What you think you know may not be so! Amaze your friends with these fun facts.

Random Did You Know Facts

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Oct 20, 2008

The Toothbrush


Did You Know...

The toothbrush as we know it today was not invented until 1938.That doesn't mean we did not have other ways to clean our teeth. An earlier forms of the toothbrush has been in existence since 3000 BC. People in our ancient civilizations used a "chew stick," which was a thin twig that they would chew on the end of to make it frayed. These 'chew sticks' were rubbed against the teeth to clean them.

Much later around 1498, in China, the toothbrush was invented. It was made from boar bristles. (the stiff, coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog's neck) These bristles were attached to handles made from bone or bamboo. Even though many styles of the toothbrush were made the boar bristles were not replaced until 1938, when nylon bristles were introduced by Dupont de Nemours. The first nylon toothbrush was called "Doctor West's Miracle Toothbrush". Later, Americans were influenced by the disciplined hygiene habits of soldiers from World War II. They became increasingly concerned with the practice of good oral hygiene and quickly adopted the nylon toothbrush.

Some other interesting toothbrush facts:

* The first mass-produced toothbrush was made by William Addis of Clerkenwald, England, around 1780.
* The first American to patent a toothbrush was H. N. Wadsworth, (patent number 18,653,) on Nov. 7, 1857.

Oct 15, 2008

Nutmeg a Poison?


Did you know...
Contrary to it's name NUTmeg, is not a nut but a seed or pit of the fruit of the Nutmeg tree.
The Nutmeg tree produces two spices — mace and nutmeg.
Nutmeg is the seed kernel inside the fruit and mace is the lacy covering (aril) on the kernel.
Pierre Poivre (Peter Piper) smuggled nutmeg seeds and clove seedlings to start a plantation on the island of Mauritius, located off the east coast of Africa, near Madagascar. In 1796 the British took over the Moloccas and spread the cultivation to other East Indian islands and then to the Caribbean. Grenada now calls itself the Nutmeg Island because the use of the nutmeg was so successful. They even designed their flag in the green, yellow and red colours of nutmeg and included a graphic image of nutmeg in one corner of the flag. Even though it is a spice it does have medicinal uses. When used in small dosages nutmeg can reduce flatulence, aid in digestion, improve the appetite and treat diarrhea, vomiting and nausea as well as relieving the aches and pain of headaches and arthritis.
It is used as an everday spice for cooking, mostly in pies, cookies, cakes or puddings. In soups it works with tomatoes, slit pea, chicken or black beans. It complements egg dishes and vegetables like cabbage, spinach, broccoli, beans onions and eggplant. It flavours Italian mortadella sausages, Scottish haggis and Middle Eastern lamb dishes. And don't forget it's tasty use in eggnog and numerous mulled wines and punches, what would they be without this spice??? BUT It can be extremely poisonous if injected interavenously.
Wonder if you can overdose on this tasty seed just by eating too much??
Dear reader, what do you think?

Oct 7, 2008

Continents


Did you know...
All the continents begin and end with the same letter?
eg., Asia, Africa, (North) America, (South) America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.
Some people argue that there are only 6 continents because the South and North Americas' share the same name, America. Sometimes they are referred to as
"The Americas." There have been many scholars who think these continents when fitted together, like puzzle pieces, would form one big mass of land. What do you think?
Has this big mass of land slowly divided over the many years to form these separate
land masses that we call continents?

Oct 6, 2008

Arabic Numbers


Did you know...
Arabic numbers were NOT invented by Arabs, but were invented by the Hindus of India.
The reason that (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) are known as Arabic numerals despite their Indian heritage is that it was the Arabs who adopted the system from India in the ninth century and introduced it to Europe in the tenth. Europeans therefore wrongly attributed the numerals to the Arabs, even though the Arabs themselves called them "Hindu numerals." Today they are the most common symbolic representation of numbers in the world.

Oct 4, 2008

Shark Skin


Did you know...
The skin of a shark is made up of "tiny teeth"
Which are called dermal denticles? This protects them from
the many parasites that try to attach themselves to the shark.
Did you know... it is true that some sharks will die if they can not move.
While moving, water passes through the mouth of the shark and
over the gills — this process is known as "ram ventilation".
While at rest, most sharks pump water over their gills to ensure
a constant supply of oxygenated water. A small subset of shark species
that spend their life constantly swimming, a behaviour common in pelagic sharks, have lost the ability to pump water through their gills. These species are obligate ram ventilators and would presumably asphyxiate if unable to stay in motion.

Oct 3, 2008

High-tech Bathrooms

Did you know...
Bathrooms have come a long way over the years. Way back when, they were only found outside the home.
Today, they're poised to become the epicenter of high technology inside the home.
At least in Japan. We've come a long way since the "outhouse"