I think it’s been a while since we cleaned out some of the drawers around the house. In fact, I think it’s been a while since anyone cleaned them out. If ever.
For one thing, we found a can of Pepsodent tooth powder. That was kind of a double wow. It’s been a while since I had even heard of the brand name. And tooth powder? I kind of remember it.
I seem to remember as a small child finding a can of tooth powder. It may have actually been this same can. I remember asking what it was, and being allowed to give it a try. Can’t really remember what it was like, but it must not have made too big an impression, because I went right back to the paste.
As for the brand, I have a foggy memory of that. More so the jingle. That stuck with me. It was a catchy little tune, with the words, “you’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”
After finding this lurking at the back of a drawer, of course I had to Google it to see just how far back this might go. I mean, who uses tooth powder anymore?
There must be a few people who do. You can still get it. At least online. And you can still find Pepsodent. If you search hard enough. But according to what I found, they were slow to add that fancy new ingredient, fluoride, which is supposedly why the brand started to fade away in the 60s.
This can also proudly boasts that it contains Irium. Sounds like something that might make you glow in the dark, but it was their name for sodium lauryl sulphate, a cleaning agent. Although in the 90s, someone claimed Irium didn’t really exist. Which lead to law suits and fun things like that.
So while my can of tooth powder may be old, it doesn’t seem to be a real collectors item, so I won’t be making a fortune selling that.
Unfortunately, I know just how it feels. Old, but not quite a collectors item.