I was curious as to why they're marketed as pasta bowls in the UK, and it's because they're frequently used for pasta (obviously). Buy why are bowls used for pasta traditionally wide and relatively shallow? As opposed to other types of bowl?
The reasons I can think of are potentially to do with serving size (i.e. can fit more in the bowl) or thermodynamics (larger surface area to allow faster cooling). But I don't know why either of these would specifically apply to pasta dishes.
For context, this is what is generally considered a pasta bowl here in the UK as far as I'm aware:
As compared to a cereal/all-purpose bowl:
Or a soup bowl/lipped bowl:
I understand that a 'pasta bowl' is not exclusively for pasta dishes and I know that other types of bowl are also used when it comes to serving pasta. But I'm interested in why, in the UK at least, a 'pasta bowl' is sold as such.