Minor Complications

This week I bought a toothbrush...because I was way overdue for one. (And overdue for a dentist visit, but we'll take care of that next month.) I almost forgot I had it until I went to brush my teeth before bed. I pulled it out, struggling to open the package as everyone does these days, and was quite happy to have a new toothbrush to brush my not-so-sparkling-but-very-straight-thanks-to-braces teeth. Finishing that, I absently placed it in the holder...well, I tried to place it in the holder.

The toothbrush did not fit in the holder. As I contemplated on this, I figured out it's got to be a racket between the toothbrush makers of the world and the toothbrush holder makers.

The toothbrush makers say, "We're going to make wider toothbrushes. So, no one will have a holder to fit those. You need to make larger toothbrush holders, which everyone will have to purchase. Then we'll both make money."

"Perfect," say the toothbrush holder makers.

And so we all go to the stores, purchase new toothbrushes, take them home, brush our teeth, and try to put them into the toothbrush holders. But they don't fit. So, the next day we return to the store and purchase a new toothbrush holder. Problem solved...for about six months.

Because at the end of six months, it is time to purchase yet another toothbrush (unless you have a dentist who gives you a decent one when you visit, but everyone is cutting corners these days). So, off to the store you go to purchase your favorite color (or super hero or whatever), bring it home, rip open the package in frustration, and brush your teeth. Then you place it in your holder...only this time it slides all the way through and lands in your sink...

For now that the toothbrush holder makers have supplied all the fat toothbrush owners with new holders, the toothbrush makers said, "We're going to make thin toothbrushes - after all, thin is in. All these toothbrushes will fall right through the wide holes. You'll need to make new holders, and we'll both make more money."

"Ingenious," say the toothbrush holder makers.

So, now all of us with the new thinner toothbrushes that we don't want lying in our sinks dash off to the stores and buy thinner holders.

As you can see, this is a vicious circle. But there is one solution to this problem: buy a cup. Once size fits all toothbrushes.