Science & Industry
The Horrifying Ways People Used To Clean Their Teeth
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Article
Imagine beginning your morning by rubbing powdered glass and burned hare’s head onto your teeth, then thoroughly rinsing with child’s urine. At various points in history, this might have counted as a meticulous dental routine. People have tried to keep their teeth clean for thousands of years, but the familiar combination of a nylon toothbrush and minty paste is relatively recent. In fact, some of the dental cleaning tips earlier medical authorities recommended now sound misguided, disgusting, or downright dangerous. If you weren’t already thankful for modern dentistry, the methods below might change your mind. ...Read More
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Science & IndustryFact85After World War I, people used X-rays to try on shoes.
There’s a reason we typically receive X-rays only in a medical setting: Without the proper precautions, radiation is extremely dangerous. But for several decades following the discovery of X-rays in…
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Science & IndustryFact25Abraham Lincoln could plausibly have sent a fax to a samurai.
The 1860s weren’t eventful just in the United States. As the American Civil War raged in the first half of the decade and Abraham Lincoln became the first president to…
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Science & IndustryFact96The stethoscope was invented because a doctor felt awkward pressing his ear to a woman’s chest.
In 1816, a French physician named René Laennec found himself in a delicate situation. He needed to listen to the heart of a young female patient but didn’t have an…
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Science & IndustryFact70People hated shopping carts when they were invented in 1937.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, most Americans were just trying to get by, and few had the luxury of coming home from the grocery store with extra items.…
