Toothpaste... I wondered who invented it. 

The other day when I was brushing my teeth the thought came into my head... "I wonder who came up with the idea of toothpaste."

And how did whoever came up with the idea of using something to clean teeth figure out what exact thing was effective at cleaning teeth?  And fluroide.... who discovered that adding flouride to toothpaste would prevent cavities?

This inquiring mind wanted to know, soooooo... I Googled it!

From "WikiAnswers.com"

It started in India and China way before the 1800s, in which time, 1824, a dentist named Peabody was the first person to make tooth paste with soap in it. John Harris first added chalk as an ingredient to toothpaste in the 1850s. In 1873, Colgate mass-produced the first toothpaste in a jar. In 1892, Dr. Washington Sheffield of Connecticut manufactured toothpaste into a collapsible tube.

The earliest known reference to a toothpaste is in a manuscript from Egypt in the 4th century A.D., which prescribes a mixture of powdered salt, pepper, mint leaves, and iris flowers. Many early toothpaste formulations were based on urine. However, toothpastes or powders did not come into general use until the 19th century.
 
"Many early toothpaste formulations were based on urine..."  ????????   EWWWWWWWW!!!  Now who on earth would think to use urine to clean their teeth???
 
I'm starting to wish I'd never asked...