TheHistoryOf.net

The history of smiles is, of course, as long as the history of man. Before speech, there was always that international universal language – the smile. Everybody knows what a smile means. Everybody knows how important a smile is. And everybody knows that if we don’t brush our teeth, our smile won’t be so attractive. But teeth and smiles haven’t always been as bright as they are today. Way back then, people didn’t have the means that we have today to keep their teeth white. They used some pretty crude methods of teeth whitening.

Hearing aids may have a comical side to them (though not if you need one), and be a popular subject for mayhem in cartoons and from comedy shows; though less so nowadays in our increasingly sensitive times. But they have gotten smaller, more discreet and more effective as technological advances have come upon the scene, and this fact could be as much responsible for the lessening of joking asides and assaults as is the fear of legal action or the now encouraged thoughtfulness.

Are we really a vain society? Do we really have a more-than-normal pride in our appearance? To answer that, you’d have to define normal. There’s nothing wrong with being vain, as long as we don’t get carried away with it. We just want to look good – to look our best. And people have been working hard at looking their best for centuries. And that’s why cosmetics has such a long history. We’d like to take you through the history of cosmetics here; and let’s just see how similar we are to people living in 10,000 BC.

Contact lenses – new technology? Hardly! Would you believe, way back in 1508, Leonardo Da Vinci sketched and described several forms of contact lenses? Of course, we all know the results of Da Vinci’s insatiable curiosity – he was dedicated to discovering the mysteries of nature. That’s how he came to create the first record of putting a device on the eye to improve vision. He didn’t realize how “visionary” was his idea!

Body piercings have seen a resurgence of interest in the last ten to twenty years and are becoming more and more a part of the mainstream Western culture. Take a look at any fashion or entertainment magazine and you’ll see plenty of well-known celebrities with body piercings like navel rings or a labret. You might be surprised to find out that piercing is actually an ancient form of expression that most cultures have practiced at some time or other for thousands of years.