Toothbrushes have become "over engineered".� One used to use a simple square-headed, straight brush that did the trick.��

Then manufacturers started to modify them with all kinds of special features.� First it was the angled head, which came in handy and helped you reach back teeth better, which, in my case, is handy since I still have my wisdom teeth.� And they started changing the shapes of the heads of the toothbrushes so that they were narrower at the tip.� My Mentadent brush had basically a diamond shaped head and an angled neck.� Some of the bristles were a different length, presumably to help clean at the gumline.� This style of toothbrush has served me well for years.� It is comfortable and reliable.� I did NOT want to have to choose a new one.

When I stood there at the toothbrush selection rack I could not help but feel a tad overwhelmed.� How was I going to replace my tried and true after so many years?� There before me were toothbrushes of all kinds.� Angled ones, rotating ones, vibrating ones, brushes with ten different types of bristles on one head, brushes with rubber protrusions sticking out from all over, and brushes made especially for brushing one's tongue, just in case some people out there don't click that you can brush your tongue quite well with a normal everyday brush.� What I ended up with is more of a Frankentoothbrush with about three different patterns of bristles, and purple rubber prongs sticking out from the edges.� It is going to take some getting used to.� But in the meantime, I am going to check Walgreens for my trusty Mentadent brush.� By the way, photographing your toothbrush is not that easy.

Song Virus du Jour:� "Lightning Crashes" ~ Live

Useless Trivia du Jour:�

William Addis, England, is credited with creating the first mass-produced toothbrush in 1780.

The first patent for a toothbrush was by H. N. Wadsworth in 1850 in the United States, but mass production of the product only started in 1885. The rather advanced design had a bone handle with holes bored into it for the Siberian Boar hair bristles. (Boar wasn't an ideal material; it retained bacteria, it didn't dry well, and the bristles would often fall out of the brush).

It wasn't until World War II that the concept of brushing teeth really caught on in the US, in part due to the fact that it was part of American soldiers' regular daily duty to clean their teeth. It was a practice that they brought back to their home life after the conclusion of the war.

Natural bristles (from animal hair) were replaced by synthetic materials, usually nylon, by DuPont in 1938. The first nylon bristle toothbrush made with nylon yarn went on sale on February 24, 1938.