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UNIT 6
LESSON 4: INVENTIONS
A Brush with History
People still wanted to improve the tooth cleaner, however. Animal hairs did not feel great against human teeth! Finally, man‐made bristles were created. They were made out of nylon. Then plastic was used for handles. Now toothbrushes could be made quickly and cheaply. Millions were sold.
About two hundred years ago, William Addis invented something closer to today’s toothbrush. He collected thick animal hairs, called bristles. He attached the hairs to a handle made from animal bone. Addis found that lots of customers wanted his invention.
You know it is important to brush your teeth with a toothbrush to keep them healthy. But how did people clean their choppers before toothbrushes were invented? The first tooth cleaners were thin twigs called chew sticks. The sticks were fuzzy at one end. People rubbed the chew sticks against their teeth to keep them clean.
About fifty years ago, the electric toothbrush was invented. It does a great job of cleaning teeth. Today, we have toothbrushes with soft or hard bristles. There are special sizes for adults, children, and babies.
The toothbrush has come a long way since chew sticks. Who knows what kind of toothbrush will be invented in the future?
A Perfectly Sticky Idea
Sometimes accidents turn into inventions. Post-it Notes are a good example. Post-its are those little sticky papers perfect for marking your place on a book page.
Every time that Mr. Fry was in church and he stood up with his hymnal (this is a songbook) All the small slips of paper fell out. He thought: ‘I really need a way to keep these notes in.’
He put the glue on a piece of paper and used the paper as a bookmark. Fry saw that this bookmark would stay on a page. He could remove it and stick it onto another page. The paper did not fall off.
So he started thinking. He had some kind of bulletin board in his office and he used to put some sticky tape on the paper and the board to keep it in place. Suddenly he got an idea! Let’s put the adhesive on the paper, not on the board!! He took this idea to his colleague and he was enthusiastic about this idea as well.
In 1980, the company named the product Post-it Notes. The product was a great success!
Today, Post-it Notes are one of the most popular office products in the world. They come in different sizes and many colors.
And while I was looking for pictures for this text I came across a completely different use of the post-its.
ART!! Amazing, isn’t it???
Words
toothbrush
keep
healthy
invented (invent)
thousands of years
ago
sticky
twig
chewed (chew)
fuzzy
rubbed (rub)
against
threw
stick
centuries (century)
thick
bristles
attached (attach)
handle
bone
noticed (notice)
customers
invention
still
improve
however
finally
man‐made
created (create)
used (use)
could (can)
quickly
cheaply
electric
does a great job
soft
hard
sizes
adults
since
chew sticks
future
example
marking (mark)
slips of paper
notes
bulletin board
Suddenly
adhesive
colleague
enthusiastic
glue
bookmark
remove
onto
researchers
company
office products
different
while
came across (come)
art
