315.WHEN WERE COMBS FIRST USED?
The first time a woman noticed that she could make herself more attractive by arranging her hair in some special way was probably the first time a “comb” was used. A comb is simply any implement with “teeth” which go through hair, thereby arranging it.
There are people who live in New Guinea called Papuans. They have very crisp hair which grows in tight ringlets. Some people believe that in order to arrange these ringlets into a big mop at the top of the head, the Papuans must have invented the comb.
314.WHEN WAS SURGERY FIRST USED?
With our modern hospitals and with surgeons who are able to perform almost any kind of operation on the body, we might imagine that surgery is a product of modern times. Actually, surgery has been carried on since very ancient times.
Ancient peoples all over the world used flints as surgical instruments. One of the most difficult and dangerous operations of all, opening the skull, was performed in ancient times with flints! And this goes back to prehistoric times.
313.WHEN WAS ETHER FIRST USED FOR OPERATIONS?
While it still takes plenty of courage to go through with an operation today, just imagine what it would be if there were no anesthetics and you had to suffer every bit of pain! The fact is, before the use of modern anesthetics, every operation brought agony to the patient and frequently death from pain and shock.
Since ancient times, various herbs, gases, oils, and drugs were used in attempts to control pain, but none were completely successful. There is a good deal of controversy about who discovered anesthesia, and the credit is divided.
