Brushing into the Future

For millions of years, people have always wondered what happens after death. There is the theory of heaven and hell, the theory of reincarnation, the theory of nirvana, among others. But if I have learned something from all the lives I have lived, it is that they are all real. My first life was as a mighty Chinese Emperor, a pretty vain one to be honest. Everyone should be grateful for such vanity, because that was what helped me invent the toothbrush. The problem is that I never imagined what it would become. It was in 1498, the year in which I thought for the first time about how I would look without teeth, since that was an inevitable future, thanks to the lack of oral hygiene that existed at that time. When I imagine myself without teeth, a panic overwhelmed me, so I thought about what could help me avoid such a fateful future. I considered various materials, such as stones, straw, wood, chips and leaves, but at the time it seemed that nothing was a good idea. Until one night, I woke up thanks to a revealing dream, where I saw a branch with animal hair tied to it. That was the clearest epiphany I have ever had in my life.

I sent my best employees to create the dream I had, telling them that it’s handle should be made of wood and its bristles of a wild pig hair. It only took them one day to do it and introduce me to the most incredible invention in history. I brushed my teeth with water for several hours, feeling the freshness of clean teeth. I have never been so happy as at that time. But there the history does not end here. In the seventeenth century, merchants were responsible for spreading this invention around the world, managing to create a luxury item, which only royalty could afford. Thus becoming one of the most famous emperors of that time. But there were problems after a while. People began to complain about how hard the brush was, and how it irritated the gums causing them to bleed. It was also confirmed that using animal hair can cause various oral infections, due to the lack of hygiene of animals. This was when different doctors or experts in the oral area began to look for other alternatives. Who would have thought that over the years materials would be discovered that would help us in our oral hygiene, but at the same time would slowly kill us thanks to the side effects that these materials would cause in the environment.

Although it is true at first I only thought about the benefits that having a toothbrush could provide me to maintain good oral hygiene, however with the passage of time I understood that it was important that this device also take care of my health, not only on the outside but also on the inside.

That is why it occurred to me to drastically modify my product, using nylon as the main material, which is resistant and flexible at the same time. Thus, in 1938 the modern version of the toothbrush was launched, which was made with Nylon silk bristles, which allowed perfect oral hygiene, this discovery started a revolution in the toothbrush industry. Nylon was hard, rigid and flexible, resisting deformation and moisture did not damage it because it dried completely, thus preventing the growth of bacteria. In 1938, this new material became the symbol of modernism and prosperity through the commercialization of nylon stockings.

However, with the passage of time, it has been acquiring several improvements, until it reaches a product that is easy to market and accessible to all, as it is made of a low-cost material such as plastic. At first it had a great boom and people were happy with its result, however, over the years the new generations began to show great environmental pollution caused by excess plastic waste that is why sales began to decrease and people’s mouth problems increased.

Consequently, electric toothbrushes began to be manufactured, assuming that these would attack the problem of excess plastic production. Electric toothbrushes were initially created for patients who had limited motor skills, and for those who used orthodontic appliances. Electric toothbrushes have been claimed to be more effective than manual toothbrushes as they make it less likely for patients to brush incorrectly.

However, the people who created it did not take into account a great detail, these brushes had a high cost and therefore it was not so accessible to the market, since the majority of the population was from the lower middle class. Continuing with the big problem.

When I reincarnated in my future self I realized that many things have changed, their style, their shape, even human behavior has become more aware of the world around us, for this reason many products that existed before now no longer exist, I wondered how my toothbrush invention evolved. an inexpensive brush was made for the accessibility of everything, this toothbrush had very specific features, the bottom of the brush was metal to make it resistant to daily use and Durable for a lifetime, the top was the most interesting since this part was made of hemp, it was biodegradable so it does not affect the environment and thus reduce a large amount of garbage that we produce annually.

Humans are testing different materials to take care of our environment and thus pollute less, the solution they are giving to the toothbrush is very effective since the only garbage I produce is when I have to change the upper part of the toothbrush. For this reason they made it biodegradable so that it does not affect any animal or environment, the most interesting thing is the lower part that is made of metal a product that will last thousands of years on earth for this reason there is a campaign where you can recycle the bottom and where it will transform into a new object.

 

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