Fresh breath is a valuable commodity and not just to us, but to our ancestors also. While modern oral hygiene offers the wonders of toothpaste, mouthwash and gum - back in the day they had to be a little more creative.

Ancient Romans were the first to use charcoal while other cultures used burnt sticks to help reduce the smell of bad breath. In the 1800s women borrowed this technique and adapted it to simply sucking or chewing lumps of charcoal, leaving them fresh breathed, (charcoal does actually absorb odour), but black-toothed.