The Slice It Is Not Nice To Pick Your Teeth In Public Anyway

A Spokane dentist told us about a study revealing that many unwrapped toothpicks available in restaurants are contaminated with urine.

The culprit? You guessed. It’s people not washing their hands after using the restroom.

Albert Brooks movies aren’t for everyone: But vegetarians who have had to deal with family members who are mystified about the idea of not eating meat should be able to relate to a couple of scenes in “Mother.”

If Patty Comer turned her place into a B&B: She’d call it “The Bed and Lead Inn.”

“That’s my husband’s reference to my over-easy eggs,” she wrote.

One possible explanation for worried expressions: A lot of people around here are haunted by nagging background anxiety about the fact that it’s been too long since they really cleaned their bathrooms.

Slice answers: “Just before Drug Fair went out of business, I accidentally left several vials of insulin overnight in my car, only to find them frozen solid the next day,” wrote Joyce Goad. “Though my pharmacist, Gary Hansen, kindly replaced all seven vials at no charge, he couldn’t let it go at that. When I picked up the new vials, attached to each package was a big red label: ‘Do Not Freeze.”’ Another reader told of leaving her baby’s used diaper in the car overnight when the temperatures were below freezing. “In the morning, it was like a rock,” she said.

Our prediction: “I don’t get it” will become one of the most appealing things a person can say.

Mark our words. People in group discussions will practically compete to be the first to blurt it out.

We’re not talking about being clueless about aspects of social justice, of course. We’re talking about settings where the person uttering those words comes off as secure and genuine.

People are tired of phonies and know-it-alls. So a person willing to say “I don’t get it” is bound to gain respect. Besides, a lot of people don’t make any sense. So “I don’t get it” is often the only honest response.

Warm-up question: What’s the most interesting mix-up you’ve been a party to when exchanging videotapes with friends?

Today’s Slice question: What’s the Spokane definition of “alternative lifestyle”?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

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