3/9/2024 0 Comments Toothpick capital of the worldCooley of Granville, Massachusetts, patented the first toothpick-manufacturing machine in 1872, today the state of Maine claims to be the toothpick capital of the world, producing “90 percent of the country’s toothpick supply.” The modern toothpick (only about $2 for a box of 500) looks much like its early prototype. Talk about having the right tool for the job. Curved grooves found in the teeth of prehistoric humans are believed to be from the abrasive silica fibers in the first grass-stalk toothpicks. Research in paleontology suggests that even early hominids understood the basics of oral hygiene. You need a kind of thin, pointy object to dislodge bits of food stuck between your teeth. When you have a hunk of beef round, spaghetti squash or a popcorn shell stuck between your second bicuspid and your first molar, things can get tricky. Inspired by Anita Lahey’s celebration of the clothespin in Issue 20, Maisonneuve ponders three other oft-ignored domestic fixtures. Now let us praise ubiquitous household tools.
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