The eternal squeezing competition - with a toothpaste. When you think it’s the last drop, somehow another squeeze can give you yet another dollop out of it. So when do you throw out your toothpaste? Do you squeeze until the very last drop until you remember to get a new one? Or do you give up the first time you have to twist the damn thing just to get a droplet out? (and hate yourself for forgetting to get it at the pharmacy when you passed by it last night…)

I remember when Oral-B first introduced a toothbrush with an indicator. The indicator will tell you when you’re supposed to throw out your toothbrush as the bristles are not working its magic to clean your teeth, or so the advertisements say. I always thought this might be some kind of business gimmick so that you’ll buy their toothbrush more frequently. But why hasn’t someone put an indicator on a toothpaste?

I suppose it’s obvious that you need another toothpaste when the one you have runs flat (or as flat as you can make it to be). My “don’t waste your food” drills somehow extends to toothpaste as well. When young, I’ve been drilled to finish the food on the plate because somewhere out there in the world, people don’t even get enough to eat. Same goes to the toothpaste. We’ll always try to squeeze out the last drop, so that we don’t waste resources.

But somehow, there’s never a last drop. It’s the last drop when you’ve decided enough is enough. The toothpaste never gives up. You’ll have to make the conscious choice to give up. You’ll need to decide whether it’s worth battling the toothpaste amidst the war that is Monday mornings, or whether you should just keep an extra toothpaste in the cupboard.

The humble toothpaste, kinda’ like our choices in life - whether to fight on or to say enough is enough. I’ll never look at the toothpaste the same way again.

p/s: photo from flickr by AZRainman.