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...

BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY... LET'S GO RACING BOYS!!!

It's a NASCAR Sunday afternoon here.  Time to get settled in the recliner to watch and snooze my way through the afternoon.  Racing from Pocono Raceway in PA today... the tricky tri-oval... should be an interesting race,

This is the time of the season where ESPN picks up the TV coverage.  The season starts out with Fox, switches to TNT, then ESPN.  I think it wraps up with NBC.  I prefer the FOX announcers and Darryl Waltrip, but as long as there are some former drivers as announcers at least there's someone who knows something about racing doing the talking.

Who do I want to see win the race?  It's more who I do NOT want to see win... not Kyle Bush, not Juan Pablo Montoya... not even Jimmie Johnson (time to see someone new win the Cup this year).  It would be nice to see someone who hasn't won in awhile get the win this week... Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. maybe.  It would be really sweet to have an old timer like Mark Martin take the win.  It's always good to see someone who doesn't win all that often cross that finish line first... they just appreciate it so much more.  Drivers who win all the time tend to get a little cocky and big headed... I don't like that snotty attitude.

It's raining at Pocono right now, so there's a delay firing up the engines.  It looks like it will be a short shower, so racing should get under way before too long.  I should be able to get a quick nap in before they drop the green flag.

What a treat I had today!

I was out running errands and ran into (not literally!) an aquaintance/friend I hadn't seen in awhile.  She is a wonderful older woman named Katherine and she just makes me feel great.  Let me tell you the story about how she and I met.

Back in December of last year (2009) I came out of school after a long day of teaching and headed for my car.  I got to the parking lot and prepared to step over a small ridge of snow on the edge of the sidewalk and slipped and fell.  I ended up breaking the ball joint in my right arm, plus my upper arm in two other places.  I had surgery to repair it all on New Year's Eve day... what a way to end/start the year!

Since I live alone and had no one at home to take care of me after surgery, I had to go to a rehab facility after I was released from the hospital.  I was there for a month as I worked to get minimal range of motion back in my arm. (After more out patient physical therapy my arm is very much improved and I have most of my range of motion back, but there are still some things that I can't do that I once was able to... I've learned to adjust.)

The rehab facility was basically a nursing home with one wing that was primarily for short term people like myself who were there for rehab.  98% of the people there, even on the rehab wing, were senior citizens (70's & 80's).  Katherine was one of the other patients on the rehab wing.

Every day while I was at the rehab facility I would go for physical therapy (or more accurately, pain & torture!) and a few other patients would be there as well.  We'd all work on our personal exercises while we waited for our 1-1 time with the therapist.  That's where I met Katherine.

Katherine is in her mid-80's, uses a walker to get around, and looks oh so frail... but she's anything but frail!  That woman is spunky & feisty and sharp as a tack.  She has a great sense of humor and a wonderful upbeat, go-get-em personality.  It always made my day to see Katherine and chat a bit with her while we went through our PT exercies.

I was released from the rehab facility at the end of January.  Katherine was still there when I left.  So today when I ran into Katherine at the drug store, I was overjoyed to see her!  She's living back at home, had driven herself to the store, and although she was still using her walker, she looked great.  It was just so wonderful to see her!

I got Katherine's phone number and promised to call her soon... she said she'd love to get together for lunch one day.  What fun that will be!

I received a letter in the mail the other day from the alumni association of my college asking for donations to the endowment scholarship fund of my graduating class.

The gift/pledge form that came with the letter offered several options to contribute to the fund...  "Check Enclosed", "Give Using My Credit Card", and "Pledge".

Under the pledge section there were options for spreading out your pledge over One Year, Three Years, Five Years, or Other (please specify terms).

I wonder...

Do you think they'd appreciate my contribution of $1.00?  And what if I spread it out over 5 years, making it a whopping 20 cents/year?  Better yet, I could specify my own terms... 10 years at 10 cents/year.  Yeah, that sounds like a plan!

TV commercials... some are great, some are just plain stupid.  I suppose even the stupid ones get you to remember the product being advertised, so I guess they've served their purpose in attracting the buyer's attention.

There is a set of commercials here for a local car dealership that are just soooo annoying!  They are the typical low budget type where the dealer himself (and in this case a couple of his associates) talk about how they have the best deals of anyone around, yadda, yadda...  At the end of each commercial the guy says... "It's gonna be HUGE!"  Only he pronounces it huuuuuuuggggguhhhhh.  Soooooo annoying!!  But yes, it sure does help you to remember that if you're in the market for a car, his dealership offers great deals.

There are a few commercials on TV these days that really tickle me whenever they come on.

First are the Wal-Mart commercials with "Mr. Rollback."   I just love "Durrell"!!   When he says... "Mr. Rollback likes ice cream"  it makes me smile.  :-)

Then there are the new Kraft Mac & Cheese commercials.... the ones with the kids talking to the camera as if they were the adults and their parents were the kids.  I especially like the one where the kid has been sent to the stairs for time out during dinner... "Sent up the river on trumped up charges while my dad scarfs down my mac & cheese... classic."   That just cracks me up!!  LOL

Finally there are the Hillshire Farms commercials... the one with the kid auctioning off his smoked turkey sandwich at school lunch time... "Going once, going twice.... SOLD to the lady up front with the pony!"... the one with the guys grilling in their back yard and chanting to each other... "I said a beef hot link, I said a beef hot link, I said brat, beef kielbasa, hot smoked sausage, cheddarwurrrrst!"  (Yes, I have them memorized!  hahahahaa)

Oh... and who could ever forget.... "Time to make the doooonuts" and.... "Where's the beef?!?"  Classic!!  :-)

I promised to tell the story of The Sneezer, so here it is!

I was sitting in my bedroom one day, at my desk using the computer, when I heard someone sneeze.  I didn't know where the sound came from at first, but as the person continued to sneeze, I realized it was coming from the condo unit that abutted my bedroom wall.

We're not talking soft little sneezes... we're talking loud humungous sneezes!   One, two, three... four or five sneezes.   Whoahhhh I thought... bad allergies or what?!?

I sat at my desk for a while longer and then could hear someone singing.   The Sneezer (though at that point I hadn't dubbed him that) was singing... at the top of his lungs!

He wasn't bad at first, but then.... whoooahhh!   It was like he was trying to imitate an opera singer, and doing it badly!  "I siinngggggg becauuuuuseeeeee I'm HAPPppppppppyyyyy!    I sinnnnnnggggg because I'm FREEEEEEEeeeeeeeee!"   It was a church hymn that I knew well.  

I started to laugh because it just sounded so ridiculous!   I went down the hall to the livingroom to laugh, because I knew if I could hear him singing he'd be able to hear me laughing.

For the next few weeks, I kept hearing The Sneezer bothing sneezing and singing over in his condo unit.  I could hear him the best when I was in the bathroom and he had quite a repetoire of songs.

"I'm your genie in a bottttLLLEEeeeee...."
"IF you want my BODDDyyyy AND you think I'm SEXXXXXyyyyy, COME on honey tell me SOOOoooo..."

It really was quite comical.  And of course there was the sneezing... five or more sneezes at a time, several times a day.  By this time I was affectionately referring to him as The Sneezer and he really was more entertaining than annoying. (though I did wonder if all the sneezing was killing off some of his brain cells!)

A few times I head him animatedly talking on the phone.... just a hyper kind of guy.  One time when I was pulling into the parking lot after work, a young guy came bounding out of the door that would lead to the stairway to his condo unit.  Just the way the guy hopped, skipped and ran, I figured it must be The Sneezer.

A few months later, The Sneezer must have moved out because I no longer could here anything coming from the unit next door.   I'm thinking he must have been a college student who was renting (two colleges nearby) because the semester was over and The Sneezer was gone.

I have to say that I truely do miss having The Sneezer as a neighbor.  Not only was he entertaining, but he always had such a positive and upbeat energy... something I could really use more of in my life.

So here's to the The Sneezer, wherever he may be... Happy Sneezing and keep on belting out those songs!  :-)

I live in a condominium complex... I rent, don't own. The complex consists of three buildings, each with 18 units. Each building has three entrances which give access to 6 units each, with three floors in each building.

It's a decent place to live... reasonable rent for something this nice in this area, quiet & country atmosphere with scenic views from the patio, condo rules which keep the place a decent place to live.

In general it's a quiet place to live... not a lot of traffic going by, not a lot of outside noise, no loud parties. But the place wasn't built in such a way as to tone down the normal every day noise of next door neighbors. It's easy to hear alot of what's going on next door or upstairs, not because the neighbors are outrageously noisy, but simple because of the way the place was built.

Now, I've been an apartment dweller for most of my life. I know what it's like to have to deal with a certain amount of noise from very close neighbors. You just learn to tune it out after awhile, unless it's over the top noise. This place, however, has to be about the noisiest place I've ever lived when it comes to being able to hear neighbors living their normal lives. (except for the ratty apartment I had once where the Chinese restaurant people lived downstairs... but that's a story for another day)

I don't know.... maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age and just can't deal with things like this like I used to. (thinking) Nah... I've always been this cranky, so that's not it. (grin) It's just the way these buildings are so poorly built.

The noise from the neighbors all started with the guy I affectionately think of as "The Sneezer". (more about him later) Then along came "The Slambangers", followed by "Thudmuffin", "King Kong", and "The Loudmouths". I don't even know the real names of these folks. I just gave them names according to the type of noise they made/make. (Hey, you were warned... I told you my brain comes up with some crazy stuff!)

First, "The Sneezer", who must have sneezed 20-30 times a day, no joke! His unit abutted mine from the side & I could hear him every time I was in my bedroom or the bathroom. "The Slambangers" are my immediate neighbors, as we share the same entry hallway. They slam their door every time they leave or arrive. (so annoying!) "Thudmuffin" was a petite girl who moved in upstairs but made so much noise walking around that it sounded like a heard of elephants rather than one small young woman! She was replaced by "King Kong" who is more quiet in general than Thudmuffin, but is much more heavy footed. Finally, along came "The Loudmouths" who are in the unit where The Sneezer once was. They call back and forth to each other from in and outside their unit from their patio which abuts mine.

Of course I can't just leave it at giving the basics about each one of these neighbors. I have a complete story to tell about each... that will commence tomorrow. I know you're just dieing with anticipation... :-)