Too much politics lately. Time for something lighter.
Here's what looks like a Japanese game show where the contestants must wake up, get ready for school, and be out the door in less than five minutes. That's just a guess—the only words I understood after "three, two, one, go!" were "bento" and "sandwich." I love it for the reminders of Japan, and for the really cool lunch the mother makes for her child to take to school. Note the Japanese way of quick shirt-folding. Can any of my Japanese-speaking readers (all one and a half of you) tell me what on earth she is doing with the shirt? And why that would be part of a normal morning routine?I never did understand brushing one's teeth before eating, though.
Stephan says that she write the Boy's last name on the shirt. I don't know why. I read about teeth brushing while on a business class flight once because the travel paste and brush came with instructions. ;) They said that the teeth are fragile after eating citrus so you should wait 30 minutes after eating breakfast to brush your teeth. Most people don't have that time, so it's better to brush night accumulation away before eating. They also said to brush away from the gums (from gums down for top teeth), which somehow I didn't know, so that could be a reason for my bad gums. Also, they said use little pressure (for an overachiever that's hard) and to brush no more than twice a day. I like that recommendation! The reason being that you can damage your teeth with too much brushing.
This might be worth more investigation. I thought the "brush away from the gums" instructions were out of date—that's what I remember from my childhood—superseded by knowledge of the importance of stimulating the gums and of making sure you get the gumline clean. But the "prevailing wisdom" may have changed again; it frequently does.
Dad does know someone whose teeth were supposedly damaged from brushing too much. I think that's why dentists recommend soft-bristle toothbrushes now, instead of hard, though maybe that's because they're gentler on the gums.
The idea of waiting at least 30 minutes after eating to brush is hard to reconcile with what I've read about it taking only 15 minutes for the bacteria to turn the sugar in your mouth into tooth-destroying acids. Maybe, as with so many things, a reasonable compromise is required. That's what life tends to make us do, anyway. :)
A Swiss friend complained about the "American" toothbrushes that they were so soft that they didn't do anything.
A year or so ago, a bunch of people were linking to the fast t-shirt folding, so we tried it some, but it takes up too much setup time to make it worthwhile - (unless you are planning on already laying the t-shirt out perfectly flat to write on it or something)
