Forks met religious objections, a rival in the spoon, and social mockery. They spread slowly from Italy as fashion, then as a mark of refinement.
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Citrus was shown to cure scurvy in 1747, but weak theory, heat-damaged juice, a switch to limes and a rival bacterial theory let the knowledge fade until vitamin C was identified.
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Rivets stopped pocket corners from tearing on workwear, and the tiny pocket was made for a pocket watch. It is not actually the fifth pocket, which is the second back pocket added in 1901.
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People mostly used bread crumbs, plus wax and stones for other media. Edward Nairne popularized the rubber eraser around 1770, though Joseph Priestley noted rubber's erasing power too.
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Historian Roger Ekirch argues segmented sleep was the predominant pre-industrial Western pattern. Historian Niall Boyce has challenged that, and a study of three pre-industrial societies found no such pattern.
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Yellow most likely began as 1889 luxury marketing for Koh-I-Noor pencils, though the reason for the color is debated. No. 2 is a middle hardness grade, roughly HB.
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Yes. Tin cans were patented in 1810, but the first can openers appeared in 1855 in England and 1858 in the US, about 45 to 48 years later.
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Walter Hunt, a New York mechanic, patented the spring-based safety pin on April 10, 1849, reportedly while trying to raise money to pay a $15 debt.
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Ridged edges began as a defense against clipping and counterfeiting of gold and silver coins. Today they mostly survive through tradition, with a side benefit for people who identify coins by touch.
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Toilet paper spread from a 1857 medicated novelty to a rolled, perforated staple as indoor plumbing grew and Scott Paper overcame Victorian embarrassment.
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Rome relied on provincial grain and olive oil shipped across the Mediterranean under state oversight. Monte Testaccio, a hill of discarded oil jars, documents that oil trade.
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