Gardner MA Citizens React to the Toothpick Question
With so much serious news, we thought it would be nice to take a break and venture into the world of triviality, in this case TOOTHPICKS. So I posted this on social media. “I’m doing an investigative article on toothpicks. Just what are these insidious objects up to in Gardner? I’d like to have the inside scoop on any of you who might know. We must get to the bottom of this.”
Toothpicks are not a very controversial item, but nevertheless, the question drew a huge variety of comments. Some took the question seriously, others thought I was completely out of my mind or was hacked, and others took it as humor. While it was popular on one group, another social media group moderator censored the post and took it down because it was considered spam. But, Gardner’s largest social media group seemed to have fun with it, even providing me with some fun graphics for this article.
Gardner MA Toothpick Comments
…I’m amongst the lost and confused here. If you mean why do folks ‘chew’ on them, or if they are an oft littered item, or if old Gardner furniture is being whittled or some other point (no pun intended) you didn’t quite make that clear…
….This made me laugh today THank you!
….Were you hacked?
…Remember mint flavored toothpicks in individual packs with a point on each end?
…Rietta Ranch has booth 26 , claims to be homemade
…Just when we thought FB had become useless
…I have enjoyed the use of a tooth pick or 2. When you get food jammed between your teeth you will appreciate having a tooth pick.
…They are waiting patiently for some appetizers to pierce into and a bunch of friendly visitors to enjoy it with a few beers or glasses of wine.
…I use them to color my buttercreme frosting with gel colorant when decorating cakes.
…I’ve pricked by fingers because of these nuisance pieces of wood being stuck in the hor d’oeuvres
…Most people who are paranoid about getting something stuck in their teeth carry dental floss and or dental picks!
We thank Tammy for sharing this. “The Yankee tradition was to whittle a toothpick on demand. It did not make sense to spend money on something one could make for oneself, let alone for something that would be used once and then discarded. But Forster came up with ingenious marketing schemes. He first targeted stationers, who dealt in small items. When he could not place his product in their stores, he hired personable young people to go to those same retailers and ask for wooden toothpicks. Naturally, the retailers had to turn away the potential customers. Shortly afterward, Forster would make return visits to the stores, where he easily sold his wares. To reinforce the wisdom of the shopkeeper’s decision, Forster’s shills soon came back to ask again for toothpicks, and this time the sales were made. The boxes of toothpicks were then returned to Forster, who could resell them to the retailer, who now was prepared to talk them up to real customers.”
Known in all cultures, the toothpick is the oldest instrument for dental cleaning. Hominin remains from Dmanisi, Georgia, dated to about 1.8 million years ago, bear lesions indicating the repeated use of a “toothpick”. Toothpicks made of bronze have been found as burial objects in prehistoric graves in Northern Italy and in the East Alps. More on toothpicks from wikipedia.
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