Yahoo! Answers

Hey Guys,

A few years ago, I started using an electric toothbrush at the behest of my exasperated dentist. It was a good call–I went from being told my teeth and gums represented those of a hobo, to someone who didn’t have to live in fear of his six-month cleaning. Recently, as I lay back in the dental chair listening to the hygienist talk about how my gums “look great,” I got to wondering: Who invented the toothbrush?

I started at Yahoo! Search and quickly found a great link from the Library of Congress. They explain that modern toothbrushes were invented in 1938. However, teeth cleaning devices can be traced as far back as 3000 BC. “Ancient civilizations used a ‘chew stick,’ which was a thin twig with a frayed end.” Folks would rub them against their teeth, perhaps in hopes of prying away any unsightly woolly mammoth meat.

The very first mass-produced toothbrush was made by an English chap named William Addis sometime around 1780. A page from The American Society of Mechanical Engineers explains that Addis “attached hairs from the tail of a cow to the end of a whittled thighbone from the same animal.” Amazingly, to this day, “descendants of William Addis still manufacture toothbrushes at a factory in England.” (I presume they no longer use cow tails.)

As for the electric toothbrush, the Library of Congress writes that it first hit the market around 1960. One of the more famous models was known as the Broxodent. I searched around for more info on the landmark tooth-scrubber and came across this vintage ad from the ’60s, marketing the contraption as “a thoughtful and welcome gift.”

Clearly you guys know my stance on the whole electric vs. manual toothbrush debate. Got your own opinions? What about the different types of toothpaste. Does it matter if you use “anti-cavity” toothpaste instead of “whitening” toothpaste? My experience tells me no, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading,

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Hey Guys,

Let’s talk soundtracks, shall we? The recently released (500) Days of Summer boasts a collection of classic hipster tunes including stuff from The Smiths, Feist, and Regina Spektor. After watching the trailer (which features plenty of good music), I got to wondering: What was the first soundtrack you could buy in stores?

A search on Yahoo yielded some solid results. Most experts believe the 1908 film “L’assassinat du duc de Guise” was the first to use specially composed music. However, fans couldn’t just go out and buy the LP at their local five and dime. In fact, that didn’t occur until the 1937, when “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” became the first movie to release its music for commercial purchase.

Yup, Walt Disney was an innovator in more ways than one. According to IMDb, Snow White wasn’t just the “first film to ever have a soundtrack recording album released for it,” it was also one of the first movies to have “related merchandise available at the time of premiere.” All those Spider-Man and Transformer toys you see? Blame Snow White.

Of course, IMDb is user edited so errors can sometimes occur. To make sure Miss White deserves credit, I visited Disney’s official site. Sure enough, the house that Mickey built writes “Songs from Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was “the first soundtrack album from a feature film.” Some of the tunes included: “Heigh Ho” and “The Yodel Song,” a track that any Yahoo! fan will find to be worth a listen.

If you guys were going to make a soundtrack to your own life story, what songs and artists would you include? Springsteen? Ice Cube? Johnny Cash? Metallica? Pink Floyd? Right Said Fred? Leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. — Thanks for all the comments on the “Harry Potter vs. Twilight” blog. You guys are maniacs (in a good way).

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Photo by jasonb42882

Picture this: six guys, 105 days, unappetizing food, no Internet, no TV, no windows…and no cash prize at the end. Sound like a bad “Big Brother” episode? Nope, it’s the newly completed Project MARS-500: a simulated mission to Mars.

The international crew of volunteers was just released from their isolation at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems. Their “capsule” size of 19,500 cubic feet provided each of them with a bedroom of about 34 square feet – that’s not much room, my friends. Short of an illness, no tribal vote or eviction would have given them a ticket out. It was all in the name of science – to see if astronauts could psychologically and physically handle the long trip to Mars in such close quarters without freaking out.

For the most part, the mission seemed to go without a hitch.  The biggest complaints were disturbed sleep due to various experiments (and not being able to see day and night), the fact that the trip wasn’t real (yeah, that’s a bummer), and not having a window to look out of. No stars, no moon, no awesome look back at the Earth that airborne astronauts are privileged to view. I really have to congratulate these guys. They went through the deprivation of a flight to Mars without any of the perks!

Of course, a real mission to Mars is still decades away, and another rehearsal is scheduled for 2010. This one will go on for 520 days – in the same capsule – to simulate the return home from Mars. Any volunteers?

If you were given the opportunity to be launched into space, would you go? How about a trip to Mars? Would you be willing to undergo the hardships and dangers of space travel to get a look at the Red Planet firsthand?

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Hey Guys,

On Wednesday, the sixth “Harry Potter” film hit theaters. Anyone who read J.K. Rowling’s books knows how the story ends. However, that absence of suspense hasn’t stopped the overwhelming excitement. But Harry isn’t the undisputed king of teen lit anymore. Twilight is big and only getting bigger. Over the past several weeks, I’ve noticed a surge in questions on “Harry Potter” vs. “Twilight.”

By my count, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of questions asking which franchise is “better.” Of course, there is no right answer, but that hasn’t stopped many in the Yahoo! Answers community from giving passionate responses.

Alex, a Top Contributor to Yahoo! Answers writes that Twilight is the “worst book” he or she has ever read and compares the novel’s hunky vampire Edward to a “creepy stalker.” Ouch. Additionally, Alex argues that the characters in Harry Potter have a backstory and a unique personality in contrast to the stars of Twilight, who are “one dimensional.”

Of course, not everyone agrees with Alex’s assessment. For example, Yahoo! Answers member “Doctor Orange!” feels that Twilight is “more realistic” (presumably, that’s a good thing). Another responder writes that while it may be true that many readers enjoy the Twilight books because Edward is an amazingly handsome fella, the real reason for Twilight’s popularity has to do with the way the author lets readers into the mind of the narrator, a conflicted young woman.

Most literature experts, including Stephen King, argue that J.K. Rowling is far and away the superior writer. What do you guys think? Do you prefer one franchise to the other? Or is the whole debate like comparing apples and bowling balls (i.e, totally pointless)? Leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

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