What is something unique that you've made that you use frequently?
Who would have thought?!
Our everyday lives are filled with ordinary objects—items we use to groom ourselves, get dressed, commute, stay entertained, informed, and rested. Yet behind these seemingly mundane possessions lie fascinating histories and downright strange stories. Once you’ve absorbed these surprising tidbits, be sure to explore 46 other weird facts most people have never heard of.
Wooden hair brush
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Nowadays, most of the hair combs we use are made of plastic or metal, designed to gently smooth hair. But in ancient times, combs were often carved from bones, wood, and even ivory. The dense comb teeth were not only used to tidy hairstyles, but more importantly, their function was to remove dirt and parasites between hair.
A sturdy hair comb is also endowed with profound cognitive and spiritual meanings. The ancient Egyptians regarded combs as sacred objects and often buried them in tombs, believing that they could help the deceased maintain a dignified appearance in the afterlife. In Victorian Europe, people would treasure hair combs that were exquisitely decorated or engraved with names. They were not only intimate items, but also precious tokens of emotions and memories.
Toothbrushes
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Before bristle brushes, people chewed on twigs—such as neem—to clean their teeth and freshen their breath. It wasn’t until the 1400s that someone in China attached stiff boar bristles to a bamboo handle, creating the first modern toothbrush. According to Science Illustrated, boar bristles were used until 1938, when Dr. West’s Miracle Toothbrush introduced nylon bristles.
Brushing in space brings extra challenges: astronauts use standard toothbrushes but often swallow toothpaste since there’s no sink to spit into. Everything, including toothbrushes and drink bags, must be secured with bungees or Velcro. Curious about more space oddities? Discover 14 normal things astronauts can’t do up there.
Soap
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You might use an inexpensive bar from the drugstore—or perhaps something more luxurious. If money is no object, you could try the world’s most expensive soap. As the BBC reported in 2014, a Lebanese-made bar infused with gold powder and diamonds costs $2,800. Want more extravagance? Here are 15 over-the-top versions of everyday products.
Liquid Soap
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Early liquid soaps like Palmolive (named for its palm and olive oils) shared ingredients with bar soap. Today’s liquid cleansers, however, often use a petroleum base and include skin-friendly lathering agents, per Soap History. Not every invention is a success, though—read about 13 hilarious ones that failed spectacularly.
Rulers
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We easily measure objects with rulers today, but people once used body parts—like the foot—to estimate size. Standardization required a universal metric. Survey History notes that the meter was originally defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. Handy as rulers are, some inventors still regretted their creations—here are 7 examples.
Pencils
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Despite computers, pencils are thriving. Faber-Castell had record sales in 2016, and U.S. pencil imports rose 40% from 2015 to 2016, CBS 4 Miami reported. The reason? People love doing things by hand.
The pencil—from the Latin pencillum meaning “fine brush”— emerged in the 16th century after a graphite deposit was found in England. Early “black lead” sticks were wrapped in string and sold on streets. (Fun fact: that same graphite was used for cannonballs.) The best part? No spilled ink. Learn more about the pencil’s curious past.
Erasers
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It took 200 years after the pencil’s invention for the rubber eraser to appear. As The Atlantic reports, an 18th-century British engineer accidentally used a piece of rubber instead of bread—the go-to eraser of the day—to remove pencil marks. For centuries, a damp, crustless piece of bread was the preferred tool. Here are 10 other accidental discoveries that changed the world.
Blenders
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Beyond smoothies, your blender can make silver polish from banana peels. Apartment Therapy suggests blending peels with a little water to create a tarnish-removing paste. Just avoid blending these 16 foods.
Toasters
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Americans love toast—75 million eat it daily. But toasters, invented in 1905 (as the “El Tosto”), didn’t take off until pre-sliced bread arrived in 1933, says the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Vintage toasters (and other retro kitchen items) might be worth a fortune today.
Zippers
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Originally called the “Hookless Fastener,” the zipper got its name in 1923 when B.F. Goodrich added it to their boots—people loved the “zip” sound. Early critics complained zippers made removing pants too easy. (Today, most zippers bear the letters “YKK”—here’s why.)
Vitamins
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The history of vitamins is complex, but their naming is simple: they were lettered in the order of discovery. Overlaps in properties led to sub-classifications like B1, B2, etc. (Gizmodo). While early “vitamines” were poorly regulated, we now know much more about deficiencies—e.g., 75% of American kids lack vitamin D. But some vitamins are useless or even dangerous—make sure you know which.
Camera Phones
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Don’t thank Bill Gates—camera phone tech traces back to NASA in the 1990s, developed so astronauts could take high-quality, low-energy images in space (USA Today).
Dustbusters
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NASA and Black & Decker created the Dustbuster during the Apollo missions to vacuum rock samples—not for tidying spaceships. Discover more everyday items invented by NASA.
Nail Polish
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Ancient Babylonian warriors manicured with solid gold tools and wore black polish to intimidate enemies (Mental Floss). Egyptians used nail color to signify class: lower ranks wore light shades; elites wore red. Nefertiti favored ruby.
Modern nail polish has unlikely origins: automobile paint. A 1920s makeup artist working for what became Revlon adapted car paint into a clear enamel that became a flapper favorite.
Cars
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While sustainability is now a major concern, 1960s engineers were already designing micro-cars like the three-wheel Peel P50. At 54 inches long and 130 pounds, it once held the Guinness record for smallest car. Its fuel efficiency remains a mystery.