Non-Asians who make chopstick stands will immediately have elevated status with the Asians in the restaurant, including the management. There are even documented cases of White people making the chopstick stand and speaking a few words of Chinese (Ni hao) receiving free rice, tea, and oranges.