6.14.2006

questions.

why are toothbrushes getting bigger?

warning: i have quirks. the following will alert you to one of the quirks i have that no one, including myself, entirely understands.

right outside my bathroom, i keep a red owl measuring glass full of toothbrushes. remember red owls? i don't think they're around anymore. we had one in monticello when i was growing up. i've been using this cup since i was in junior high or high school, ever since i started using more than one toothbrush. i think i started this because i couldn't decide which toothbrush to get so i got them both. and then i alternated the use of them. every other day. and then, one day, i got a third. i remember someone giving me a toothbrush once as part of a present. that made four or five. eventually it got up to seven. and then i retired one and didn't end up replacing it, so it sat at six for quite a few years. recently, i started to get annoyed that i didn't have seven, because there are not only six days in a week. i know this seems total ocd, but i swear, i could quit at any time.

my ideal toothbrush is one of medium firmness in a compact head. through the years, as i've been replacing the aging brushes, it's been getting harder and harder to find compact heads. i can only find them once in a while now, but they are always soft. i'm wondering if i missed some dental study that posed the risks of using compact heads. do they get a bad rap because people are poor brushers? have they been blaming the lack of bristle area for their unclean teeth?

but what i'm most concerned about is the size of the handles. they're getting so big. it's getting really hard to keep seven toothbrushes in order in my red owl glass. and something tells me that people may be having issues getting some of these handles in actual toothbrush holders. i don't ever remember the holes being that big. are we losing dexterity in our hands that makes it harder to hold smaller handles? are we that concerned with ergonomic qualities in something we hold for such a small percentage of our day? is it worth it?

and so i ask. why? why are they making toothbrushes so big?

posted by julie @ 2:49 PM

5 Comments:

At 6/14/2006 3:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Seems" OCD?
Fat handles are ergonomic...either that, or you have to keep changing your design so the customers think you're doing something new.

 
At 6/16/2006 3:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is supposed to be a comment for your goya blogg, but since i haven't yet joined the 21st century and don't have a blogg, i must comment here:

Okay, perhaps I missed the day in kindgergarden where we went over zoo animals..what is the animal the second to last? a monkey? I have been staring at it, trying to figure it out! can someone help?

ps..great shots julie, you must know aperture and shutter speeds more than think you do!

 
At 6/19/2006 3:14 PM, Blogger Erin Bennett said...

Why are toothbrushes getting bigger? Because if they weren't, we wouldn't have been graced with this hysterical post. :)

 
At 6/19/2006 9:51 PM, Blogger Patrick said...

I just took a 45-minute online survey about toothpaste. Then I came here and read this. AAHH! Dental hygiene everywhere I turn! Thanks for the much needed laugh as the survey seemed endless (but worth 450 points or something, so wah hoo!)

 
At 6/20/2006 1:28 PM, Blogger julie said...

kristin... it's a camel.

 

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