Jun 29, 2005

Toothbrushes these days

Terry Teachout suffered a crise de toothbrush the other day and I can relate.
I left my toothbrush behind in my hotel room in Montgomery, and the spare in my Manhattan medicine cabinet proved to be an unpleasant shade of purple. Alas, not only is my bathroom decorated in sunny yellow and cornflower blue, but a Bonnard color lithograph hangs next to the door. Having gone to some trouble last year to track down a suitably blue toothbrush, I went back to the corner drugstore to look for something a bit more compatible with my décor. To my horror, all the brushes they now sell turn out to be vulgar, fat-handled implements that not only don't match my towels but won't even fit into my toothbrush holder.
I don't know about Terry's decor, but I had a similar toothbrush experience recently, having forgotten twice in one weekend to take my toothbrush with me. Now I have this gigantic thing that doesn't fit in my tothbrush holder either. Not wanting to let it stew in its own bacterial juices on the sink, I force the tip of it into said holder anyway and there it stands about a foot above the holder, blocking access to the medicine chest.

What are these product designers thinking? Why must a toothbrush have a handle with the heft of a Colt .45? I know as well as anyone that the war against plaque is a war I must win, but seriously folks, what gives?

As for my decor, it's a lime green and fuschia combo that sounds a bit much but looks rather good, I think.

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