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Student Finds 5000-Year-Old Chewing Gum

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the ur-tree-has-a-flavor dept.

itsthebin writes "Sarah Pickin, 23, found the lump of birch bark tar — complete with neolithic tooth prints — on a dig in Finland. Ms Pickin's tutor at the University of Derby, Professor Trevor Brown, said birch bark tar contained phenols, which are antiseptic compounds. 'It is generally believed that neolithic people found that by chewing this stuff if they had gum infections it helped to treat the condition. It's particularly significant because well-defined tooth imprints were found on the gum which Sarah discovered,' he said. Ms Pickin was on a volunteer program at the Kierikki Centre on the west coast of Finland when she made the find."

7 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Singapore by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Funny

    This kind of makes me wonder if anyone 5,000 years from now will ever know that Singapore existed...

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    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  2. Photo Caption by Gadgetfreak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seems like that photo caption isn't the best place to make that kind of typo!

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    "No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
  3. Interesting fact... by iamdrscience · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fact: 4 out of 5 neolithic dentists surveyed would recommend birch bark tar to their patients who chew tar.

    1. Re:Interesting fact... by ma++i+ude · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You may be more correct than you think. Birch sap contains xylitol, the sugar that's actually good for your teeth. It's still used in chewing gum, especially (and almost exclusively) in Finland where it was first discovered but increasingly in other countries as well. Find it in a supermarket near you.

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  4. Re:Just wondering? by djdavetrouble · · Score: 5, Funny

    What was it's flavour?

    ummmm. Birch?

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    music lover since 1969
  5. Where it was found by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 5, Funny

    It was found in a brand new Topps baseball card pack. Topps said "Most of the gum we package with our cards is about 5000-6000 years old."

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    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  6. Re:figured... by BECoole · · Score: 5, Informative

    Dental Carries didn't become common until man started farming cereal grains. As you guessed, cavities became even more common with the introduction of cheap sugar. You may enjoy this article about primitive diets. http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/nast y_brutish_short.html