My toothbrush + Babylonian Ghosts + creativity
May I recommend this toothbrush
It is an Oral B Pro 500 electric toothbrush.
I went electric with my tooth brushery a few years ago, mostly because I brush with such unmanageable ferocity that my poor, sweet gums were receding in panic. Indeed, I had to have a charming procedures where they sliced off skin and flesh from my palate and welded into my bottom gum line. Horrific.
Anyway, after that periodontic adventure, I retired my manual toothbrush and embraced the lighter touch of the electric. At first, I was deeply unhappy, because I could hardly brush for more than twenty seconds, let alone the recommended two minutes, before my mouth filled with toothpaste and saliva and I was frothing like the rabid dog in To Kill a Mockingbird (WHAT A SCENE - Atticus with that rifle, oh momma).
I happened to complain about this to my friend Kathryn- yes we do spend a lot of time talking about immensely trivial things - and she said these immortal words “Put less toothpaste on the brush, you dummy.”
After I got over the pain and emotional trauma of the unwarranted insult, the advice was excellent and I proceeded to brush with vigour and joy… at least for another twenty seconds or so.
That first brush had a timer that vibrated when two minutes was up so that you could be assured you’d reached the dentist-recommended brush-time. I NEVER made it to the full two minutes. Twenty seconds in, I’d get bored. Thirty seconds in, I’d start to think about all the things I had to do that day, or if I was brushing at night, how warm and soft my bed was. Forty -five seconds in (if I was still going) I’d think, “I must be at a minute fifty-five, that’s close enough” and shut the bugger off.
Don’t worry, I continued to get rave reviews from my dentist. I am consistently praised for my “strong, Tector teeth” (BRAG). My Ottawa dentist is actually from my hometown (BRAG). She went to high school with one of my sisters (BRAG) and is the dentist to all of the Tectors and Tector-adjacents in the greater National Capital Region. (BRAG BRAG BRAG)
Despite the strong strength of my Tector teeth, my failure to hang on for the full two minutes of brush time was just that - a failure. It greeted me twice, sometimes three times a day for years. To fail over and over - and on a task so small and so easy — was an existential sink hole deeper even than the one endured by the nameless narrator (HE IS ALL OF US) in Camus’s The Plague. I didn’t realize how thoroughly this was sapping my courage, my morale and my self-esteem until that toothbrush finally died.
I bought a new one. I thought it was the same as the old guy, but my friends, IT WAS NOT. This baby also has the two minute vibrate thinger when the full brushing is up, but guess what? It gives a little baby vibration every thirty seconds, telling you to switch sides. Bottom Right, Bottom Left, Top Right, Top Left (that’s the correct order, do not deviate). This tiny little improvement is an absolute game changer. Just as I’m getting bored and about to begin my downward spiral, abandoning the tooth brushing in defeat again, I get a little friendly zap zap, telling me to switch sides. That was easy, I think. I can do the other side and away I go. I have been two-minuting-it for weeks now!
There is probably a larger lesson to draw here about how small changes can have huge impacts, adjusting your perception is half the battle or that we humans have deeper, untamed wells of capacity yet to be plumbed, but my friends, I have referenced both a classic of American literature AND a cornerstone of post-War French existentialism in a 300 word blog post about electric toothbrushes, so I think I’ve done enough.
Drop a literary reference or tell me about your toothbrush in the comments below!
Ghost discovered in Babylonian cuneiforms
Figures of Babylon: Oldest drawings of a ghost found in British Library
I love this story, and we will just enjoy it and not ask ourselves how Britain “acquired” this particular, delightful piece of someone else’s culture.
“It’s obviously a male ghost and he’s miserable. You can imagine a tall, thin, bearded ghost hanging about the house did get on people’s nerves. The final analysis was that what this ghost needed was a lover,” he said.
Did I share this last week?
Ted Lasso Reimagined as a Horror Film
This is funny. Also, that spitting was horrifying. Maybe spoilery for Season 2 of Ted Lasso, so avoid if you aren’t caught up.
Long form look at history of body shaming
The past, present and future of body image in America
I am deeply interested in this topic, and if you are even vaguely curious, and haven’t yet read Health At Every Size by Linda Bacon (I KNOW!) then do it. This article is a long look at the history, big money and racism that underpins the Western world’s policing and shaming of (mostly) female bodies.
Convincing ordinary people they were too big, too flawed, too something was also a booming business. In the early ’90s, Jenny Craig was bringing in more than $400 million a year, with a big chunk of that channeled right back into advertising. Ads for diet supplements and other weight loss aids — along with ads featuring very thin women selling all manner of products as a path to an impossibly narrow beauty ideal — boosted magazines’ bottom lines as advertising revenue soared during the 1990s
What makes you feel creative?
22 people share what makes them feel most creative
Mine is not very creative at all (IRONY). My go to is a walk without distraction… No podcasts, no phone calls, just my little brain a whizzing and whirring.
“Getting outside and listening to music. It makes me feel so much freer within my thinking.” – Julie Wilson
“Unfortunately, the answer would have to be drama and bad decisions.” – Aria Vettraino
TikTok
His little exhale at the end
Cooking chicken
We are a Ringo family
Hardcore girls
Pirate Ship Water
Dog living room
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Amy Tector, The Honeybee Emeralds (March 2022)