People

Bizarre Fact #131:
Did you know...
It is recorded that the Babylonians were making soap around 2800 B.C. and that it was known to the Phoenicians around 600 B.C. These early references to soap and soap making were for the use of soap in the cleaning of textile fibers such as wool and cotton in preparation for weaving into cloth.

Bizarre Fact #132:
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It took three years of constant printing to complete Johann Gutenberg's famous Bible, which appeared in 1455 in two volumes, and had 1,284 pages. He reportedly printed 200 Bibles, of which 47 still exist.

Bizarre Fact #133:
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It was Swiss chemist Jacques Edwin Brandenberger who invented cellophane, back in 1908.

Bizarre Fact #134:
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James J. Ritty, owner of a tavern in Dayton, Ohio, invented the cash register in 1879 to stop his patrons from pilfering house profits.

Bizarre Fact #135:
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James Ramsey invented a steam-driven motorboat in 1784. He ran it on the Potomac River, and the event was witnessed by George Washington.

Bizarre Fact #136:
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Jeanne Pierre Francois Blanchard built the first parachute and tested it using a dog. He put the dog in a basket equipped with his invention and then dropped it from a hot air balloon. It was a giant step forward for aviation history, but a giant step backwards in establishing the dog as man's best friend.

Bizarre Fact #137:
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John Greenwood, also of New York invented the dental drill in 1790.

Bizarre Fact #138:
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King Gilette spent 8 years trying to invent and introduce his safety razor.

Bizarre Fact #139:
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Kleenex tissues were originally used as filters in gas masks.

Bizarre Fact #140:
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Lazy Susans are named after Thomas Edison's daughter. He invented it to impress a gathering of industrialists and inventors.