The best thing invented since sliced bread is ___________________ And History of it.

[AtLast]

Clumping cat litter!

------------------

For nerd fun:

The Rise and Fall of Clumping Clay Litter
http://cats.about.com/cs/litterbox/a/clumpingclay_2.htm

1928 - Sliced Bread Invented-
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/qt/slicedbread.htm

-------------------

[Jess]

The THERMOS! Keeps hot food hot, cold food cold... how do it know???

http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0/dc/d/AAAADEAFrDgAAAAAANzbBA.jpg?v=1279495890000

tYM5rRL5u4U&feature=related

[tapu]

The Flush Toilet

For its development history (too long to write out here), see The History of Plumbing by Hodding Carter (yes, that Hodding Carter--i wonder how many parents say, "Oh, honey, let's name the baby Hodding, whether it's a boy or a girl.")

Wiki: 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation and thus must resort to open defecation or other unsanitary forms of defecation, such as public latrines or open pit latrines. Improved sanitation, including hand washing and water purification, could save the lives of 1.5 million children who die from diarrheal diseases each year.

[i have a thing about this]

[girl_dee]

POST IT NOTES!
Everyone knows what Post-it® notes are: They are those great little self-stick notepapers. Most people have Post-it® Notes. Most people use them. Most people love them. But Post-it® Notes were not a planned product.
No one got the idea and then stayed up nights to invent it. A man named Spencer Silver was working in the 3M research laboratories in 1970 trying to find a strong adhesive. Silver developed a new adhesive, but it was even weaker than what 3M already manufactured. It stuck to objects, but could easily be lifted off. It was super weak instead of super strong.
No one knew what to do with the stuff, but Silver didn't discard it. Then one Sunday four years later, another 3M scientist named Arthur Fry was singing in the church's choir. He used markers to keep his place in the hymnal, but they kept falling out of the book. Remembering Silver's adhesive, Fry used some to coat his markers. Success! With the weak adhesive, the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the pages. 3M began distributing Post-it ® Notes nationwide in 1980 -- ten years after Silver developed the super weak adhesive. Today they are one of the most popular office products available.

[PaPa]

The light bulb Thomas Edison.
How else would I write those late night essays for school? LOL!

The modern world is an electrified world. The light bulb, in particular, profoundly changed human existence by illuminating the night and making it hospitable to a wide range of human activity. The electric light, one of the everyday conveniences that most affects our lives, was invented in 1879 by Thomas Alva Edison. He was neither the first nor the only person trying to invent an incandescent light bulb.

Invention: electric light bulb in 1879

Definition: noun / electric light bulb / incandescent lamp
Function: An electric lamp in which a filament is heated to incandescence by an electric current. Today's incandescent light bulbs use filaments made of tungsten rather than carbon of the 1880's.
Patent: 223,898 (US) issued January 27, 1880
Inventor: Thomas Alva Edison

Criteria: First practical. Modern prototype. Entrepreneur.
Birth: February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio
Death: October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey
Nationality: American

[Blade]

The bar code of course. Anyone who is old enough to remember the girl at the local grocery store, throwing a package of sanitary somethings in the air and yelling PRICE CHECK!!!!!!!!! As the bag boy turns red and seems to want to crawl into a brown paper poke. Yep has to be the bar code.

1952 The first patent for bar codes is issued to Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver.

Of course we didn't benefit from this invention until much later than 1952.


http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTjVJ3caeXXj1vVdSXmFNGw1jgk8AIcg cuOcrmxngY0ipWiW6LJfg

[The_Lady_Snow]

My Zune!!!!

( I'm to lazy to look up Wiki)

[Andrea]

The internet and BFP. Anecdotal History of the Internet (http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html)

[suebee]

Pre-shredded cheese! No more shredded knuckles! :happyjump:

[Rockinonahigh]

The humble microwave oven,I remember the litle samll one mom had when they first came out,now they are in many sises.The microwave oven was a lab accident that was suposed to do one thing but did aomething else better.

[AtLast]

This great- all the posts- I am nodding like crazy!! You all RAWK!

Suebee (grated cheeze) reminded me of pre-washed produce- especially lettuce. Saves time and water!!

This blurb on "Ford's Produce Co." is fun- they were the first to do pre-washed spinach. Looks like this came to be in the mid-1980's.

http://www.fordsproduce.com/history.html

[Rockinonahigh]

T-paper,cant live with out it.I have no idea how or why but so glad it is.

[foxyshaman]

Heated car seats.:cheer::clap: Oh yeah baby ain't nuthin like it in the :cold: frozen north. Never ever own another car without them. :happyjump:

[AtLast]

T-paper,cant live with out it.I have no idea how or why but so glad it is.

OMG! The idea of corn cobbs is just horrible!!

:seeingstars:

[Rockinonahigh]

Once I ask a very old person what they did before T-paper came out,she told me that they used anything that was at hand that could do the job but could be thrown away.She also said corn chuck would do if dampend to soften them..so glad I didnt have to do that.Again she said the first time she had a house with runing water and an indoor toilet she thought she was very rich indeed.

[UofMfan]

Since I don't hold Sliced Bread in such high regards, it could be anything, to me.

[tapu]

Once I ask a very old person what they did before T-paper came out,she told me that they used anything that was at hand that could do the job but could be thrown away.She also said corn chuck would do if dampend to soften them..so glad I didnt have to do that.Again she said the first time she had a house with runing water and an indoor toilet she thought she was very rich indeed.

I had relatives who used newspaper back in the hills. I mean in my generation. People couldn't afford tp--some didn't even have indoor plumbing. Once away from there, I found the adjustment to be easy.

[Stitch]

Femmes in summer dresses!

[AtLast]

Although I have problems with the environmental concerns about plastics in general (and how all plastics bring us to more oil use), as someone that has severe arthritis in the hands, "Zip-Lock" bags are helpful I mean the real "zip-lock" kinds. I wash and re-use them and usually put things in a container in the fridge that can be washed, but sometimes these just work the best.

Always a dilemma with some of these things!!


History
Ziploc brand zipper storage bags were introduced by Dow Chemical Company. According to Dow's website, the first Ziploc bags were test-marketed in 1968. This was the first time that the resealable bag was marketed as a way to keep food fresh. However, in 1954, a company called Minigrip, purchased the license to manufacture a resealable zipper bag. According to Minigrip's website, it manufactured the "first integral zipper plastic bag in the United States" in 1959. It wasn't until 1968 when the technology was licensed by Dow Chemical Company to be used for food storage.


Read more: Who Invented Ziplock Bags?- http://www.ehow.com/about_5365229_invented-ziplock-bags.html

Here is a tid-bit about the historical development of dildoes-

History of dildos

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2997.html

[tapu]

Although I have problems with the environmental concerns about plastics in general (and how all plastics bring us to more oil use), as someone that has severe arthritis in the hands, "Zip-Lock" bags are helpful I mean the real "zip-lock" kinds. I wash and re-use them and usually put things in a container in the fridge that can be washed, but sometimes these just work the best.

Always a dilemma with some of these things!!


History
Ziploc brand zipper storage bags were introduced by Dow Chemical Company. According to Dow's website, the first Ziploc bags were test-marketed in 1968. This was the first time that the resealable bag was marketed as a way to keep food fresh. However, in 1954, a company called Minigrip, purchased the license to manufacture a resealable zipper bag. According to Minigrip's website, it manufactured the "first integral zipper plastic bag in the United States" in 1959. It wasn't until 1968 when the technology was licensed by Dow Chemical Company to be used for food storage.


Read more: Who Invented Ziplock Bags?- http://www.ehow.com/about_5365229_invented-ziplock-bags.html

Here is a tid-bit about the historical development of dildoes-

History of dildos

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2997.html

I cannot believe it took us 'til now to come up with dildos.

[Apocalipstic]

Conditioner and Creme Rinse!

I remember back in the 60's when we just had shampoo and my long hair was always a rats nest and it hurt so bad to have my tangles washed out.

The first such product I remember was Johnson & Johnson No More Tears...it was a miracle to me.

[Apocalipstic]

The washing machine!

I remember when we got our first one shipped from the US to Argentina. I remember watching everything be washed by hand on a stone wash boad. :|

I.would.hate.that.

Dryers too....yes, sheets smell sweet after hanging out in the sun...but with work, who has time (or even wants to)? Especially in places where it rains a lot....like here.

[AtLast]

I cannot believe it took us 'til now to come up with dildos.

I know! Strange!!!

[Jess]

" You might be a redneck if: You use a shower cap to cover your leftovers!"

That said...these have become one of my favorite new thingys. "Plastic land" ( that storage area we all have to keep up with plastic containers and lids) as we call it drives me nuts and we always lose one or both parts of the set...soooooo:

http://0.tqn.com/d/cookingequipment/1/0/y/A/-/-/CoverMate-Pouch.JPG

[AtLast]

The washing machine!

I remember when we got our first one shipped from the US to Argentina. I remember watching everything be washed by hand on a stone wash boad. :|

I.would.hate.that.

Dryers too....yes, sheets smell sweet after hanging out in the sun...but with work, who has time (or even wants to)? Especially in places where it rains a lot....like here.

I remember both my Mom and grandmother using washboards! i thin washers were on the market, but they didn't get one until they could afford it. Same with a television.

Plus, do you remember when "Borax" was about the only clothes detergent around? Very harsh on skin.

[Rockinonahigh]

My grannie had a wood burning stove to cook on even when mom bought her a new fangled gas stove she didnt use it till grandpa finaly hauled the old stove out of the house and installed the gas one.Grannie didnt like it,wouldnt cook on it cause she said the food didnt cook or taste the same.Finaly she got the hang of the thing but never really liked it.

[Gentle Tiger]

DIVIDER PLATES

http://www.canadaint.com/images/restaurant/cor_divid.jpg

[Apocalipstic]

I remember both my Mom and grandmother using washboards! i thin washers were on the market, but they didn't get one until they could afford it. Same with a television.

Plus, do you remember when "Borax" was about the only clothes detergent around? Very harsh on skin.

We were in Argentina until 1976, and we used RINSO which also was pretty rough lol.

Since I don't hold Sliced Bread in such high regards, it could be anything, to me.

I agree...now...but when I was little in Argentina outside of Buenos Aires there was no sliced bread...you have to go to the panaderia to get the bread then take it to get it sliced for sandwiches. Same with milk...you bought it one place then took it to another to get it pasturized.

So many things we take for granted now :).

" You might be a redneck if: You use a shower cap to cover your leftovers!"

That said...these have become one of my favorite new thingys. "Plastic land" ( that storage area we all have to keep up with plastic containers and lids) as we call it drives me nuts and we always lose one or both parts of the set...soooooo:

http://0.tqn.com/d/cookingequipment/1/0/y/A/-/-/CoverMate-Pouch.JPG

Heyyy, I need me some of them. lol
I never can find a lid!

OK, so pasturized milk!

[foxyshaman]

Some of these I find quite amusing.

Just sharing some memories from my oh so bright and fun childhood.

We had a washing machine that had the squeezer on top to get the water out. I loved that old tub washing machine.

When we moved to the 'other' farm we hand washed all of our clothes for a few years. Jeans with cow shit on them are hard to wash... cow shit stains your clothes green, especially if it is early summer and the grass is really fresh. Ringing the water out of heavy clothes to put them on the line could at times be a two person job.

There were lots of times we had no running water and lots of times without TP. I remember a few times using the Sears catalogue for such events. We had various types of porta potties in the house (loved emptying that thing) as well as out houses and dug holes in the ground.

We also heated our house with wood and coal. We cooked on a coal/wood stove. There is one thing that I will never ever eat again, baked brown beans. Why you ask (well even if you did not), because brown beans baked in a coal stove for hours are THE BEST. I have never tasted anything to compare. Our stove even had the bread warmer and drawers to keep things warm.

We were at times very poor and lots of times there was no bread to slice!! However, one day my parents bought a sonic mill and ground their own flour. OMG...seriously OMG that stuff weighed 80lbs per loaf. I never have been able to slice bread very well. Now I don't even eat bread, ever.

So...even tho' things have been invented, there are times when you just go without modern conviences.

Now if you leave me on a desert island, leave me with a washer and dryer please and thank you. And please leave me with nice soft TP!!!

[AtLast]

DIVIDER PLATES

http://www.canadaint.com/images/restaurant/cor_divid.jpg

Yup! And these puppies come from old time chop or grill plates- many of which in the US were Blue Wollow. It was actually the dinnerware of country tables and inexpensive china picks. Great way to keep the meat juices from running into the veggies and starches!!

http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/m/mZH-jOXoWJG7hvBCSoLdfSg/140.jpg

[Gentle Tiger]

Rowenta irons! Me and my Rowenta got a thing going on~

[deb_U_taunt]

http://s7.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/052EF5E0.jpg

refrigerator/freezers

[Jess]

For the DIY, these are like the extra hand that is never there when you need it:

http://www.irwin.com/uploads/products/large/xp600-one-handed-bar-clamps-spreaders-67.jpg

[foxyshaman]

cordless screwdrivers, stud finders (tapping the wall has always been a hit and miss, literally and figuratively for me). :builder:

The one thing I do miss are the metal ice cube trays with the handle to loosen and remove the ice cubes... ahhhhh my sad heart:watereyes:... I do look for them at garage sales.

:brightbulb:I also give props to whoever invented the pie plate with the built in knife that lifts the crust... I love that too.

It took me years to get used to not cooking in cast iron fry pans, but now I love my non stick ones... :cheer:

[sharkchomp]

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k210/h0ney1/poles.jpg

fishing poles!!!!!!!!!

~~~shark~~~~~~~~~

[Jess]

Silicone!

Bakeware:

http://www.dennisstein.com/Pictures/2007/2007-08-23_Parmesean_Crisps/silpat.jpg

Utensils:

http://www.kitchencritic.co.uk/upload/2008/11/chefn-tools.jpg

Software:

http://image.dhgate.com/upload/spider/b/144/903/b_8qi1qg903144_0.jpg

Hardware:
ahem, not sure if images are ok in TOS... so, em :
http://www.goodvibes.com/display_category.jhtml?id=catalog70002_cat33913

[princessbelle]

http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt277/niki_belle75/untitled-1.jpg


Safety needles.

Has saved MANY lives and less spred of diseases. Not too mention less worry and peace of mind.

[Sachita]

eureka's Pet Lover Vacuum. If you have hair everywhere you must have one.

[AtLast]

cordless screwdrivers, stud finders (tapping the wall has always been a hit and miss, literally and figuratively for me). :builder:

The one thing I do miss are the metal ice cube trays with the handle to loosen and remove the ice cubes... ahhhhh my sad heart:watereyes:... I do look for them at garage sales.

:brightbulb:I also give props to whoever invented the pie plate with the built in knife that lifts the crust... I love that too.

It took me years to get used to not cooking in cast iron fry pans, but now I love my non stick ones... :cheer:

YES on the metal ice cube trays! So much easier than the plastic kind of today. That is one of those- "If it isn't broke, don't fix it" kind of things! You could do a slight tap n' slide and... perfect exit of cubes!!

[tapu]

Well, well. Bill Gates is finally following my lead. ;)

Gates Foundation: 'We need to reinvent the toilet'

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/07/19/toilet.design.gates/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

[Dominique]

The best thing invented since sliced bread IS contact lenses.

I got my first pair when I was 14. I remember begging my father. I was 4 before I knew trees had leaves. So by 14 my prescription was pretty thick.
Surprisingly he went for it, especially when the eye Dr. told him wearing these hard lenses would stop my vision from changing. Then came the lecture. As they were hard lenses, they had an adaptation period, you couldn't sleep in them, the list was long. I recall sitting in the waiting room after they taught me how to put them in.....I was reading a book. All these people were crying and had running noses. They were talking about just getting contacts. :blink: I wasn't having any problems.......no adjustment period, I wore them home (dad lectured, I ignored) I had that same set of contacts for 10 years.

Since then they quit making the hard lense....and I had to go to soft. I never liked them. Couldn't see as crisply as my hard lenses. I tried toric, and I even tried mono vision. I actually didn't mind those (figures)...low and behold, I was reading on the internet that the hard lense are back and they build a bifocal around the edges, all the way around, so when you look down, you get bifocal, not like the sprinkle of bifocal you get in those soft lenses.

So I found an eye Dr who knew how to dispense them, (she wore them)
and I am as happy with these as I was when I was 14! Better than sliced bread.

[Tommi]

http://brown09.wikis.birmingham.k12.mi.us/file/view/popcorn_popper.jpg/101722841/popcorn_popper.jpg

[Tommi]

Hot air popcorn poppers appeared for home use in the late 1970s, which produced popcorn with only 5% of its calories derived from fat.

The popcorn maker (also called popcorn machine) is a device used to pop popcorn. Commercial popcorn machines are usually found in movie theaters and carnivals, producing popcorn of the oil-popped type, which has approximately 45% of its calories derived from fat.

http://brown09.wikis.birmingham.k12.mi.us/file/view/popcorn_popper.jpg/101722841/popcorn_popper.jpg

[ruffryder]

cell phones

[dixie]

cell phones

Apparently! You send me more photos and forwarded jokes than anyone else on my contact list! LOL

[weatherboi]

Ms.........

[ruffryder]

haha.. and my cell phone is for texting and FB. I don't use it very often for calls. :/

Apparently! You send me more photos and forwarded jokes than anyone else on my contact list! LOL

[Soft*Silver]

feminine hygiene products...specifically tampons! While i am past ever needing one again, I remember as a girl the HORROR of having to strap a pad on me and hoping to god it didnt shift and create a "mistake". Tampons, were said to destroy virginities. Thank god. One more thing I had the control over and didnt have to relinguish...

http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/01/sarahk/hers/school/tampon.html

[Kätzchen]

When ever I need laughter in my life, especially since some of my close friends are miles away, I often find myself watching videos by: Ask a Ninja!

This masked man has saved my life innumerable times over the past several years... as well as baked bread straight out of the oven, smothered in butter or pesto or jam or any number of wonderful tasting things, one could enjoy. ;)

Question no. 9 - Ninja Love
qdS5lkeN8_8

Question no. 29 - BBQ
dkhdH57zc5w&feature=related

Question no. 32 - Ninja Dates
VMG-QJAJZGM&feature=related

Special Delivery no. 14 - Blades of Glory
cTfx7XO6GlI

Storytelling w/ Al Thompson - Black Friday
XpMpOktEVVE&feature=related

[BugsAndKisses]

instant coffee..never know when damn hurricane gonna wipe ya out

[DapperButch]

I used one all last week to get to and from work. Just kept jumping the car and charging the unit every evening.

This gave me a chance to not have to buy/install a new car battery until the weekend.

I love those things. It is a great idea for people to keep them in their cars at all times. Nice to not need another car to jump yours when stuck somewhere with a dead battery.

[Rockinonahigh]

Definatly the microwave oven...gotta ove it.

[DapperButch]

POST IT NOTES!
Everyone knows what Post-it® notes are: They are those great little self-stick notepapers. Most people have Post-it® Notes. Most people use them. Most people love them. But Post-it® Notes were not a planned product.
No one got the idea and then stayed up nights to invent it. A man named Spencer Silver was working in the 3M research laboratories in 1970 trying to find a strong adhesive. Silver developed a new adhesive, but it was even weaker than what 3M already manufactured. It stuck to objects, but could easily be lifted off. It was super weak instead of super strong.
No one knew what to do with the stuff, but Silver didn't discard it. Then one Sunday four years later, another 3M scientist named Arthur Fry was singing in the church's choir. He used markers to keep his place in the hymnal, but they kept falling out of the book. Remembering Silver's adhesive, Fry used some to coat his markers. Success! With the weak adhesive, the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the pages. 3M began distributing Post-it ® Notes nationwide in 1980 -- ten years after Silver developed the super weak adhesive. Today they are one of the most popular office products available.

And all this time I thought it was either Romy or Michele. :seconddoh:

[Daktari]

One of the best things since sliced wotsit...

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/scoobs63/IMG_0058.jpg

[Billy]

http://futureproducts.biz/gallery/gallery2-1.jpg (http://futureproducts.biz/gallery2.htm)


it's air driven oscillating tip and nozzle creates a tornado cleaning action that tackles some of the most challenging jobs.
Cuts My time in half on detailing the inside of a car :) After 28 years doing it the old fashion way , this is amazing !

[Starbuck]

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/65/05/30/01/0065053001344_300X300.jpg

[LeftWriteFemme]

I know these were invented before sliced bread.....but still they are my life!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/36/81346047_8ef3b53a91.jpg

Paintbrushes

"Paintbrush" redirects here. For other uses, see Paintbrush (disambiguation).
Paintbrushes are used for applying ink or paint. Paintbrushes are primary used by artists for painted pictures. A special kind of drawing is the so called paintbrush-drawing, drawings only done with paintbrushes instead of pencil or pen.



Paintbrush drawing by Herbert Wetterauer (Portrait of Martin Heidegger)
These brushes are usually made by clamping the bristles to a handle with a ferrule.

[edit]Decorators' brushes
The sizes of brushes used for painting and decorating are given in mm or inches, referring to the width of the head.

Common sizes are:

⅛ in, ¼ in, ⅜ in, ½ in, ⅝ in, ¾ in, ⅞ in, 1 in, 1¼ in, 1½ in, 2 in, 2½ in, 3 in, 3½ in, 4 in.
10 mm, 20 mm, bob 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm.
Bristles may be natural or synthetic. If the filaments are synthetic, they could be made of polyester, nylon or a blend of nylon and polyester. Filaments can be hollow or solid and can be tapered or untapered. Brushes with tapered filaments give a smoother finish. [1]

Synthetic filaments last longer than natural bristles. Natural bristles are preferred for oil-based paints and varnishes, while synthetic brushes are better for water-based paints as the bristles do not expand when wetted. [2]

A decorator judges the quality of a brush based on several factors: filament retention, paint pickup, steadiness of paint release, brush marks, drag and precision painting. A chiseled brush permits the painter to cut into tighter corners and paint more precisely. [3]

Handles may be wood or plastic; ferrules are metal (usually nickel-plated steel).



Paintbrushes
[edit]Artists' brushes
Short handled brushes are for watercolor or ink painting while the long handled brushes are for oil or acrylic paint.

[edit]Shapes
The styles of brush tip seen most commonly are:

Round: pointed tip, long closely arranged bristles for detail
Flat: for spreading paint quickly and evenly over a surface. They will have longer hairs than their Bright counterpart.
Bright: shorter than flats. Flat brushes with short stiff bristles, good for driving paint into the weave of a canvas in thinner paint applications, as well as thicker painting styles like impasto work.
Filbert: flat brushes with domed ends. They allow good coverage and the ability to perform some detail work.
Fan: for blending broad areas of paint.
Angle: like the filbert, these are versatile and can be applied in both general painting application as well as some detail work.
Mop: a larger format brush with a rounded edge for broad soft paint application as well as for getting thinner glazes over existing drying layers of paint without damaging lower layers.
Rigger: round brushes with longish hairs, traditionally used for painting the rigging in pictures of ships. They are useful for fine lines and are versatile for both oils and watercolors.
Stippler and deer-foot stippler: short, stubby rounds
Liner: elongated rounds
Dagger
Scripts: highly elongated rounds
Egbert


Types of Brushes
Some other styles of brush include:

Sumi: Similar in style to certain watercolor brushes,also with a generally thick wooden or bamboo handle and a broad soft hair brush that when wetted should form a fine tip. Also spelled Sumi-e.
Hake: An Asian style of brush with a large broad wooden handle and an extremely fine soft hair used in counterpoint to traditional Sumi brushes for covering large areas. Often made of goat hair.
Spotter: Round brushes with just a few short bristles. These brushes are commonly used in spotting photographic prints.
Stencil: A round brush with a flat top used on stencils to ensure the bristled don't get underneath. Also used to create texture.
[edit]Sizes
Artists' brushes are usually given numbered sizes, although there is no exact standard for their physical dimensions.

From smallest to largest, the sizes are:

20/0, 10/0, 7/0 (also written 0000000), 6/0, 5/0, 4/0, 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30. Brushes as fine as 30/0 are manufactured by major companies, but are not a common size.
Sizes 000 to 20 are most common.

[edit]Bristles
Types include:

watercolor brushes which are usually made of sable, synthetic sable or nylon;
oil painting brushes which are usually made of sable or bristle;
acrylic brushes which are almost entirely nylon or synthetic.
Turpentine or thinners used in oil painting can destroy some types of synthetic brushes. However, innovations in synthetic bristle technology have produced solvent resistant synthetic bristles suitable for use in all media. Natural hair, squirrel, badger or sable are used by watercolorists due to their superior ability to absorb and hold water.

Bristles may be natural — either soft hair or hog bristle — or synthetic.

Soft hair brushes are made from Kolinsky sable or ox hair (sabeline); or more rarely, squirrel, pony, goat, mongoose or badger. Cheaper hair is sometimes called camel hair, although it does not come from camels.
Hog bristle (often called China bristle or Chungking bristle) is stiffer and stronger than soft hair. It may be bleached or unbleached.
Synthetic bristles are made of special multi-diameter extruded nylon filament, or Taklon, multi-diameter polyester. and are becoming ever more popular with the development of new water based paints.
[edit]Handles
Artists' brush handles are commonly wooden but can also be made of molded plastic. Many mass-produced handles are made of unfinished raw wood; better quality handles are of seasoned hardwood. The wood is sealed and lacquered to give the handle a high-gloss, waterproof finish that reduces soiling and swelling.

Metal ferrules may be of aluminum, nickel, copper, or nickel-plated steel. Quill ferrules are also found: these give a different "feel" to the brush.

[*Anya*]

For centuries, doctors had been treating women for a wide variety of illnesses by performing what is now recognized as masturbation. The "pelvic massage" was especially common in the treatment of female hysteria during the Victorian Era, as the point of such manipulation was to cause "hysterical paroxysm" (orgasm) in the patient. However, not only did they regard the "vulvular stimulation" required as having nothing to do with sex, but reportedly found it time-consuming and hard work.

One of the first vibrators was a steam-powered device called the "Manipulator", which was created by American physician George Taylor, M.D. This machine was a rather awkward device, but was still heralded as some relief for the doctors who found themselves suffering from fatigued wrists and hands. Circa 1880, Dr. Joseph Mortimer Granville patented the first electromechanical vibrator, then, in 1902, the American company Hamilton Beach patented the first electric vibrator available for retail sale, making the vibrator the fifth domestic appliance to be electrified, after the sewing machine, fan, tea kettle, and toaster, and about a decade before the vacuum cleaner and electric iron.

The home versions soon became extremely popular, with advertisements in periodicals such as Needlecraft, Woman's Home Companion, Modern Priscilla, and the Sears, Roebuck catalog. These disappeared in the 1920s, apparently because their appearance in pornography made it no longer tenable for polite society to avoid the sexual connotations of the devices.

The vibrator re-emerged due to the sexual revolution of the 1960s. On June 30, 1966, Jon H. Tavel applied for a patent for the "Cordless Electric Vibrator for Use on the Human Body", ushering in the modern personal vibrator. The patent application referenced an earlier patent dating back to 1938, for a flashlight with a shape that left little doubt as to a possible alternate use. The cordless vibrator was patented on March 28, 1968, and was soon followed by such improvements as multi-speed and one-piece construction, which made it cheaper to manufacture and easier to clean.

Since the 1980s, vibrators and sex toys have become more visible in mainstream public culture, with the opening of new "sex stores", as well as a landmark "vibrator" discussion on the HBO show Sex and the City. Research published in a 2009 issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine demonstrates that about 53% of women and about 46% of men in the United States ages 18 to 60 have used a vibrator.

Until recently, many American Southern and some Great Plains states banned the sale of vibrators completely, either directly or through laws regulating "obscene devices."

A federal appeals court upheld Alabama's law prohibiting the sale of sex toys on Valentine's Day, 2007.[13] The law, the Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1998, was also upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court on September 11, 2009.

In February 2008, a US federal appeals court overturned a Texas statute banning the sales of vibrators and other sexual toys, deeming such a statute as violating the Constitution's 14th Amendment on the right to privacy. The appeals court cited Lawrence v. Texas, where the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 struck down bans on consensual sex between gay couples, as unconstitutionally aiming at "enforcing a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct". Similar statutes have been struck down in Colorado, and Kansas.

As of 2009, Alabama is the only state where a law prohibiting the sale of sex toys remains on the books, though Alabama residents are permitted to buy sex toys with a doctor's note.

Some conservative Christians believe that the use of vibrators is immoral and prohibited by the Bible. An American Baptist preacher, Dan Ireland, has been an outspoken critic of such devices and has fought to ban them on religious and ethical grounds. According to Ireland, "Sometimes you have to protect the public against themselves....These devices should be outlawed because they are conducive to promiscuity, because they promote loose morals and because they entice improper and potentially deadly behaviors."

Ireland believes that "there is no moral way to use one of these devices."

An American bioethicist and medical historian, Jacob M. Appel has argued that sex toys are actually a "social good" and that the devices, which he refers to as "marital substitutes," play "an important role in the emotional lives of millions of Americans."

Appel has written:

"I cannot say whether more Alabama women own vibrators than own Bibles. If I were guessing, I would suspect that a majority derive more use out of the vibrators. Certainly more pleasure. Nor does there appear to be any remotely rational basis for keeping sex toys out of the hands of married adults, or single adults, or even children. Now that we are relatively confident that masturbation does not make little girls go blind, or cause palms to sprout hair, exposure to sex toys shouldn't harm them. On the list of items that I might not want children to be exposed to in stores—guns, matches, poisons, junk food—sex toys are way down the list."

Thanks Wiki!

[Starbuck]

The greatest thing since sliced bread is the DVR recorder! I love skipping through commercials!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31FR53JY5BL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Daywalker]

They work great n help cure the flat soda syndrome.

https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSIRFbUl0yOS6M8Di4gXt8NZzb4VWylc W6z0mVMb87SNmLqGV9KdA

I got a dozen in hella colors for 3 bucks at Big Lots!
:rainsing:

:daywalker:

[Talon]

The Roku....:hk2: