Chapter 1
Secret histories of your desk drawer
Chapter 2
The global shower
Chapter 3
Secrets of the wardrobe
Chapter 4
The physics of the kitchen
Ch 2 · The global shower
misslily Toothbrush Bristle Revolution
We traded boar hair for some nylon instead! (Oh yeah, nylon instead!)
misslily Toothpaste evolved from ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman abrasive mixtures into the collapsible squeeze tube invented by Washington Sheffield in 1892.
Quiz
What abrasive ingredient did ancient Egyptians use in their earliest tooth-cleaning powders?
Quiz
What artist tool inspired dentist Washington Sheffield to invent the collapsible metal toothpaste tube in 1892?
misslily Mesopotamians washed textiles with early clay and oil mixtures instead of bathing.
Quiz
What was the primary purpose of the earliest soap manufactured in ancient Babylon around 2800 BC?
Quiz
According to Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, what did the Gauls use soap for in the 1st century AD?
Fun Fact
Ancient soap: The oldest known soap recipe was written on a Babylonian clay tablet in 2200 BC, using water, alkali, and cassia oil.
Quiz
In which century was the use of paper for personal hygiene first recorded in China?
Quiz
What special feature did the toilet paper produced for the Chinese imperial court in the 1300s have?
Glossary
shower (noun)
A bath in which water is sprayed on the body from an overhead nozzle. The first mechanical shower was patented by English stove maker William Feetham in 1767.
A bath in which water is sprayed on the body from an overhead nozzle. The first mechanical shower was patented by English stove maker William Feetham in 1767.
Quiz
What animal's stiff neck hairs were used in the first patented bristle toothbrush by a Chinese Emperor in 1498?
Quiz
Where did inventor William Addis design the first mass-produced modern toothbrush in 1780?