Tooth Brushes, Hats

At the Institute of Hygiene, London, Sir James Cantlie* attacked tooth brushes and hats, advocated warming pans. Said he:

Of tooth brushes. "You simply drive the poison deeper into the gums with the tooth brush. I cannot find any mention of dentists in the Bible, and if there were no dentists there were no bad teeth. Moses did not use a tooth brush. The country where teeth are worst and the dentists most numerous is America, which can produce good dentists, but cannot show sound teeth."

Of hats. "Adam in the garden of Eden used a piece of straw to tie a cabbage on his head, and ever since man has been using a hat band for no reason whatsoever."

Of warming pans. "The great curse of the professional man today is rheumatism, which is due to the dampness of his clothing. Our grandmothers used warming pans every night of their lives, but we only use them to hang over the parlor doorway as a curiosity. Unlike our fathers, we do not use night caps, and as a result we get deafness from damp pillows. I use a warming pan every night, and so at 73 I can dance better than most of you could at 17."

*Sir James Cantlie, K.B.E., Scotch surgeon, at Charing Cross Hospital, London, expert in tropical and Eastern diseases, author of medical publications.