Tooth truth?

         What a bonanza. I have recently come upon not one, but TWO exciting factoids about toothpaste.

          Have you ever brushed your teeth, and then had a glass of orange juice? Notice how it tasted bitter?  This is because toothpaste contains sodium lauryl sulphate, a detergent that suppresses our sweet taste receptors on the tongue.  Who knew? Okay, maybe you’re a chemist and you knew.

          And the next dental delight is a story some say is untrue but others swear up and down is true.  Apparently a toothpaste company in Japan was in financial difficulty and needed a miracle. The story goes that a man offered to sell them an idea that would increase toothpaste sales by 40 %.  Legend has it he asked for $100,000.00 to reveal his idea. They eventually agreed, and then made many times that by implementing his ingenious suggestion.

          He told them to make the hole (where the toothpaste comes out) bigger. By enlarging the hole from 5mm to 6mm, consumers were tricked into using more toothpaste and having to buy a new tube sooner.

          I like creative solutions (like the company with slow elevators that hung a mirror beside the doors and got everyone preoccupied with their appearance, thus keeping them from noticing how slow the elevators were). But I never dreamed there was one about toothpaste.  And now this boring task won’t be so boring anymore. You’re welcome.

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