We’ve heard the phrase too many times on the news — a body is found, and police are awaiting confirmation from authorities before confirming the identity. The easiest scenario (if “easy” can be used in such a case) is when the identity of the deceased is already suspected. If someone has been reported missing, and a body matching that person’s description is found, that person’s dentist is contacted and the records are checked. Bite patterns, fillings and tooth arrangement are unique to each individual, and since teeth usually survive most postmortem events that destroy other tissue, they are an excellent method of identification.

More difficult are the John Does — anonymous victims of crime or disaster, often decomposed beyond recognition. There is no central registration for dental records, so instead, a forensic dentist is summoned. He or she carefully examines the skull and the teeth and carefully prepares a dental profile. Did the victim have expensive dental work done; caps, crowns, fillings? Were the teeth stained yellow (probable smoker), have an unusual wear pattern (pipe smoker, perhaps) or enamel erosion (possible substance abuse or bulimia)? Root length, molar development, receding gums, and even the shape of the incisors all help to determine the age, ancestry, health and lifestyle of the John Doe, which is then released to various law enforcement agencies. Records are searched for possible missing persons matches, and then family members are contacted to obtain dental records.

by Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik
originally posted @ mentalfloss.com on Wednesday, August 31, 2005

The Confederate States of America was a nation made up of 11 states:

• South Carolina (December 20, 1860)
• Mississippi (January 9, 1861)
• Florida (January 10, 1861)
• Alabama (January 11, 1861)
• Georgia (January 19, 1861)
• Louisiana (January 26, 1861)
• Texas (February 1, 1861)
• Virginia (April 17, 1861)
• Arkansas (May 6, 1861)
• Tennessee (May 7, 1861)
• North Carolina (May 21, 1861)

The two other stars represented Kentucky and Missouri. While those two states did not officially secede from the Union, they did everything but join the Confederacy. Both were heavily populated with Rebel sympathizers, both were “slave states,” and both had much more in common with the South than the North.

Truth be told, whoever was in charge of the CSA flag committee had no idea how to make a flag. Early versions of the Stars and Bars were so similar to the United States flag that soldiers became confused on the battlefields. Later CSA flags were white with the battle flag in the canton, and when the wind wasn’t blowing, they looked an awful lot like a plain white “surrender” flag. Still later versions added a red bar to the outer edge of the flag, but by then, the war had nearly reached its conclusion.

by Sandy Wood & Kara Kovalchik
originally posted @ mentalfloss.com on Thursday, August 25, 2005