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I once had a dentist advise me to always use a child’s toothbrush when brushing my teeth.

One reason is because the brush is smaller and is able to focus on each tooth.

Another reason is because the bristles are softer, which means the brush is easier on the gums.

I started using a child’s toothbrush probably 15 years ago.

Now grant it, it took me a while to get use to the little brush size, but now if I try and use an adult toothbrush, it literally feels as though I'm using a DUSTPAN brush.

The bristles on an adult brush actually feel painful, and the brush head feels way too big.

The only thing about using a child’s toothbrush, is that they need to be replaced more often because the bristles ARE softer.

This is where The Dollar Store comes in handy.

I buy several brushes at a time, so I can use a fresh one each month.

(and The Dollar Store is also where I get my EVIL shower curtain liners)

Anyway….the last time I purchased some toothbrushes, I grabbed a few that I had never before seen the name brand.


They were called Fire Fly.


You will notice a white part on the lower half of the handle. This part feels “rubbery” to the touch. I initially thought it was there only as something decorative.

(stupid me)

Anyhoo…one evening before bed, I went into the bathroom and proceed to do what I always do…brush my teeth.

(and also to check for any additional wrinkles on my face)

Well I started brushing as normal, when ALL OF A SUDDEN…the toothbrush started doing this…



HOLY SHIT IN HELL!!…it scared the living CRAP out of me!

It started blinking and winking and flashing like a friggin' LIGHTENING STORM. And when I looked in the mirror, my entire face looked as though it was being ELECTROCUTED!

I quickly yanked the brush out of my mouth and flung into the sink, where it continued to do it’s crazy FLASH dance.

Finally it stopped.

And when I picked it up to reexamined the handle, I noticed that there was a little spring inside the rubber part. And when I pushed on it…the brush started FLASHING again.

I thought to myself. “Aaaah, that’s it…it must be squeeze-activated.”

Thus the name…Fire Fly.

It serves me right for NOT reading the package before I used the damn freakish thing.

And I’m assuming that the clever FLASHING must be there, to make tooth-brushing much more enticing and fun for kids.

(either that…or to SCARE the plaque off their teeth)


42 comments:

  1. tee hee whooo haaa

    I would have paid money to have seen that in full living color.

    I started using a kids toothbrush a couple of years ago too, but the boys always have a hard time finding it when I forget to put it back in their drawer!!!

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  2. eeeeeewww Jeff...that's DISGUSTING!

    But HYSTERICAL!!!

    It's funny, because now that I found out what this toothbrush does...I like to go in the bathroom at night, close the door, turn the light out...and brush my teeth in the DARK!

    It looks SOOOO COOL to see that red light flashing in my mouth.

    It lights up the whole freaking bathroom!!

    aaah...to be a CHILD again!

    Thanks for stopping by, buddy!

    P.S. and I hope you use some peroxide on that toothbrush before you give it back!?!?!

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  3. I used a battery operated toothbrush but it has a very small head so it take a while to get round my mouth. Not that I have a big mouth of course!

    They have all sorts of gimmicks on kids toothbrushes these days to encourage them to brush their teeth.

    I wish I'd been a fly on the wall to see you with that flashing brush. :)

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  4. Ok that is as scary as the women's vibrating razor I saw recently.

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  5. I had a hankerchief like that once with every blow of the nose the damn thing lit up and zapped the bugger left in the midst of the cloth. It required no plug in yet with every blow the thing did it's own thing.
    When I put it in the washer the hankerchief electrocuted itself.
    I am just glad it was not toilet paper.
    Now put your teeth into that tail.
    Ipana Dave

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  6. I really wish I could have seen the look on your face when it lit up like that. lol

    Very cool toothbrush though, I like that.

    My dentist told me to get the softest bristles, but a kids' brush is a good idea too. :o)

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  7. Morning Akelamalu!

    I know of several people who use those type toothbrushes, and really LOVE them. A friend in Florida SWEARS by them! She and her husband share one...

    (of course DIFFERENT brush heads!)

    HA!

    I wish you could have seen me freak out with this flashing brush....toothpaste went FLYING everywhere!

    Thanks for stopping by this morning, Akelamalu!

    Enjoy your day!

    The Kid

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  8. Morning Diane!

    OMG....I've seen those razors in the drug store and have always thought to myself...WHA, WHA, WHAT????

    I've seen those in the men's shaving section too??

    GOD...what the hell happened to a "simple" RAZOR and TOOTHBRUSH!?!?

    I'm suprised they don't come with an Ipod or cell phone on them!?!?!

    Great seeing ya, Diane!

    And thanks for stopping by to watch a toothbrush FLASH!

    tee, hee!

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  9. OMG...Dave...I love when you suprise me by your wonderful visits and make me laugh my ass off!

    Good God man...you're FUNNY!!!

    What a WONDERFUL idea!!! If you could actually make a hankerchief like that...you could put it on E-BAY...and make a fortune!

    You could package them in sets of 5 and make them disposable!

    You could call it..."The Boogie Zapper-kerchief"

    HAHAHAHA!

    Thanks SOOOOOO much for stopping by today, my Libra friend!

    It's always a JOY!

    Hope you're enjoying your summer.

    It's almost over...YAY!

    And both our birthdays are coming up too!

    Enjoy your day, Mr. Dave!

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  10. That funny Ron. I thought I had saw every gimicky type toothbrush, but I've never seen one like that.
    My kids want these toothbrushes now that play music, but you can only hear the song inside of your head while the toothbrush is in your mouth. Apparently they are supposed to brush for the entire length of the song....or something like that.
    Me, I would use a kids toothbrush. I am a total freak about my teeth, all teeth in general. It is the first thing I notice on a person. I use medium bristles because my teeth don't feel clean enough when I use soft.
    And oh man Ron, speaking of teeth, I was at my 5 yr old's Kindergarten orientation today....all of the parents were there. I've never seen so many rotten teeth people in my life. I am serious!! One lady tried to talk to me and I kid you not, her teeth were literally rotting out of her head. They were black and broken, some were missing. I had to talk away from her. I couldn't stop looking at her teeth. I wanted to tell her, "You know lady, you can pick up a toothbrush for a dollar, even one that lights up!!"
    Ewwwe. Maybe I am just too judgemental??

    Anyways, have a good day Ron.
    PS, what's that picture of me doing on your sidebar? LOL!!

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  11. Howdy Rhea!

    YEEEEHAAAA!!

    You should have seen the look on my face...

    I think even my TEETH went into SHOCK!

    Hey, it's great that you use a soft bristle brush. You can really tell the difference when you use a firmer brush, can't you?

    I use Rembrant Toothpaste, which is really good if you're a coffee drinker. I brush my teeth probably more than I really need to, so a soft brush is easier on my gums.

    Always nice sharing with you, Rhea!

    Hope you're having a great Wednesday!

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  12. Morning Nicole!

    Hey...that musical toothbrush sounds like FUN!!!

    I'll email you about it, when I GET one!!!

    I also think that this Fire Fly brush must "flash" for the same reason as the musical one, you mentioned....to "time" the brushing. A friend told me once, that you should brush for a full two minutes. I need to time the flash one day to see!

    Hey....so GLAD you noticed the photo of Julianne on the sidebar! I was thinking of you when I a put it there. Isn't she beautiful?

    I'm telling you....YOU could be TWINS!!!

    Thanks for stopping by this morning, Nicole!

    Have an awesome rest of your day!

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  13. Oh, my.....that's too funny.

    At least it wasn't a singing one.

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  14. Jeez, Ron! You scared the hell out of me with your title. I thought you decided to change the liner and then got totally crazy scrubbing grout with a child's toothbrush!

    Gods! I would've paid money to see your face when that toothbrush started flashing. *ROTFLMFAO!*

    Don't you just LOVE,LOVE,LOVE the Dollar Stores?

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  15. Aha...hehehehe. babes...I so have to get a few of those. That would so cool to brush with a tooth brush that kights up.

    Plus I have fun asking the dollar store clerks...How much is this?

    I buy stuff, like cerials...that have things inside of them. Oh like i got this spoon out of one of the boxes that turns it flourescent green. So cute, I forget what cerial it is. Anyway I bought another one for my bubba. The prince would not have one. What a dill weed, huh? He's 14 and thinks he's to old for stuff like that. I said to my girl we shold get another 10.

    She rolls her eyes and tells me...You are just like a kid...I swear.

    My retort...You're just jealous cause me and vincie eat our cerial with a flourescent green spoon and you don't have one. nah-na-nah...nah-na-nah.

    hehehe. hehehe, I loved your post sweetie. you crack me up. And I really do have two spoons like that...for me and bubba.

    ciao babes.

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  16. Love your vents! I'm at work laughing my ass off.
    My doggies have tiny dog toothbrushes and poultry flavored dog toothpaste. Must be something to that stuff because they'd rather eat the paste than have their teefies brushed with it. They make different size ones for different sized dogs and since these guys have tiny mouths, grabbing the snout, prying open the mandibles (think Croc Hunter!!) and using the tiny brushes makes fighting with them to get it done a little easier! When I say "brush teeth" then POOF! they hide.

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  17. Evening Mama Dawg!

    Do they actually have toothbrushes that SING???

    God...that would be interesting...

    ...to try and SING along while my mouth is full of toothpaste!

    The poor MIRROR!

    Thanks for stopping by, Mama Dawg!

    Always a pleasure seeing ya!

    Enjoy your evening!

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  18. I want one, I want one, I WANT one!!!!!

    <--gonna check out the dollar store tomorrow!

    :-)

    Wow....lights up and flashes and EVERYTHING!
    k.....are there all night dollar stores?

    ....just askin'.....

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  19. Evening Nitebyrd!

    How funny!

    Your comment JUST reminded me of something...

    My mother use to tell us kids to NOT throw away our old toothbrushes, because she used them to SCRUB THE GROUT from the tiles!!!

    God...I thought my family was the ONLY one who did that!! I use to think we were SO weird!

    (which we ARE)

    And YES!!! I would much rather go to The Dollar Store than Norstroms!!

    Thanks for dropping in, Nitebyrd!

    Always a HOOT!

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  20. Good Evening Miss Jones!

    Why do I have this wonderful feeling, that if you and I lived closer...we would be spending our days off in The Dollar Store shopping our asses off!?!?

    Is not The Dollar Store one of the most incredible experiences??

    $20.00 will get you 20 ITEMS!!!!

    And what is it about getting cereal with a PRIZE in it, that makes people like you and I so EXCITED? Isn't it the BEST??

    Hey...and that spoon that turns flourescent GREEN sounds like a blast!

    Listen...there's nothing more wonderful than NEVER losing our sense of "being a kid."

    I'm 52 years old, going on 5!

    Thanks so much for sharing your "kiddie-ness" with me, Spiky!

    Now lets go and play some Candyland!

    ciao bella

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  21. Evening Debi!

    Always so nice seeing ya!

    Glad you had a giggle!

    OMG...isn't it INCREDIBLE how animals just KNOW when you say something to them, which they don't enjoy doing??

    Like, BATH!

    You're experience with your doggies sounds like when I use to give my cats their "hairball remedy" stuff. They HATED having me give it to them, but they LOVED the taste of it. I finally figure out if I just put some on their PAWS...they would simply lick it off, without me having to open their mouth and place it on their tongue.

    (it only took me 12 years to figure that one out)

    Thanks so much for stopping by, Debi!

    It's so nice having you here!

    Hope you had a great day at work!

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  22. Dearest Mel...

    WHY? WHY? WHY? did I KNOW that this was an item you would LOVE!?!?!?!

    Probably because I know that you and I are KIDS!!!

    I actually DID think of you when I was writing this post.

    The Dollar Store that I shop at has all kinds of REALLY cool stuff. Everytime I go in to purchase my toothbrushes, they always have something new.

    And listen, if you DO get one...

    ...do what I mentioned to Jeff. Try brushing your teeth in the DARK.

    It's mind-blowing!

    Always wonderful seeing ya, Mel!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    And HAPPY FLASH BRUSHING!

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  23. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I LOVE stuff like that!!!

    I want one!!!!

    I am constantly losing my toothbrush... dunno why??? But it always dissapears! Must be that damn house ghost that keeps stealing my stuff!

    But one of those would be good for me!

    I'd keep it on flash all the time, so that it would be hard to miss!

    hehe LOVE IT! xx

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  24. OMG Giggles!

    I JUST finished leaving a comment on YOUR blog!!

    How funnuy!

    Hey...this toothbrush would be WONDERFUL for something like that. There's no way in HELL you could lose it, because it would be forever FLASHING!!!

    And I hear that GHOSTS are scared of anything that FLASHES!

    HAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Thanks for stopping by, Giggles!

    Hope your having a wonderful day!

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  25. Yep. They also know 'take a bath/go swim' and the worst of all...'nails'. My girl gave me attitude tonight (I guess she didn't take a nap at home today while I was working with the younger dog, and she was tired after the visit from Grammy-she's snoring now) and I said 'tomorrow we're going to cut your nails, file your nails and paint them REEEEEEEEAL pretty!' to which she turned her head away from me.

    and BTW, what *used to be* "The 99 cents store" here is no longer the 99 cents store, but rather the 'we dare ya to find anything in here that costs 99 cents store'.

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  26. I have an electric toothbrush, because I'm lazy or trying to do two things at once. So it brushes your teeth while you put things away on the counter. :) (how boring is that!)

    I just love fireflies and I know I'd love the little fire fly toothbrush!!

    We have a new dollar store near us, and I can't wait to check it out. Can you imagine what the clerk will think when I say, "my friend bought a fire fly toothbrush at a dollar store...do you have them?"

    Hey such things are what make life so magical..as my 101 Grandma says, "you are as young as you feel in your heart." I think most of the time I am around age five!! eh,eh

    Love your vents and love ya!!

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  27. This is soooo great - my hygenist recommends soft ones too - and WE use that exact same firefly toothbrush!! I've got them in every bathroom for for my daughter, and in our toiletry bags. I also have a very special Ariel spinning one (daughter has Hello Kitty) for evenings. It's great for teeth and gums and bonus - SOO much more fun than adult brushes:-) Oh, yes, I read or heard you're supposed to keep brushing until the light stops flashing - I think we all need help with that:-) Go Firefly!!

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  28. Mornin' Debi!

    That is too freaking cute!!!!

    God...our pets are like having additional children aren't they??

    And what I find really interesting, is that they seem to HAVE our personality traits too.

    I had a male cat, Jerry...and I swear to god...this little kitty and I were like personality twins! My friends would always comment about how he and I were exactly the same!

    Gosh...I haven't seen a .99 cents store in ages. Everything here in the city is The Dollar Store. And I bet ya eventually they TOO increase in price!!!

    (The $1.01 Store)

    Thanks for stopping back, Debi...always nice talking to you!

    Enjoy your day!

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  29. Morning Dearest Gypsy-Heart!

    Hey...an electrical toothbrush is GREAT!!

    (and you're right...they're wonderful for multi-tasking)

    I used to use a WATER PIK...remember those???

    Holy shit...the entire bathroom got WET!!

    Water EVERYWHERE!

    Gosh...I wish you and your grandmother and I could go to lunch one day. We could go to Mc Donalds and all get HAPPY MEALS!!!

    Me too, my friend....5 years old!

    Ok...now I'm going to go and brush my teeth!

    Thanks for dropping by, Gypsy!

    Love ya!

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  30. OMG Deb!

    I'm so EXCITED to hear that someone else KNOWS about this toothbrush!!!

    I mean, I thought maybe they were just rejects from the "toothbrush factory?!"

    And thanks for the tip about using it until the brush stops flashing!!

    I totally agree, Deb...

    Brushing with a child's toothbrush is SOOOOO much damn FUNNER. My favorite was a Buzz Lightyear brush once had!

    When I visited Japan...everything you SEE is Hello Kitty. Your daughter would go wild!

    Thanks for stopping by today, Deb!

    And thanks again for the Fire Fly tips!!

    WOO,WOO,WOO....GO FIRE FLY!

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  31. Yes, they actually have some that sing. It's about a minute long and it's to enourage children to brush their teeth for at least a minute.

    Mine kept trying to sing while brushing. Yeah, we stopped using that one.

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  32. Oh Man this killed me! thanks for the laugh I needed it.

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  33. Maybe we'll need instruction manuals to use $%#@ing toothbrushes now. Along with lawyer warnings after the next lawsuit claiming emotional damages after your toothbrush causes an epileptic seizure!

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  34. Hi Mama Dawg!

    SEE!!!...I think that's what I'd be doing if I had one of those!!!

    I wonder if they have any with Donna Summers singing, Last Dance!?!?

    I love disco!

    So, let's dance....the last dance...toooonight!

    HA!

    Great seeing ya again, Mama Dawg!

    Thanks for your visit!

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  35. Hiya Dinanne~

    So glad you enjoyed!

    I hope everything went well at the specialist today!

    Thanks so much for dropping by.

    ALWAYS good seeing ya!

    Enjoy your evening!

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  36. Evening New Age Bitch!

    So good seeing ya!

    God...your comment was GREAT!

    I laughed not only because it was funny, but also because it's TRUE!

    And I have no idea how I could have missed reading the damn instructions, either. I just whipped that baby out and started BRUSHING.

    ?!@#^$%@>$!!!!

    Thanks for stopping by today, dear lady!

    Enjoy your evening!

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  37. They make them so fancy looking! Haha!

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  38. Hi Nica!

    Always so nice seeing you!

    I think it's IMPOSSIBLE now-a-days to get a simple, plain toothbrush!?!

    God...I can just IMAGINE what dental floss is going to turn into next!?!?

    Maybe SING?

    Thanks for stopping by, Nica!

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  39. You squealed and shrieked... didn't you?!

    Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

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  40. Hey Anndi!

    YES...like a big B-A-B-Y!!!

    (but yesterday I went back and bought 5 more!)

    HA!

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  41. Ahhhh... Only in the world of un enfant!! I am in awe of the amount of really COOOOOOOL stuff for kids... Why don't we grown ups get the phun stuff like that? Sorry it scared you at first, but I bet you love it now!!!!

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  42. Hi Leesa!

    Hey...this toothbrush ended up being something that I actually looke forward to using everyday!!

    It's the BEST in the dark....it's FABULOUS!

    And yes, I totally agree with you Leesa, about he kid stuff. This is why I will spend hours in the kid's section of the bookstore reading. A child's book will always remind me of what I've forgotten, as and adult.

    I alway feel so much better after reading them.

    I also love kids toys.

    I have a few coloring books too!

    (and I purposely color outside the LINES!)

    Ha!

    Thanks for stopping by, Leesa!

    Enjoy your evening!

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