Kids were tumbling out of bed, their mothers hurrying them to clean their teeth, handing them tooth sticks and jars of toothpaste. What? Did I just say – "Tooth sticks"?
That's right.
They used tooth sticks to clean their teeth back in 1870. A tooth stick was simply a twig with a frayed end. Some lucky kids had twigs with boar hair tied to one end for that extra shine. And what was that other thing I said? "Jars of toothpaste"?
That's right. Toothpaste tubes were not invented yet. They only had jars.
And every bleary eyed kid started her day by dipping a tooth stick into a porcelain jar filled with toothpaste. Actually, into the same porcelain jar that every other member of the family dipped their tooth stick into. Including that visiting grand aunt with yellow and black teeth, whose tooth stick matched her teeth.

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