William Addis (1734-1808)

In 1770, Addis had been jailed for causing a riot. While in prison he decided that the method used to clean teeth at the time was ineffective. To that end, he saved a small animal bone left over from the meal he had eaten the previous night, into which he drilled small holes. He then obtained some bristles from one of his guards, which he tied in tufts that he then passed through the holes in the bone, and which he finally sealed with glue.

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After his release, Addis started a business that would manufacture the toothbrushes he had designed, and he soon became very rich.

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He died in 1808, and left the business to his eldest son, also called William, and it stayed in family ownership until 1996.

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Under the name Wisdom Toothbrushes the company now manufactures 70 million toothbrushes per year in the UK.

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By 1840 toothbrushes were being mass-produced in England, France, Germany, and Japan.

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Not bad for a convict!

Source: Wikipedia

Images: Believed to be in the Public Domain (Age - Copyright expired)

Image: Unknown • Believed to be in the Public Domain (Age - Copyright expired)