tar

Scientists have discovered that birch tar, a material commonly associated with prehistoric toolmaking, has antibacterial properties that could have made it useful as an ancient form of medicine.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Although the experiments do not prove that Neanderthals actually applied birch tar to wounds, they demonstrate that the material they were capable of producing had properties that could have made it useful for medical care.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Birch tar is a thick, sticky substance obtained by heating birch bark.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

To investigate, the researchers produced their own birch tar using tree species that were present during the Neanderthal era.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

“No, I mean Edward. Dead Edward. The one whom everyone thinks drowned in a tar pit. The one who has changed his appearance and now goes by the name of Judge Quinzy.”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

One wonders what those early salt- and sun-battered tars would have thought of the drink’s most recent incarnation, the milkshake IPA.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2023

In a 2,600-year-old embalming workshop, scientists have discovered the ingredients for making a mummy: the tars, fats, tree resins and oils ancient Egyptians used to preserve bodies and prepare them for the afterlife.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 1, 2023

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 included new regulations around color, specifically those derived from coal tars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2018

"If they are going to certify destruction, even just one company alone, it tars every producer with the same brush."

From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2016

"Pull, gents! Be good lads! It's me own fault, not leadin' you around this bog. Me eyesight ain't what it was, is it, old tars?"

From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman

Although they premiered more than 20 years apart, the television shows “Bluey” and “South Park” have been tarred with the “millennial” brush.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

She feels that responsible carriers often get "tarred with the same brush" as unauthorised companies, even though she is paying out for licences, insurances and tip fees.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

At first glance, modern, prosperous South Korea looks like it’s been wrongly tarred with the same brush.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

But she said critics had tarred her for something far more nefarious.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024

From the height of the tanker’s deck, Bright Sands Beach stretched into the distance, a tarred expanse of sand and puddled seawater, littered with the savaged bodies of other oil tankers and freighters.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

It attempted to justify his deportation by tarring him as a gang member, an accusation that was based on comically flimsy evidence and which the government never tried to escalate to proving in court.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2025

A producer of the 2014 TV show Benefits Street has said he regrets tarring the reputation of the road it focussed on.

From BBC ● Feb. 29, 2024

School officials have tried to reserve tarring for times when students aren’t in classrooms — like after school or over the weekends, Baxter said.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 17, 2023

His opponents tried to slow him down by tarring him as an out-of-touch tycoon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2022

Above her, Horse and Archer were on the yards with little wooden pails, tarring down the rigging.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee