I needed a new toothbrush recently (yes I still have most of my own teeth – some in my mouth even).
The supermarket offered me a range varying in price from £1.50 to £6.50. I bought the one at £1.50.
It has an ergonomically shaped, multi coloured handle and a nylon- tufted brush, also multi-coloured because uni-coloured bristles obviously don’t clean as deep (whatever that means).
I find it cleans my teeth quite well. So what I would like to know is, what’s the other £3 to £5 for?
A game of skill
Soccer players are universally accused of being low in intelligence, David Beckham, to give just one example is frequently portrayed as infantile and moronic.
Yet, leaving aside a man who somehow sashayed a nice line in place kicking to international multi-millionairedom – I should be so stupid – anyone who follows football, will know that the players have to master certain quite intricate team moves during the course of a game.
Not just agility
Further, they have to recognise the right moment and disposition of the other players to initiate such moves – and to realise in an instant when others are doing so.
So some reasoning must be involved, some sort of forward planning.
And you don’t get picked to captain anything – even a local tiddlywinks team – unless you have at least some measure of brain power, however limited.
What’s the point?
Golfers, on the other hand, who spend their time wandering about fields tapping at a little white ball with an assortment of sticks until it finally pops down a hole; and then immediately taking it out again before repeating the entire procedure, they’re regarded apparently as being people to be admired.
Why? Could this be another example of that good old English caste system?
Image: Martin Howard under CC BY 2.0
