Bathroom

BATHTUB

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND THAT BASIC PLUMBING systems date back more than five thousand years: Copper pipes were found beneath an Indian palace from around 3300 BCE. The ruins of the ancient Romans' thermae (public baths) indicate that bathing was a public activity in a society that did not consider nudity exceptional, particularly during public sports and recreational events. Although the ancient Romans were the first to use baths for physical cleanliness, some anthropologists feel that human bathing originated from religious rituals. Plumbing and the installment of bathtubs in individual homes did not come until as late as the nineteenth century.

Although there is still controversy about the modern bathtub's true origins, John Michael Kohler seems to hold the inventor's reins. Kohler's bathtub began as a four-legged, enamel-lined horse trough, but evolved into a claw-footed bathtub. There are also tubs that use pedestals rather than claw feet. On the island of Crete, an ancient five-foot long pedestal tub was found. Fast-forward to the high-style tubs of today, some of which are recessed into the floor or a platform.

Descriptions of past cultures mention times when bodily dirt and body odors were masked with perfumes and cosmetics, rather than being removed by washing. That's not the case today, as most Americans subscribe to the notion that "cleanliness is next to godliness." Lucky for us, bathtubs abound.

CAT LITTER

KITTY LITTER FIRST ENTERED THE LEXICON OF CAT LOVERS in the 1950s when entrepreneur Edward Lowe, whose family owned an industrial absorbents company in Minnesota, provided a neighbor with absorbent clay called Fuller's earth to replace the ashes she was using in her litter box. He went on to make a fortune under the brand name "Kitty Litter."

Fuller's earth is any fine-grained, naturally occurring earthy substance that has a substantial ability to absorb impurities. Its name originated with the textile industry, in which textile workers (or fullers) cleaned raw wool by kneading it with a mixture of water and fine earth that absorbed oil and other contaminants from the fibers.

Before 1950, most cat boxes were filled with sand, dirt, or ashes, so the advent of a highly absorbent substance that also didn't leave a mess throughout the house was a great boon for cat owners. However, odor remained a problem, particularly if the litter wasn't replaced in a timely fashion. The bacteria found in the cat's feces converts the uric acid in cat urine into a noxious ammonia odor that is all too often associated with cleaning out the litter.

The advent of clumping materials, more effective in moisture absorption, helped solve this. In the 1980s, Thomas Nelson, an American biochemist, developed a commercially viable clumping litter from bentonite clay.

CURLING IRON / PERMANENT WAVE

IN 1872, A FRENCH HAIRDRESSER BY THE NAME OF Marcel Grateau came up with the idea of using heated tongs to wave hair to create the Marcel Wave. This clever invention would later be known as a curling iron.

In 1906, a permanent wave machine was demonstrated for the first time in London. Its purpose was to make a woman's hairstyle last longer. Specifically, Karl Ludwig Nessler, a hairdresser from Germany, was able to use his device to set the Marcel Wave more permanently, using a combination of borax paste and electrically-heated curlers. It was known as the Nestlé permanent wave.

Nessler's method worked, but was expensive and uncomfortable — the brass curlers weighed more than a pound each and the technique took many hours. Yet, in spite of its problems, the permanent wave machine became the rage in America after Irene Castle (1893-1969), the famous ballroom dancer, used it for her high fashion curled hairstyle during her dancing career in the 1920s. Curled bobs became a symbol of affluence in popular movies during this time period.

As technology improved, hair curling irons became sleeker and easier to use. You can now buy them in the local drugstore for less than $20.

DEODORANT / ANTIPERSPIRANT

WHEN DID MOST PEOPLE BEGIN WEARING DEODORANT The answer, my folk-song singing friend, is blowing in the wind. In the animal kingdom, odors are used to attract or repel. The advertising world does not want word of this leaking out, though! Body odor is whole-heartedly discouraged on our civilized streets.

Masking one unwanted scent with another more-appreciated scent has been the general method behind the first deodorants for more than five thousand years. Every major civilization has left a record of its efforts to produce deodorants. The early Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans relied on scented baths and perfumed oils.

Ironically, though human perspiration is itself mostly odorless, it wasn't until scientists discovered the true origin of body odor — when moisture is fermented by bacteria that thrive in hot, humid environments (such as underarms), it starts to smell — that we were able to virtually eradicate body odor. Deodorants are now usually alcohol-based and work at neutralizing the growth of bacteria in addition to the masking scent. Then the antiperspirant was born: aluminum-based salts, such as aluminum chloride, actively prevent our underarms from sweating in the first place.

The first deodorant was introduced in 1888. It was called Mum. Mum was not exactly what we're used to finding in a deodorant today. It sold by the jar, as a cream that you smeared on with your fingers.

It wasn't until the late 1940s that a researcher at Bristol-Myers unveiled Ban Roll-On. The inspiration came from another new invention with a completely different purpose: the ballpoint pen.

Aerosol deodorants were invented in the 1960s, obviously before we realized we were harming the earth's ozone layer. No matter. Sweaters are still staying cool and dry with today's variety of stick, roll-on, and non-CFC aerosol deodorants.

FLOSSING TOOLS

HAS YOUR DENTIST RECENTLY RECOMMENDED THAT you floss? He would not have been the first. It's been nearly two hundered years since Levi Spear Parmly, a dentist from New Orleans, invented dental floss from silk thread. It wasn't until around World War II that Dr. Charles C. Bass developed a nylon floss which was found to be better than silk because of its greater elasticity and resistance to abrasion. The first company to patent dental floss was Johnson and Johnson in 1898.

Generally, floss is dispensed in a small plastic container with anywhere from ten to fifty feet of nylon floss. Nylon floss is available waxed and unwaxed, and in a variety of flavors. Because this type of floss is composed of many strands of nylon, it may sometimes tear or shred, especially between teeth with tight contact points. Single filament (PTFE) floss slides easily between teeth, even between tight spaces, and is virtually shred-resistant.

Alternatively, one-hand flossers have been developed to allow for greater...