There are plenty of rules at the dinner table that seem to make sense. Eating with your mouth closed is just good manners, while napkins on your lap save you the embarrassment of stains when you stand up. Other rules are less clear, and this is why the no elbows rule at the table shows good manners.

Preparing To Fight

The main reason why it became etiquette to keep your elbows off the table is because of fighting. The rule was put in place so people eating dinner at the table could show to their hosts and tablemates that they weren’t a threat.

It was important that people could see you were doing your best to be civilized and considerate to others around you. Failure to do so suggested your behavior was unpredictable, and you may start fighting at any moment. People could become scared when others exhibited bad table manners in the fear that a brawl was going to erupt.

Creating A Border

The general rule was to ensure that your arms remained within the confines of your tableware, which acted as a border. By keeping your elbows off the table, there was less chance that you would creep into someone else’s space. If you ignored the border created by your cutlery, it suggested you had a general lack of restraint.

Recent Rules

While the fear of a fight breaking out is no longer a common one at the dinner table, the no elbows rule remains part of good etiquette. Leaning forward with your elbows on the table can make it harder for others around you to have a conversation. Plus there is always the risk of dipping your elbow into someone else’s food if you aren’t careful.

While the no elbows rule doesn’t apply in the same way it used to, it is still an example of good table manners and consideration for others.

Hands up if you hate wasting food? Yes, there’s nothing worse than seeing delicious food go to waste, but sometimes there’s just no room left at the inn to eat them all up. Many people leave leftovers because they think they can eat them the next day, but it turns out that eating leftovers can actually make you sick. There are certain foods that just don’t last, so you might want to avoid them at all costs.

Rice

You’ve probably heard this one before. While there’s no doubt about the fact that rice is delicious and incredibly versatile, it’s not wise to keep rice any longer than you need to. In fact, it’s best to just eat it all up, as leftover rice can make you really sick if you don’t store it properly. It is possible to eat leftover rice, but you need to make sure that you place it in the fridge within two hours of it being cooked.

Seafood

If you’re the kind of person that loves seafood, you could feel inclined to take leftover fish for your lunch the next day. While this could be tasty, it might not be very healthy for you. That’s because bacteria can grow on fish without you realizing it, and this could see you becoming ill with food poisoning in no time.

Eggs

Although there are some people in this world who love to get themselves ready for the day with some raw eggs, most of us know that eggs almost always have their friend salmonella with them. Because eggs have to be cooked very specifically to kill this bacteria, it’s not wise to keep them for any length of time. If they are not cooked properly in the first place, leaving them even a few hours can cause this bacteria to multiply.

Wasting food is never fun, but sometimes it’s better than getting ill from bad leftovers.