While most people associate the logging industry in Maine with paper mills, the plentiful forests of Maine provided wood for many products, from yo-yos to cigar lighters. In fact, at one point, one Maine town supplied almost the entirety of the nation’s supply of toothpicks.  The tiny town of Strong, population 1,156, in Franklin County was the “toothpick capital of the world.” Though Strong’s hold on the toothpick industry eventually subsided, the story of ingenuity, invention and creative marketing is one to remember.  …Toothpicks are not a modern invention. Dental forensics suggest that Neanderthals used rudimentary toothpicking tools. …Forster needed to create demand for his product through a cultural revolution.  According to Brackley and Lisherness, Forster would pay well-dressed young men to dine in classy Boston establishments and, upon finishing their meal, ask for a Forster’s wooden toothpick.