True Left

Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent, tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known in the industry as "perc", which is the most widely used solvent. Alternative solvents are 1-bromopropane and petroleum spirits.[1]

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified tetrachloroethylene as a Group 2A carcinogen, which means that it is probably carcinogenic to humans.[10] Like many chlorinated hydrocarbons, tetrachloroethylene is a central nervous system depressant and can enter the body through respiratory or dermal exposure.[11] Tetrachloroethylene dissolves fats from the skin, potentially resulting in skin irritation.

Animal studies and a study of 99 twins showed there is a "lot of circumstantial evidence" that exposure to tetrachloroethylene increases the risk of developing Parkinson's disease ninefold. Larger population studies are planned.[12] Also, tetrachloroethylene has been shown to cause liver tumors in mice and kidney tumors in male rats.[13]
...
Tetrachloroethylene exposure has been linked to pronounced acquired color vision deficiencies after chronic exposure.[22]
...
Tetrachloroethylene is a problematic soil contaminant because its density causes it to sink below the water table, inhibiting cleanup activities.

In the EU, 1-bromopropane has been classified as reproductive toxicant per Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, which makes it a "substance of very high concern".[11]
...
In 2013, a peer-review panel convened by the U.S. National Toxicology Program unanimously recommended that 1-bromopropane, be classified as reasonably anticipated human carcinogens.[15]
...
Reported symptoms of overexposure affect the nervous system and include confusion, slurred speech, dizziness, paresthesias, and difficulty walking, unusual fatigue and headaches, development of arthralgias, visual disturbances (difficulty focusing), and muscle twitching. Symptoms may persist over one year.[9] Other symptoms include irritation of mucous membranes, eyes, upper respiratory tract, and skin, as well as transient loss of consciousness.[7] Loss of feeling in the feet, an example of paresthesia, is colloquially called "dead foot" by workers who suffer from it.[5]
...
Animal studies of 1-bromopropane have showed that it is a carcinogen in those models.[7] Rodents exposed to 1-bromopropane developed lung, colon, and skin cancer at higher rates.[6]
...
Stratospheric ozone layer damage
...
According to United States Environmental Protection Agency, the ODP is 0.013-0.018 in the US latitudes, and between 0.071-0.100 in tropical latitudes.[17]

A hot comb (also known as a straightening comb or pressing comb) is a metal comb that is used to straighten moderate or coarse hair and create a smoother hair texture.[1] A hot comb is heated and used to straighten the hair from the roots. It can be placed directly on the source of heat or it may be electrically heated.[2]

...
Parisian Francois Marcel Grateau is said to have revolutionized hair styling when he invented and introduced heated irons to curl and wave his customers' hair in France in 1872. His Marcel Wave remained fashionable for many decades. Britain's Science and Society Library credits L. Pelleray of Paris with manufacturing the heated irons in the 1870s.[4]
...
Potential consequences

It is not uncommon to burn and damage hair when using a traditional hot comb. A hot comb is often heated to over 65 degrees Celsius (149 degrees Fahrenheit), therefore if not careful severe burns and scarring can occur.

The hot petrolatum used with the iron was thought to cause a chronic inflammation around the upper segment of the hair follicle leading to degeneration of the external root sheath.[21]

In 1992, a hot comb alopecia study was conducted, and it was discovered that there was a poor correlation between the usage of a hot comb and the onset and progression of disease. The study concludes that the term follicular degeneration syndrome (FDS) is proposed for this clinically and histologically distinct form of scarring alopecia.[22]

Converse started making an early basketball shoe in 1917 and redesigned it in 1922, when Chuck Taylor asked the company to create a better shoe with more support and flexibility. After Converse added Taylor's signature to the ankle patch they became known as Chuck Taylor All Stars. By the 1960s the company had captured about 70 to 80 percent of the basketball shoe market, but the shoe declined in popularity during the 1970s, when more and more basketball players wore other brands of shoes. Chuck Taylor All Stars enjoyed a comeback in popularity in the 1980s as retro-style casual footwear.[3][4]

Ad from 1920 for the forerunner of the Chuck Taylor All Star, Converse "Non-Skids."

Marquis Mills Converse founded the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts. In 1917 the company designed the forerunner of the modern All Star shoe that it marketed under the name of "Non-Skids." The shoe was composed of a rubber sole and canvas upper and was designed for basketball players.[citation needed]

In 1921, Charles "Chuck" Taylor, an American semi-professional basketball player, joined Converse as a salesman.[5] Within a year of Taylor's arrival, the company had adopted his ideas for improvements to the shoe's design to enhance its flexibility and ankle support. The restyled shoe also incorporated a distinctive All-Star logo on the circular patch that protected the ankle. After Taylor's signature was added to the ankle patch as his endorsement, they became known as Chuck Taylor All Stars, the first celebrity-endorsed athletic shoe.[6][7]

To promote sales of Converse All Star shoes to basketball players, Taylor held basketball clinics in high school and college gyms and YMCAs all across the United States and taught the fundamentals of the game.[8] During the 1926–27 season Taylor also served as a player-manager of the company-sponsored basketball team called the Converse All Stars. The Chicago-based touring team was established to promote sales of the company's All Star basketball shoes.[9]

Numerous professional basketball players were soon wearing All Stars. The shoes also became popular among younger basketball players, including athletes in the Olympic Games and American soldiers in the 1940s. Converse All Stars were the official shoe of the Olympics from 1936 to 1968.[6][10] During World War II All Stars were the official athletic training shoes of the U.S. armed forces.[6]

Maybe I'm just lazy when it comes to shoes, and maybe I'm just overly passionate about a minor annoyance, but I feel like shoelaces were a pointless invention. Plus, if I'm in a hurry, I have to fight to loosen the shoe enough for me to shove my foot into it

I recall growing up with peers who deemed jade outdated and aging. When I was a teen, it wasn't exactly cool to wear a Buddha on the traditional red string, or a circular Bi disc pendant. (We used to jokingly call them Lifesavers, but it’s actually a classic shape that dates back to the Neolithic era and symbolizes heaven.) Jade was what your grandmother or elderly aunts would wear. At its most extreme, wearing the stone suggested you were not properly assimilated — a terrifying thought for a kid facing strong social pressure to adopt the customs and aesthetics of the dominant American culture. But while my friends may have failed to see the value in jade during our teens, it's undeniably back.
...
“I’m half Chinese and third-generation, so I used to associate the stone with older women. I always assumed I wasn't ‘Chinese enough’ to wear it. As I have become more confident in my background, my jade jewelry has even more meaning for me. It’s something I wear proudly that announces my heritage.”