The earliest known reference to toothpaste is in a manuscript from Egypt in the 4th century A.D., which prescribes a mixture of iris flowers.[citation needed] Many early toothpaste formulations were based on urine. However, toothpastes or powders did not come into general use until the 19th century. The Greeks, and then the Romans, improved the recipes for toothpaste by adding abrasives such as crushed bones and oyster shells.[1] In the 9th century, the Persian musician and fashion designer Ziryab is known to have invented a type of toothpaste, which he popularized throughout Islamic Spain.[2] The exact ingredients of this toothpaste are currently unknown,[3] but it was reported to have been both "functional and pleasant to taste".[2] It is not known whether these early toothpastes were used alone, were to be rubbed onto the teeth with rags, or were to be used with early toothbrushes such as neem tree twigs or miswak. It is known that these twigs were used by Indians from ancient times. Neem tree twigs are said to have good medicinal effects.
zondag 26 april 2009
Many early toothpastes where based on urine
A chicken once had its head cut off and survived for over eighteen months, headless.
September 10th, 1945 finds a strapping (but tender) five and a half month old Wyandotte rooster pecking through the dust of Fruita, Colorado. The unsuspecting bird had never looked so delicious as he did that, now famous, day. Clara Olsen was planning on featuring the plump chicken in the evening meal. Husband Lloyd Olsen was sent out, on a very routine mission, to prepare the designated fryer for the pan. Nothing about this task turned out to be routine. Lloyd knew his Mother in Law would be dining with them and would savor the neck. He positioned his ax precisely, estimating just the right tolerances, to leave a generous neck bone. "It was as important to Suck-Up to your Mother in Law in the 40's as it is today." A skillful blow was executed and the chicken staggered around like most freshly terminated poultry.
Then the determined bird shook off the traumatic event and never looked back. Mike (it is unclear when the famous rooster took on the name) returned to his job of being a chicken. He pecked for food and preened his feathers just like the rest of his barnyard buddies.
When Olsen found Mike the next morning, sleeping with his "head" under his wing, he decided that if Mike had that much will to live, he would figure out a way to feed and water him. With an eyedropper Mike was given grain and water. It was becoming obvious that Mike was special. A week into Mike's new life Olsen packed him up and took him 250 miles to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City . The skeptical scientists were eager to answer all the questions regarding Mike's amazing ability to survive with no head. It was determined that ax blade had missed the jugular vein and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was in a jar, most of his brain stem and one ear was left on his body. Since most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem Mike was able to remain quite healthy.
Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 68 years
Charles Osborne (1894 – May 1, 1991) hiccupped continuously for 68 years (1922-1990).
Osborne, from Anthon, Iowa, U.S., was entered in Guinness World Records as the man with the Longest Attack of Hiccups. The hiccups started in 1922 at a rate of 40 times per minute, slowing to 20 hiccups per minute and eventually stopping on June 5, 1990, a total of 68 years. His condition also led him to be a guest on Ripley's Believe It or Not! in 1936, ABC's That's Incredible! in 1980, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1983 , and to be featured as a question in the board game Trivial Pursuit.
Osborne began hiccuping in 1922, while slaughtering a hog. Despite his condition, Osborne was able to lead a normal life, and was even married two times.
Osborne died of complications from ulcers at Marian Health Center in Sioux City, Iowa on May 1, 1991 and he was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Anthon, Iowa three days later.
It has been estimated that Osborne hiccupped 430 million times over the 68 year period.
On average, people fear spiders more than they fear death
On average, people fear spiders more than they fear dying. However, statistically, you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by the bite of a poisonous spider.
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/43595/self_improvement_and_motivation/the_fear_of_spiders.html
Bridget Driscoll was the first person who died in a car accident (1896)
On the morning of August 17th 1896, Bridget Driscoll, aged forty-four, accompanied by her two daughters, was crossing the grounds of the Crystal Palace, on the way to a dancing display, when a motor vehicle knocked her down and killed her instantly. She was the first person to be killed in a motor accident.
http://www.wardsbookofdays.com/17august.htm
There are no red M&Ms from 1976 to 1987
1976 There are no red M&Ms from 1976 to 19871976 The popular food coloring, Red Dye No. 2, was banned by the FDA because studies had shown it might cause cancer. Red M&Ms disappeared for 11 years because of the ban.
1987 Red M&Ms return. There were none since 1976
http://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1986.html
The brain is more active during sleep than when watching television.
The brain is more active during sleep than when watching television.
Children average 1500 hours in front of televisions per year, viewing
20,000 commercials – making them the fastest growing consumer
population, influencing the spending of billions of dollars per year.
http://www.the-family-place.org/web%20info%20for%20CB/to%20CB%20for%20web/television%20and%20brain%20development.pdf
A baboon called Jackie became a private in the South African army in World War I.
. The 4 SAI and Jackie the Baboon
The 3rd SAI also had a mascot, Jackie, the baboon. Until 1915 Jackie was the beloved pet of the Marr family, who lived on Cheshire Farm, Villieria, on the outskirts of Pretoria. When, as no. 4927, private Albert Marr attested at Potchefstroom on 25 August 1915, for service in the 3rd Regiment of the Brigade, he asked for and was given permission to bring Jackie along with him. He behaved so well that he was officially adopted as the mascot of the 3rd SAI and taken on strength as a member of the regiment. Once in England he was provided with a special uniform and cap, complete with buttons and regimental badges.
In april 1918 the SA Brigade was badly shelled on the way to the area of Reninghelst, some two miles north-east of La Clytte (just some kilometres away from Ieper) in West-Flanders.
One of the victims was Jackie, wounded by a jagged piece of shrapnel in the arm and the leg.
His leg was amputated and Jackie was treated as any seriously wounded soldier, going along the evacuation line, from a CCS to a base hospital on the French coast. It was a common sight to see the baboon frolicking with other patients on the beach.
From early September 1918 till February 1919 Jackie and private Albert Marr were lent to the Red Cross by the War Office and the South African Government for the purpose of collecting money for sick and wounded soldiers. Much of the money the pair made was from the sale of postcards depicting Jackie and private Marr.
On May 1919 Jackie and Albert dined at Johannesburg’s Park Restaurant before going home to Cheshire Farm in Pretoria . There Jackie was celebrated and became the centre of attention on occasions such as the parade to welcome back officially the 1st SAI Brigade and at the Peace Parade on Church Square, Pretoria on 31 Juli 1920, where he received the Pretoria Citizen’s Service Medal. Jackie died after a fire destroyed the Marr home. He was buried in an unmarked grave on Cheshire Farm, Villieria. Albert Marr died in Pretoria, aged 84, in August 1973.
http://www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?p=269437&sid=3a09ef52c78de33fb8cca19dc084de04
The apple logo refers to the bite adam and eve took out of an apple from the tree of knowledge
The, now well-known, American company Apple was the first computer firm not to use its name as its corporate identity. The idea of selling a computer under the name and image of a fruit was conceived by Californian Steve Jobs and his colleagues (even the word "Macintosh" is the name of an apple variety). The motif of a multicolored apple with a bite taken out of it is a reference to the Bible story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represents the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. For more information about the logos, read this interesting article
http://www.dinesh.com/History_of_Logos/Information_Technology_(IT)_Logos_-_Design_and_History/Apple_Logo_-_Design_and_History/
The 3rd roman emperor tried to make his horse a consul and a priest
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( 31 August 12 – 24 January 41), more commonly known by his cognomen Caligula (pronounced /kəˈlɪɡjʊlə/), was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41. Caligula was the third emperor of the Roman Empire, and a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Perhaps most famously, they say that Caligula tried to make his horse, Incitatus, a consul and a priest.[104] The validity of these accounts is debatable. In Roman political culture, insanity and sexual perversity were often presented hand-in-hand with poor government
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula
The very first bomb that the Allies dropped on Berlin in World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo
The very first bomb that the Allies dropped on Berlin in World
War Two killed the only elephant left in the beautiful, world
famous Berlin Zoo. On November 26-27, 1943, British
Blockbuster bombs freed a number of wild animals from
Berlin's zoo and several large and potentially dangerous
animals: leopards, panthers, jaguars and apes, escaped. When
the animals got loose, they were panicked and bewildered.
Elephant house, Berlin Zoo, in 1844, left
http://www.exulanten.com/zoo.html
War Two killed the only elephant left in the beautiful, world
famous Berlin Zoo. On November 26-27, 1943, British
Blockbuster bombs freed a number of wild animals from
Berlin's zoo and several large and potentially dangerous
animals: leopards, panthers, jaguars and apes, escaped. When
the animals got loose, they were panicked and bewildered.
Elephant house, Berlin Zoo, in 1844, left
http://www.exulanten.com/zoo.html
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
http://core-latinamerica.org/paraguay/index.htm
Laos the most bombed country in the world
Laos was a target for heavy B52 strikes as well as smaller fighter-bomber missions by aircraft such as A4s, T28s and F105s. It was also an easy, undefended dumping ground for bombs that needed to be offloaded before aircraft could return safely to their bases and carriers. Laos was bombed non-stop from 1964 to 1973 at a cost of nearly seven billion dollars. Over two million tons of high explosive rained down from bomber raids launched on average once every eight minutes. The tonnage exceeds all the raids launched by every side in Europe during the whole of World War II. Indeed, Laos, one of the most sparsely populated countries in Asia, is the most heavily bombed country in the world. The lethal barrage, which peaked in 1969, included an estimated 250 million submunitions, notably infamous anti-personnel "bombies". Slightly smaller than tennis balls, and sometimes painted bright yellow, bombies can attract curious children and may be mistaken for fruit.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=2365
Hitler and Napoleon had only 1 testicle
Famous people with only one testicle:
Adolf Hitler - Dictator. Fact mentioned in spanish popular science magazine Muy Interesante.
Napoleon Bonaparte - French military commander and dictator; namesake of the Napoleon complex.
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Bodybuilder, actor, politician.
Tom Green - Oddball (pun!) actor
Hansie Cronje - South African cricket captain
John Kruk - Retired professional baseball player for, among others, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Lance Armstrong - Famous Tour de France Champion (suggested by quasi)
Grass snake (natrix natrix) feigns death
Death feigning, a variant of tonic immobility, is usually interpreted as a last-resort antipredator measure. The authors describe death feigning in grass snakes (Natrix natrix) and test some of its potential correlates. Death feigning was seen in 66% of wild-caught snakes but was not seen in hatchlings from laboratory-incubated eggs. Minimal indication of death feigning was mouth gaping, often with the tongue hanging free, but more dramatic cases involved voluntary supination and/or lack of muscle tone. Aside from hatchlings, which did not feign death, there was little variation in frequency or intensity of death feigning with body size. There was no effect of body temperature on death feigning nor were snakes that were moving when caught less likely to feign death than those that were not moving. Interpretation of the adaptive value of death feigning in grass snakes or in other animals is hampered by lack of evidence of this behavior in the field in response to natural predators.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17516791
In ancient rome, men would swear on his balls in court
the origins of the word testimony and testify are closely related to that of testis (or balls or nads for those who weren't forced to take Latin in school). Some historians believe that the Romans placed their right hands on their testicles and swore by them before giving a testimony. This is part of the reasons that eunuchs and women weren't allowed to testify in in court. Yes, I will certainly admit to there being controversy over this, but hey - its nice to be able to stick your hands down your pants and have some fun in court without being held in contempt. It is documented Roman law though that no man could bear witness unless he possessed both testes. Whatever the case, testify and testicle are from the same origin, and my certainly do give witness to my virility.http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/540111
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