Fractured Bathroom Cabinet Trivia Quiz

Answer: Foundation

Foundation is a coloured cream that comes in various skin tones. Its purpose is to cover up any skin imperfections or shadows to give an overall blemish free appearance to the face. Blush and all the rest is then applied over that. It's gluggy stuff for the most part and usually ends up on either your own or your boyfriend's collar - but it DOES make skin look rather lovely.

The use of foundation for make-up purposes goes right back through time to the Ancient Egyptians and even earlier. It was particularly used by women to improve the colour of their facial skin, as fashion decreed, but men weren't averse to using it now and then either. Unfortunately, most of it contained lead derivatives, and excess use of products containing that often led to an early death. You can thank good old Queen Victoria for it going out of fashion in her era. She detested make-up, and decreed that only prostitutes wore it. Other ways that women achieved that pale skin so desirable through the ages (a tanned skin indicated a manual out of doors worker) was to bleed themselves, or eat chalk, or drink iodine, the foolish, foolish creatures.

Answer: Razor Blades

You'll usually find a razor and its assorted blades in most bathroom cabinets. Their purpose for men, if they want a really lovely close shave, is to do just that. The ladies though, unless they use other hair removal products, use razors and blades to remove any unsightly hair from their legs and underarms. Just be aware that once you start doing this, you'll be stuck repeating the same thing, usually once a week, for the rest of your life. It's either that or end up looking like an orang-utan.

The use of razors, or forms of same, occurs right throughout the history of mankind, and many and varied were the products used to create same. These included shells, shark teeth (hopefully unattached to their owners) and flint sharpened to a fine point. Males of many cultures though preferred to retain their beards, possibly for either convenience or religious purposes. The clean-shaven look well and truly came to the fore in the early 20th century, following World War I, with the US leading the way in this regard. Aha, did I hear you ask why? Because beards got in the way during that war when gas masks had to be worn.

(Thanks to Knud77 for the idea for this one.)

Answer: Toner

Toner is a type of astringent that one puts on a cotton wool ball and then wipes over the face after removing make up. Its purpose is to remove any last traces of that make-up, or simply just to freshen up your skin when you're in a hurry and can't be bothered with the rest of the routine. It not only acts as a refreshing quick cleanser, but has the added benefit of closing pores that can sometimes be enlarged.

The use of toner dates right back to the days of ancient Persia. Made from rose petals, it became known as rosewater through the ages, and not only did this refresh the skin, it had the added benefit of imparting a beautiful fragrance to the skin as well.

Answer: Shampoo

Used of course for washing the hair, shampoo these days comes in a staggering variety of choices that drive you nuts when you're in a hurry to find one during shopping. Soap of course can also do the same thing, but that's a bit harsh and leaves your hair feeling like wire rope. Shampoo has a softer, gentler effect.

The use of the word shampoo dates back at least to the 1760s, in India of all places, but forms of shampoo have been used since ancient times to cleanse and perfume the hair. One early Indian recipe called for it to be made from the fruits of lychee trees (such as soapberries), assorted herbs and dried gooseberries. All combined together, heated, and then strained, this created quite a lovely lather for the hair, and left it soft and shining into the bargain. Over in Europe, their shampoo was created by boiling shaved soap with various herbs and spices for a similar effect.

Answer: Conditioner

Conditioner is applied after shampooing, once hair has had the shampoo thoroughly rinsed out. A small amount of conditioner is then rubbed through the locks, left on for a minute or two, before rinsing off. This leaves the hair feeling lovely and soft and shiny, and much easier to comb, but you DO have to rinse it out thoroughly. Otherwise, your hair will end up looking greasy and unappealing. Conditioner is optional in the hair-washing process. If your hair looks fine without it, then don't bother using it. But don't tell your hairdresser that, or you'll be treated like a homicidal maniac.

It was surprising to learn that the use of "conditioner" to improve the texture of hair dates right back to earlier times. In those days, however, this consisted simply of rubbing oil into the hair. Conditioner, as we know it today, was created early in the 20th century, and believe it or not, its purpose was not to improve the locks of the ladies, but to soften the hair on the beards and moustaches of the gentlemen instead.

Answer: Sticking Plaster

Most bathroom cabinet have a box of sticking plasters or band-aids scattered through all the other objects on the shelves. Used for nicks, cuts or, in the case with children, as a miraculous cure-all for every imagined injury under the sun, it's astonishing how one of these placed on the most minuscule of cuts on a child's fingers - one that has completely incapacitated him or her - can cure it instantly. Whenever my first born daughter had a tiny finger cut, she immediately developed complete body paralysis and couldn't walk until that cure was applied.

Band-aids, as sticking plasters are called in assorted countries, were invented by one Earle Dickson, assisted by his friend Thomas Anderson, in the early twentieth century. Earle came up with the idea because his wife was prone to burning or cutting herself while doing the cooking. One wonders if he ever offered to do the cooking instead for the poor little thing. He must have loved her dearly though to try to protect her like this, so that is a nice little piece of romance for you.

Answer: Hairspray

You have no idea how I hate the smell of that stuff when anyone has used it. Hairspray is used after combing and styling to help keep the hair tidy and in place, with every single rebellious hair held weighed down under a coating of chemical enriched gunk. Mousse and hair gel do the same thing today and these smell so much better for those who wish to keep their hair looking tidy. Or just keep it short and convenient instead.

Do you remember all those lace doilies your grandmother used to have placed on the back of her good chairs? Men in Victorian days used to keep their hair held neatly in place, usually parted down the middle, with a popular hair oil brand known as Macassar. Unfortunately this left really unsightly marks on chairs when the gentlemen leaned back to rest their heads, so this led to the creation of those little doilies. And they were called? Antimacassars of course.

Answer: Deodorant

Used as either a spray or a roll-on under the arms, the purpose of deodorant is to prevent the smell of perspiration floating through the air from under those extremities. There was a myth going around at one stage that using deodorant caused breast cancer. This originated as a spam email in 1999, but, as stated by the American Cancer Society, there is absolutely no scientific evidence to back this up. However, just be aware that some deodorants contain aluminium, and this may have an adverse effect on anyone suffering from renal problems.

Interestingly, when I once queried a darling old great-aunt what they used in days gone by before deodorants became readily available, she said they rubbed parsley under the arms. It absorbs the smell of perspiration in much the same way as eating it is said to absorb the smell of garlic for those who like that food flavouring.

Answer: Medicine

Medicines of various kinds have been around since the year dot, along with the practice of medicine itself. The history of same is immensely detailed and sometimes horrific, but far too varied to go into detail here. Medicines in bathroom cabinet usually consist of cough expectorants, maybe a bottle of calamine lotion now and then, that kind of thing.

Did you know that in the 8th century, Charlemagne, the king of the Franks decreed that every cathedral and monastery should have a hospital attached to it to care for the sick, the old and orphans, and to act as a type of cheap hostel for pilgrims? Run by the Catholic churches, these are considered today an an excellent example of an early welfare state at work.

Answer: Bandages

What would a bathroom cabinet be without a couple of trusty old, much washed bandages sitting perched up in a corner somewhere? Used perhaps to ease a sprain or torn muscle, many of those old bandages are as old as the family unit itself. A bit frayed around the edges, these still do the kind of work for which they were originally purchased.

Bandages have been used by man ever since the days of Ancient Greece at the very least. Today there are various kinds, all designed for slightly different jobs. Gauze bandages, for example, are used to protect wounds, compression bandages used for problems such as varicose ulcers, triangular bandages can double as slings, other bandages are designed hold splints in place, and of course, the grandfather of them all sitting up in your bathroom cabinet, the bandage of all trades. It does everything.