|
Fact File: Who invented the Toothbrush? Invention: Toothbrush *** Date of Invention:
1780 *** Name of Inventor: William Addis *** Historical Period: Industrial
Revolution era of inventions (1700 - 1860) *** Country of Origin: England *** The Invention of the Toothbrush
by William Addis ***
Fact 1: Who invented the Toothbrush? The name of the inventor of the
modern, handled Toothbrush is William Addis who invented the device in 1780.
However, the very first types of toothbrushes were in the form of chewing sticks
that are believed to have been invented in Mesopotamia c. 3500 BC.
Fact 2: Who invented the Toothbrush? Prior to the invention of the first
type of Toothbrush, the chewing sticks, by the
Mesopotamians c. 3500 BC, Neanderthal
man used twigs with frayed ends as toothpicks and to clean their teeth.
Fact 3: Who invented the Toothbrush? The Mesopotamians invented the earliest
type oral hygiene aid in the form of chewing sticks. The Mesopotamian
chewing sticks were made from the twigs of the Salvadora persica tree that
contains a number of medically beneficial properties including abrasives,
antiseptics and fluoride.
Fact 4: Who invented the Toothbrush? The
Ancient Egyptians also made a brush by fraying the end of twigs and evidence of
these early toothbrushes and chewing sticks have been found in tombs
of notable ancient Egyptians. The Ancient Greeks used strips of linen to clean
their teeth.
Fact 5: Who invented the Toothbrush? The use of the teeth cleaning twigs
spread to the east and were known by the name of "Miswak sticks". The Miswak
sticks, from the twigs of the Salvadora persica tree, strengthened the gums,
eliminated bad breath and prevented tooth decay.
Fact 6: Who invented the Toothbrush? The Miswak sticks were predominantly
used in Muslim-inhabited areas in the Arabian peninsula and Africa. The use of
Miswak sticks are frequently advocated in the Hadith (the traditions relating to
the life of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad). The situations where the use of the
Miswak sticks are recommended before religious practices, before entering the
house, attending gatherings, when travelling and before sleeping and after
waking up.
Fact 7: Who invented
the Toothbrush? The very first toothbrushes as such were made of the split,
bushy ends of bristles taken from the stiff hair of animals such as pigs, or
from the stiff flight feathers or the hollow tubular calamus (or quill) of
feathers.
Fact 8: Who invented the Toothbrush? The Ancient Chinese are credited with
inventing the first natural bristle toothbrush in the 15th century which was
made from the bristles from pigs' necks with a handle made of bone or bamboo.
Fact 9: Who invented the Toothbrush? The Chinese Toothbrushes were
introduced to Europe who adapted the design by using softer horsehairs, instead
of the hard hog's hair, or feathers. The Europeans used a gentle abrasive such
as soot, coal dust, brick dust and salt that they applied to the bristles.
Fact 10: Who invented the Toothbrush? The invention of the modern, mass
produced Toothbrush was made in June 1780 by the English entrepreneur
William Addis (1734 - 1808).
Fact 11: Who invented the Toothbrush?
William Addis was raised in Clerkenwell, London and earned his living as a rag
trader in the East End by collecting rags and then pulping them to make paper.
Fact 12: Who invented the Toothbrush? In 1780 William Addis became in
violent anti-Catholic riots, that became known as the Gordon Riots, when
protestors marched on Parliament. William Addis was one of the 450 rioters that
were arrested and was thrown into a prison known as St. George's House of
Correction in Borough High Street.
Fact 13: Who invented the Toothbrush? The story goes that whilst cooling
of in prison William Addis, fed up with rubbing his teeth with an old rag and
brick dust, came up with the idea of inventing a toothbrush.
Fact 14: Who invented the Toothbrush? When he was released from prison he
drilled half a dozen small holes into a piece of cattle bone then thread hog
bristles through the bone and glued them into place.
Fact 15: Who invented the Toothbrush? William Addis founded a company and
started making the toothbrushes commercially from his premises in Whitechapel in
East London. He had a great marketing idea to get his product know, As a paper
maker he had had many contacts in the book industry and offered free
toothbrushes to be given away with the books. His product became a success for
both its novelty and functionality.
Fact 16: Who invented the Toothbrush? The slave trade and the sugar
plantations of the era were responsible for the rise in Britain's consumption of
sugar. Prices of sugar dropped and increased the availability of sugar to the
lower classes. By the 1790s, on average, each Englishman consumed more than 20
pounds of sugar per year - teeth began to quickly decay and the sales of the
Addis toothbrush went up.
Fact 17: Who invented the Toothbrush? William Addis became a very rich
man. He died in 1808 and left the business to his three sons. The company
continued to prosper and improved manufacturing techniques during the Industrial
Revolution by introducing an automated manufacturing system in the 1860's. By
the 1890's Addis were importing their tooth brushes to America and the across
the British Empire. In 1955 the Addis company expanded its product range into a
variety of other household and brushware items and introduced the Wisdom
toothbrush in 1996.
Fact 18: Who invented the Toothbrush? The design of the Toothbrush was
improved in 1884 when a dentist called Dr. Meyer Rhein invented the first
curved, three-row bristle toothbrush.
Fact 19: Who invented the Toothbrush? Dr. H.N. Wadsworth submitted the
first patent for a toothbrush in the United States (patent number 18,653) on
November 17, 1857. His design for a new and improved toothbrush included
separating the bunches of bristles to provide more elasticity enabling the gums
to be thoroughly brushed. His design "intended to be of three, four and five
rows of bristles".
Fact 20: Who invented the Toothbrush? Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite,
the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907, and celluloid plastic brush handles
appeared on the toothbrush during WW1 (1914 - 1918).
Fact 21: Who invented the Toothbrush? Wallace Carothers invented
Nylon in
1935 and the nylon toothbrush, the first toothbrush to be made with synthetic
bristles, appeared on the market in 1938. People preferred the nylon bristles
because they were softer and more hygienic than the previous animal bristles.
Fact 22: Who invented the Toothbrush? The first electric toothbrush, the
Broxodent, was invented in Switzerland in 1954 by Dr. Philippe Guy Woog.
Fact 23: Who invented the Toothbrush? The first ultrasonic toothbrush,
initially called the Ultima and later the Ultrasonex, was patented by Robert T.
Bock, patent number US 7849548 in the United States in 1992.
Fact 24: Who invented the Toothbrush? The humble toothbrush has been
voted the number one invention that people can not live without - beating the
computer, the cell phone and the car! For additional interesting facts refer to
Who invented Toothpaste. |
