Toothpick

Wood toothpicks

A toothpick is a piece of wood or other substance such as plastic used to remove food from the teeth after a meal. A toothpick usually has one or two sharp ends to insert between teeth.

Contents

1 History
2 Sports
3 Trivia
4 External links and references

History

Toothpick grooves have been found in the teeth of prehistoric humans.

There are several references in toothpicks from ancient historical times. Marcus Valerius Martialis mentions Dentiscalpium in his Epigrammata (86-103 AD) [link]). Furthermore, a toothpick is also mentioned in Satyricon by Petronius Arbiter (60 AD).

Shakespeare mentions a toothpick in Act II, scene I of Much Ado About Nothing,

I will fetch you a toothpicker now from the furthest inch of Asia; bring you the length of Prester John’s foot; fetch you a hair off the Great Cham’s beard; do you any embassage to the Pigmies, rather than hold three words’ conference with this harpy.

The first use of the toothpick in the United States was perhaps in the Union Oyster House of Boston, Massachusetts, one of the oldest restaurants in the United States. Charles Forster, who had imported toothpicks from South America, apparently decided that the best way to increase demand for his innovation was to pay Harvard students to eat there and to request toothpicks.

The first toothpick-manufacturing machine was patented on February 20, 1872, by Silas Noble, and J. P. Cooley of Granville, Massachusetts.

The toothpick is now part of many utility knives, such as some models of the Swiss Army's.

Sports

The toothpick is the centerpiece for a pool game simply called toothpick. Players pick teams and one player dives to the bottom of the pool, placing the toothpick somewhere on the pool floor. The object of the game is to be the first to see the toothpick as it rises out of the water and grab it while jumping in before anyone else can. A player has to catch it in the air as they may not swim around for it or move their arms in the water to find it. A player can have multiple chances at it if they get out of the pool and jump again. Players from opposite teams can play defense against the other by boxing them out but can not push the other player into the pool or hold him back from jumping. However, a player can push an opposing player while he is in the air in order to change his flight path and miss the toothpick.

Trivia

The American state of Maine claims to be the toothpick capital of the world, producing "90% of the country's toothpick supply." ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}
The toothpick is claimed to be the object Americans most often choke on. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}
The toothpick may be made out of plastic, wood, or in recent cases, rubber.
Toothpicks may come in a variety of colours.
Joe Pesci is an avid toothpick fan.
A toothpick is also a BMX trick. It is a stall/grind performed on the front peg/axle only.

External links and references

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