Dr Sebastien Rey, an archaeologist and the project’s leader in Iraq, explained: “They are struggling for one thing and that is water. All of the texts tell us about the crisis.” The most impressive thing about this Philips is the ‘quad stream’ technology. Whereas the tip on every other water flosser I reviewed offers a straight flow of water, Philips’ quad stream head is X-shaped, to separate the flow into four water jets (as shown on the box, above). The result was a faster clean, so although the water tank isn’t wholly impressive at 250ml, I only had to refill it once to cover my whole mouth.

This water flosser has three intensity modes which can also be used under the regular clean function for a continuous flow, or the deep clean mode for a pulse effect. A pulsating water setting is more effective than a continuous flow for shifting stubborn food particles. Ancient Sumerians invented a “civilisation-saving” water channel 4,000 years ago, a British Museum dig has revealed.Dr Rey spoke between bounds across the spoil heaps of past excavations in the pre-dawn twilight, before the merciless sun of the Iraqi autumn makes work unbearable for the British Museum team and the 40-strong cohort of villagers digging through 4,000 years of dust. Some shadow cabinet members are known to have concerns about the green prosperity fund, believing Labour has not done enough to articulate what it will do with the money. Earlier this month, one was quoted as saying: “My worry is that we are going to get all the downside of this without any of the upside.” Dr Ebro Toruń, an architect and conservationist working with the British Museum team in Iraq, said: “This is absolutely one of a kind. There is no other example of it in history, really, until the present day.” There are three pressure settings which offer up to 2,000 water pulsations per minute, plus a DIY pulse button and two jet tips with different coloured collars so you can share the unit with someone else. It’s a little disappointing that this water flosser only comes with one type of jet tip, although I suppose that’s part of the reason Ordo can keep the cost down. It dwarfs the workmen in keffiyeh who straddle the structure, working to shore it up with soft river clay now used as a cheap material by local farmers as it once was by the Sumerians.

The heads included are pretty standard although, again, I appreciated the inclusion of a tongue scraper. I found myself switching between the classic jet and the tongue scraper most often. The other two would work well for anyone with any dental concerns. The Girsu structure is one such flume, which would have accelerated water flow and forced the water to more distant locations downstream where it was needed, including the neighbouring administrative capital of Lagash. Use a water flosser before brushing your teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste, advises Dr Khurrum Hussain. “This allows debris to be removed from the spaces between the teeth, enabling better fluoride absorption from the toothpaste onto the enamel.”The canals are drying up, silting up, one by one. This is one last desperate attempt to save themselves. The monumental scale of the structure shows how important this project was to them. It is a civilisation-saving effort.” In terms of technique, position the end of the tip a few millimetres away from your teeth. Dr Khurrum says, “Direct the stream towards the gum, aiming for the spaces between the teeth to remove trapped debris. If you have gaps between your teeth, angle the nozzle towards each tooth.” There is evidence that the structure was built on a previous construction that followed the same design, suggesting that water-accelerating technology was known to the Sumerians millennia before it was thought to have been created. Just when you thought it was safe to take your summer holiday again, the SW3 gang are descending upon an exclusive area of Mallorca for a summer series like never before.

It all started with our founder’s pioneering ambition: to create a world-renowned wine with depth, complexity, and elegance. London based Duncan Nyanzi first discovered the art of winemaking during his travels in Provence. The Girsu flume even has a “sharp drop” at its centre, a feature present in modern flumes that would have better facilitated the Venturi effect and which the Sumerians appear to have been aware of. Their desperation is revealed by archaeological evidence, which shows that they redirected all water courses into a single canal and through the device to maximise flow.We have not seen any other example of this in ancient Mesopotamia. If you look at the walls of the bridge, they are inclined outwards. This further increases flow, but no one knew this, as far as we know, until the 20th century.” This Binefia water flosser surprised me the most of any I tried. If I’m being completely honest, I saw the price point and the unknown brand name and made a judgement. How wrong I was. This water flosser is my best value choice on this list because it has six jet tip attachments, a 300ml water reservoir, a sturdy travel case which has compartments to hold the attachments and charger and premium-feeling metal buttons. Ordo is an eco-friendly oral hygiene company determined to keep innovative dental hygiene within your budget. Their brand new water flosser is dentist-approved and competes with higher end products in terms of features and performance. The latest research conducted in this remote corner of Iraq, its least populated province, have now revealed that the structure that channelled a 100-foot-wide canal into a 13-foot-wide passage would have created a feature known as the “Venturi” effect, something that would not be theorised by scientists until the late 18th century.