Toothpicks/Cocktail Sticks.
Used for bloody evereything as far as I can tell -sometimes even for picking teeth and spearing olives.
They're great for applying epoxy to small areas, testing cake doneness and writing with food color.
I hardly ever use them at all. They're in the pantry, but they rarely make an appearance.
I have bamboo skewers that I use for things that toothpicks could be used for...but no toothpicks.
Very handy for helping to apply false eyelashes or to close up a stuffed chicken breast before cooking.
On our second date my boyfriend used a few to fix my bathroom door. It was then I decided he was a keeper.
I have never owned a cocktail stick.
I fixed a small coffee grinder with one. The plastic lid had an integrated tab that pressed down on a recessed button to turn the grinder on. The plastic tab eventually got fatigued and broke off, so I cut a saw kerf into the side of the lid and pressed a toothpick into the kerf. Now the toothpick pushes the recessed button and the grinder works perfectly. This fix was done about 15 years ago, and the grinder is still going strong.
I rarely, I mean hardly ever, use them. I forget I even have them. Then just the other night I used them to keep the foil off the top of the meatloaf, so that it wouldn't rub off the ketchup.
They're great for cleaning under your nails.
I use toothpicks to push out little screws from little screw holes, and to dig face cheese from out of the way places.
I have never owned a cocktail stick.
This.
I seem to recall there being a little tub of them in the cupboard when I was a kid. For baking and stuff. But mainly we used them for eating pomegranate seeds.
I have never had any as a grownup.
I've often repaired stripped screw holes with them. Cram the toothpick in, break it off, fill the thin surrounding space with wood glue, then you can screw your thing back in.
I also once repaired the laminate flooring in our old house. Over time one line of boards began to slide along the whole length of the kitchen, and we'd left enough wiggle room under the baseboard trim that when the track slid all the way against the far wall, a gap appeared at the near wall. Removed the trim, kicked the length of boards back in the middle spot, jammed as many toothpicks as we could into the gap at both ends of the kitchen, and put the trim back on. It held until we sold the house, anyway.
Also, I use them to hold together rolled-up lunchmeat for my stepson.
This.
I've often repaired stripped screw holes with them. Cram the toothpick in, break it off, fill the thin surrounding space with wood glue, then you can screw your thing back in.
And, of course, they are emergency sock knitting needles!
I use toothpicks to pick my tooths. I refuse to use 'cocktail sticks'.
That's a slippery slope, man.