Brush Up

Toothpaste has been around at least since the 4th century A.D. Archeologists found a recipe for it in Egypt consisting of salt, pepper, iris flowers, and mint leaves. Later, the Romans used toothpaste with human urine in it. Why they would want to do something so utterly disgusting, I cannot say. Some 18th century toothpaste recipes have involved burnt bread, cinnamon, alum, charcoal, and dragon's blood (which is a type of resin). Modern toothpaste contains baking soda, calcium, enzymes, flouride, vitamns, herbs, and a few other ingredients.

Flavors of toothpaste are commonly mint, anise, apricot, bubblegum, ginger, vanilla, fennel, cinnamon, lemon, orange, pine, or fennel. Some of the worst flavors that manufacturers have tried to sell are whiskey, iced tea, and peanut butter.