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reading comprehension." title="Print The "Maine" Reason to Pick Your Teeth reading comprehension." class="c-worksheets__img">
reading comprehension." class="c-worksheets__img">
Print The "Maine" Reason to Pick Your Teeth reading comprehension.
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reading comprehension." title="Print a read and math workbook with The "Maine" Reason to Pick Your Teeth reading comprehension." class="c-worksheets__img">
Print a read and math workbook with The "Maine" Reason to Pick Your Teeth reading comprehension.
You need to use this workbook in your classroom. Great mix of reading and math.
Sixth Grade
Worksheets
The "Maine" Reason to Pick Your Teeth
Have you ever eaten corn on the cob? A kernel of corn can feel like a giant boulder between your teeth. A toothpick comes in handy to remove that irritating little wedge. It seems like the simplest tool, yet a lot of effort goes into manufacturing the toothpick.
A toothpick is a small stick of wood, plastic, bamboo, metal, or other substance used to remove food and debris from the teeth, usually after a meal. Maine was once the leading producer of wooden toothpicks for the United States.
Toothpicks have a very long history. History tells us that the Roman emperor Nero had a golden toothpick. Fossilized teeth from the Neanderthal man show grooves made from some ancient form of toothpick. Toothpicks have been made from gold, silver, and ivory. Some were even inlaid with precious stones. The earliest were probably made from a stalk or twig. These twigs were often chewed until the ends were frayed to form a sort of toothbrush called a "chew stick."
By the medieval times, Portugal was using orangewood to make handmade toothpicks. Their toothpicks were thought to have been the best in the world. By the 19th century, the Portuguese traditions in making toothpicks had traveled across the ocean to Brazil where an American named Charles Forster was visiting. He noticed Brazilian natives making toothpicks for the locals. He sent a sample box to his wife, who was living in Boston, as a souvenir. Forster believed he could bring the toothpick back to America and mass produce it.