So what came first, the toothbrush or the toothpaste? According to the historical record, toothpaste was used to clean teeth long before the toothbrush was invented. Egyptians are believed to have started using a paste to clean their teeth around 5000BC. Ancient Greeks and Romans are also known to have used toothpastes, and people in China and India first used toothpaste around 500BC.

Ancient toothpastes were used to treat some of the same concerns that we have today – keeping teeth and gums clean, whitening teeth and freshening breath. However, the ingredients of ancient toothpastes were very different than what we use today. Ingredients used included an appetizing combination of ox hooves’ ashes, burnt eggshells and pumice. The Greeks and Romans favored more abrasiveness and their toothpaste ingredients included crushed bones and oyster shells. The Romans added more flavoring to help with bad breath, as well as powdered charcoal and bark. The Chinese relied on more palpable substances in toothpastes, included ginseng, herbal mints and salt.

Toothpaste as we know it came into general use in the 19th century. By 1900, a paste made of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda was recommended for use with toothbrushes. Pre-mixed toothpastes were first marketed in the 19th century, but did not surpass the popularity of tooth powder until World War I. Fluoride toothpastes to help prevent decay were introduced in 1914.

Toothpastes with very low abrasiveness were also developed and helped prevent the problems caused by overzealous brushing. The most recent advances in toothpastes have included the development of whitening toothpastes, and toothpaste containing Triclosan which provides extra protection against caries, gum disease, plaque, calculus and bad breath.

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Founded over 500 years ago, The Sikh religion today has a following of over 20 million people worldwide and is ranked as the worlds 5th largest organized religion. It is a monotheistic religion founded in fifteenth century Punjab on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and ten successive Sikh Gurus (the last one being the sacred text Guru Granth Sahib Ji). Sikhism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, equality of mankind and denounces superstitions and blind rituals. Sikhism is open to all through the teachings of its 10 Gurus enshrined in the Sikh Holy Book and Living Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Sikhism’s traditions and teachings are associated with the history, society and culture of Punjab. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples) and number over 26 million across the world. Most Sikhs live in Punjab, India although there is a significant Sikh diaspora. Until India’s partition, millions of Sikhs lived in what is now Pakistani Punjab.

The principal belief of Sikhism is faith and justice, in Waheguru—represented by the phrase ik ōaṅkār, meaning one God. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. The followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, or enlightened leaders, as well as the holy scripture entitled the Gurū Granth Sāhib Ji, which, along with the writings of six of the ten Sikh Gurus, includes selected works of many devotees from diverse socio-economic and religious backgrounds.

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The requirement of performing the Pilgrimage to Mecca is not only demanded of all Muslims. It is absolutely forbidden to all non-Muslims. Mecca is closed to non-Muslims, as is Medina, Islam’s second most holy city. Of course, the existence of a “forbidden city” is an open provocation to a certain type of explorer and adventurer. One such man, Sir Richard Burton, secretly made the trip.

Burton was one of the great adventurers of nineteenth-century Britain. He had extensive experiences throughout Asia and Africa: he served as a captain in the army of the East India Company; he produced the first complete translations of the 1001 Nights (also known as the Arabian Nights) and the Kama Sutra; he served on the expedition that discovered Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa. He was also one of the few foreigners to see the pilgrimage to Mecca. Disguising himself as a Sufi mystic named “al-Hajj ‘Abdullah’,” Burton made his way to Mecca in the early 1850′s. It was a dangerous experience, and Burton had to take numerous precautions to avoid being found out. (He not only had to disguise himself in traditional dress; he had to learn all the intricate rituals of Islam so he could fit in with the other pilgrims.) Despite the dangers involved, Burton made it back to England, where he wrote about his experience in his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah. Read it here.

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The only known photograph of Joseph Smith, maybe.

In 1994, a photograph was discovered in the archives of a Mormon church in Missouri. Comparisons with the death mask of Joseph Smith, the prophet of the Church of Ladder-Day Saints — more commonly known as the Mormon Church — suggested a match. Mormons worldwide were excited, but the Church would not officially confirm that it a photograph of their prophet was found. Compare the photograph above to the image of the death mask below. What do you think?

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As every British schoolchild knows, King Henry VIII had six wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. There’s a fabulous story behind every one of these marriages and separations, but the one with the greatest bearing on The Protestant Reformation occurred in 1533, with Henry’s separation from Catherine and marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Henry had been married to Catherine of Aragon for 16 years when he met Anne Boleyn in 1525. (He and Catherine were married when Henry was only 17 years old.) The King was infatuated, and Boleyn was in no position to resist her monarch. There was, of course, the matter of Henry’s current marriage. A divorce was out of the question, so the King beseeched his Pope for an annulment: a Papal decree that, really, this decade-and-a-half long marriage never happened. For a number of preposterously complex reasons — that nearly claimed the life of the Church of England’s Cardinal at the time (Thomas Wolsey) and did claim the life of his successor (Sir Thomas More) — an annulment was not forthcoming.

In a move that would have enormous consequences for the history of Protestantism, Henry took another approach. The Church of England would heretofore be rules by the King’s, rather than The Holy See in Rome. In 1533, Parliament recognized Henry’s separation from Catherine and marriage to Boleyn, and by the following year, the Church of England was entirely in the King’s hands. In the words of the British polemicist Christopher Hitchens, The Anglican Church is a church built “on the family values of Henry VIII.”

In 1536, Henry decided that his marriage to Anne was the result of witchcraft, and he murdered her. On to Jane Seymour…

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If you have eyes and have ever walked through an ultra-Orthodox or Hasidic Jewish neighborhood, you have probably noticed that its denizens follow the beat of their own sartorial drum. You might also have wondered if the women’s enviably shiny coifs women were the result of some magical kosher shampoo and if you could find it on the internet.

I admit that I was a bit disappointed to learn that the perfect tresses I had so admired were actually wigs (called a sheitel), which are worn daily in observance of the principles of modest dress under ultra-orthodox and Hasidic religious law. The religious reason for covering the head is the preservation of modesty, because it is believed that a woman’s natural hair is very alluring to the opposite sex and should only be admired by her husband. In keeping with this law, women start to cover their hair after they get married, with either a sheitel (wig) or a tichel (scarf). In some groups, such as Satmar, women crop their hair and wear a tichel. Some women opt for a snood (not to be confused with the computer game!) which is a beret-like hat with room for long braids under it.

The ‘Sarah Palin Wig,’ based on the hairstyle of the Last Frontier State governor and GOP vice presidential candidate, is the latest head covering to take the Orthodox community by storm. Released to great fanfare in 2008 by Sheitel.com, a Brooklyn wig shop and Web site for Orthodox Jewish women, the highly coveted coif is made of 100% human hair and available for $795 (marked down from $895). Boruch Shlanger, one of Sheitel.com’s owners, attributed its popularity to the fact that, “it is very easy to maintain, and a very classic look, yet fashion forward!” He was also quick to note that the new Palin wig isn’t necessarily pandering to customers’ political leanings, stating that, “we believe that good fashion taste trumps all politics.”

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Good Friday is the Friday immediately proceeding Easter Sunday. It is celebrated traditionally as the day on which Jesus was crucified. . On this day Christians commemorate the passion, or suffering, and death on the cross of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Many Christians spend this day in fasting, prayer, repentance, and meditation on the agony and suffering of Christ on the cross. Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service, usually in the evening, in which Christ’s death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Christ suffering for our sakes, and observance of the Lord’s Supper.

While The Bible does not explicitly instruct Christians to remember Christ’s death by honoring a certain day, it does allow for discretion on this and other related matters. Romans 14:5 tells us, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Rather than remembering Christ’s death on a certain day, once a year, the Bible instructs us to remember Christ’s death by observing the Lord’s Supper. First Corinthians 11:24-26 declares, “…do this in remembrance of me…for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Why is Good Friday referred to as “good”? Because Christians believe that the results of Christ’s death were very good! According to Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” First Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.” Thus, Christians believe that Jesus “had to die” so that humans could be forgiven for their sins. Don’t worry, I have always been as confused on this point and I am sure many of you are….. For additional clarification, the biblical account of Jesus’ death on the cross, or crucifixion, his burial and his resurrection, or raising from the dead, can be found in the following passages of Scripture: Matthew 27:27-28:8; Mark 15:16-16:19; Luke 23:26-24:35; and John 19:16-20:30.

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