About three things I was absolutely positive. First, I had a pokemon. Second, there was a part of me - and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be - that wanted to be the very best, like no one ever was. Third, Gary Oak was unconditionally and irrevocably a douchenozzle.
For at least the third time, construction workers in Georgia have opened
up the walls of a former dentist’s office only to discover thousands of
teeth in the wall cavity.
The latest discovery was made at Valdosta, Georgia’s TB Converse
Building, built in 1900, in a dental office occupied by Dr Clarence
Whittington and then Dr Lester G Youmans, from 1900 until the 1930s.
Previous troves of entombed teeth have been discovered in old dentists’ offices n Greensboro and Carrolton.
apparently the cool thing to do post-war was utilize the empty space between studs as a fucking sharps container because that could never cause a problem in the future
thanks boomers
THIS IS MY FAVE THING EVER MY HOUSE HAS A RAZOR HOLE IN THE MEDICINE CABINET AND IM RENOVATING 90% JUST TO SEE HOW MANY ARE IN THERE
There was a Goon Show episode in 1956 called “The House of Teeth”, but I don’t think this is quite what they had in mind…
The teeth-in-the-wall business is a new one on me, and pretty unhygienic at that unless they were all well cleaned (if going to that much trouble why not dispose of them properly?) but I did know about - and initially raised my eyebrows at - the razor-blade slot in the wall.
When the eyebrows came down again, it was because the whole thing made sense, of a sort. Based on the size of a double-edged blade - basically two postage stamps side by side and about as thick - and how often it was replaced - say three times a week - it would be years before they became a problem.
Until then they certainly weren’t as much of a hazard as if they were just chucked into ordinary household garbage. A used razor-blade isn’t sharp enough to shave with any more, but it’s still more than sharp enough to open the fingers of anyone going after something accidentally dropped in the bin.
Back then houses weren’t remodelled with the same frequency as now, so after a century the blades would be someone else’s problem anyway (usual mindset of the period) and anyone doing work in the house would know what to expect after they saw the disposal slot (because nothing changes).
However if the tiles or wall-cladding was replaced without a slot, maybe as a refurb before the house went up for sale, then as time went by the possibility that there might be a razory heap in the bathroom wall would be forgotten. It’s probably a wise precaution for anyone doing DIY or fixer-upping in a US house older than 1970 to be prepared for finding something like this behind the dry-wall in the bathroom. I can’t remember if the disposal slots were common in the UK and Ireland; certainly there were none in any houses I knew.
However they’re still available, and with safety-razor shaving making a comeback, someone might want one. This link and this one are both current.
My own used-blade container is a painted Colman’s Mustard tin with a slot in the lid…
…and one fine day I’ll finish spraying the hazard stripes (you can see where the black spray-tin ran out), though anyone with what passes for intelligence should work out that a box in a bathroom cabinet with a razor on one side, a pack of blades on the other side and a slot that size on top isn’t likely to contain sweeties.
When it’s finally time to get rid of it, I’ll tape it tightly shut with an appropriate safety label…
…but a peek inside confirms that’s not going to happen for years…
