Tooth Brush Art

Strange, but true, there is hardly any art made with or from toothbrushes. I scoured the Internet and all I found were toothbrush bracelets and one doormat which was entirely made out of old toothbrushes.

Instructions for making the bracelet are online and it doesn't require much equipment; the items you need are quickly found and pulled together in your kitchen.

Already in 3500 BC chewing sticks were used in Babylonia to keep teeth clean. They evolved into pencil size chew sticks from aromatic trees as Chinese records from around 1600 BC show; one end was chewed until it looked like a brush and the other end had a point and was used as a toothpick.

Bristled toothbrushes, made from the hair of the neck of wild boars and fastened to bamboo or bone handles, came in existence at the same time in China as well and found its way to Europe, where the Europeans replaced the boar hair with horse hair, which was softer.

In 1937 nylon was invented by Wallace H Carothers and in 1938 the animal hair in toothbrushes was replaced by nylon bristles.

I don't see why there is no wall art made from oothbrushes; it sure would be some unique work of art. If you come across more tooth brush art, please let me know.

In the mean time, the children can have a lot of fun splatter painting with their old toothbrush!