A Brief History of Toothbrushes

Sitting in a coffee shop, slatted chair back creaking as she chews on the knock-knock joke of a long ago eating popsicle. It’s a hot day. She says that before the modern toothbrush, people brushed teeth with boar’s hair brushes, & before that they chewed on sticks, & before that even they chewed on fennel stalks to freshen their breath. “& before that?” I asked. Apparently, before that people didn’t eat bread, or fill their stomachs with refined sugar. Why she knows the history of toothbrushes I may never know. Perhaps she wanted an explanation for why she chewed so long on knock-knock jokes. Who’s there?