Etiquette is a code in society that guides socially acceptable behavior. The rules of etiquette vary among cultures and subcultures, so that what is perfectly polite in one society may be rude and offensive in another. Rules exist today for a variety of settings, which include public transportation, the gym, travel, the office, the road, family relations and the dinner party.

There are different sets of expectations when seated around the dinner table in Western culture. There are both American and European etiquette standards, and they involve different ways to hold and use cutlery. There are also standards for where to place one's hands and how to unfold the napkin.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fypq2qhRZnI

The first book on etiquette was written sometime between 3580 B.C. and 3536 B.C. on papyrus. It was penned by a philosopher Ptah-Hotep, and consisted of a number of rules that he felt fathers should pass on to their sons. In more modern times, children have been taught etiquette in schools for the last 500 years. Through the changing decades and centuries, there have also been substantial adjustments in terms of how men, women and children should conduct themselves in public as well as in the presence of one another.http://www.proetiquette.com/history.html