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Lets put aside the cleaning argument and discuss cost for a minute here. Its recommended you brush your teeth for ~2 minutes. Lets say with this thing you shor

by brd 13y ago

Lets put aside the cleaning argument and discuss cost for a minute here. Its recommended you brush your teeth for ~2 minutes. Lets say with this thing you shorten it to 30 seconds. That means you save 3 minutes per day every day on brushing, assuming you brush twice daily. This works out to about 18 hours a year. If your time is more valuable than 17/hr it's arguably worth it. Time and time again I see people complain about the cost of daily use items but when you factor in how much you actually use them and the potential benefit you can get out of a them it quickly becomes worthwhile. edit: there is a huge difference between being maximizing productivity and measuring opportunity cost, I'm arguing the latter. I don't expect you to get paid another 18 hours a year. I'm simply pointing out that depending on how YOU value YOUR time spending $300 on a fancy toothbrush is entirely worth it.

webjprgm 13y ago
Only if you'd be able to use those 3 minutes productively. You can't sit down at a computer and work for just a minute and a half, you'd have to be able to get to work a minute and a half sooner to capitalize on this. If you have a salaried job then this makes no difference.
Zimahl 13y ago
You know, I see that argument all the time - 3 minutes here, 1 minute there. But I just wasted 5 minutes of my life where I zoned out staring at the ceiling. Sometimes you can justify 'wasting' 18 hours per year. Also, it's not like you stop thinking in those 3 minutes per day, you can still use that time for something constructive, even if that something isn't using your hands.
0ca0 13y ago
That's a bit of a simplification. When I brush my teeth, I am often doing something else as well. So it doesn't end up costing me 4 minutes of my free time every day.
Osiris 13y ago
You are assuming that you'd use those extra 3 minutes a day doing something that's worth >$17/hr. In most cases, it probably just means hitting the sack 3 minutes early. I've always found these types of arguments perplexing because while 18 hours at one time can be used to great effect, 1.5 minutes at a time cannot. I waste that much time just flipping through the HN headlines, which I would not pay $17/hr to do.
- r00fus 13y ago
  Do you value your sleep so lightly? An extra 3 minutes is an extra 3 minutes. Imagine getting that extra 3 minutes of snooze - I'd say that's highly valuable time for lots of folks. I sometimes unintentionally skip brushing because I have to participate in the bedtime procedure for our 3 kids which can get a bit involved. I'd love to make brushing as fast as flossing - I'd do it more often.
owenmarshall 13y ago
So, it takes me approximately one minute to walk to the bathroom per day. I probably average four trips, so that's four minutes. But if I just peed in a jug at my desk, I could save four minutes per day, or about one whole day every year! -- For most people, saving three minutes a day is negligible. I know I'd get far more utility turning on noprocrast then I would trying to optimize for those three minutes.
- coldarchon 13y ago
  When I was young I attended a school for athletes. Some of them had to eat 6 lunches per day, to not lose weight. I'm very sure they would appreciate a tool like that. I'm just asking myself where there is the secound part of the tool to clean the inside of the teeth ..
anigbrowl 13y ago
If you're going to take that approach you also need to factor in the time to disinfect the thing and the extra minutes you spend huddled over the toilet if it triggers your gag reflex (which it might well do, since it covers your tongue).
herbig 13y ago
Why not just pull all your teeth and eat baby food? Chewing takes forever.
gaoshan 13y ago
I value a contiguous 18 hours far more than I value 60 second chunks that total 18 hours over a year. They aren't worth the same because they cannot offer the same value.
bloodorange 13y ago
The time it takes for an activity accounts for part of the "cost" of the activity. The lower the cost, the higher the chances of people carrying it out. It's not just about how much time it saves, it may make some people who are on the fence do more regarding oral hygiene.
shocks 13y ago
If saving three minutes a day is valuable to ones way of life, then I'd suggest that person should rethink their way of life...
- chr1 13y ago
  Not doing something unpleasant is valuable to most normal people
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

by brd 13y ago

webjprgm 13y ago

Only if you'd be able to use those 3 minutes productively. You can't sit down at a computer and work for just a minute and a half, you'd have to be able to get to work a minute and a half sooner to capitalize on this. If you have a salaried job then this makes no difference.

Zimahl 13y ago

You know, I see that argument all the time - 3 minutes here, 1 minute there. But I just wasted 5 minutes of my life where I zoned out staring at the ceiling. Sometimes you can justify 'wasting' 18 hours per year. Also, it's not like you stop thinking in those 3 minutes per day, you can still use that time for something constructive, even if that something isn't using your hands.

0ca0 13y ago

That's a bit of a simplification. When I brush my teeth, I am often doing something else as well. So it doesn't end up costing me 4 minutes of my free time every day.

Osiris 13y ago

You are assuming that you'd use those extra 3 minutes a day doing something that's worth >$17/hr. In most cases, it probably just means hitting the sack 3 minutes early. I've always found these types of arguments perplexing because while 18 hours at one time can be used to great effect, 1.5 minutes at a time cannot. I waste that much time just flipping through the HN headlines, which I would not pay $17/hr to do.

r00fus 13y ago
Do you value your sleep so lightly? An extra 3 minutes is an extra 3 minutes. Imagine getting that extra 3 minutes of snooze - I'd say that's highly valuable time for lots of folks. I sometimes unintentionally skip brushing because I have to participate in the bedtime procedure for our 3 kids which can get a bit involved. I'd love to make brushing as fast as flossing - I'd do it more often.

owenmarshall 13y ago

So, it takes me approximately one minute to walk to the bathroom per day. I probably average four trips, so that's four minutes. But if I just peed in a jug at my desk, I could save four minutes per day, or about one whole day every year! -- For most people, saving three minutes a day is negligible. I know I'd get far more utility turning on noprocrast then I would trying to optimize for those three minutes.

coldarchon 13y ago
When I was young I attended a school for athletes. Some of them had to eat 6 lunches per day, to not lose weight. I'm very sure they would appreciate a tool like that. I'm just asking myself where there is the secound part of the tool to clean the inside of the teeth ..

anigbrowl 13y ago

If you're going to take that approach you also need to factor in the time to disinfect the thing and the extra minutes you spend huddled over the toilet if it triggers your gag reflex (which it might well do, since it covers your tongue).

herbig 13y ago

Why not just pull all your teeth and eat baby food? Chewing takes forever.

gaoshan 13y ago

I value a contiguous 18 hours far more than I value 60 second chunks that total 18 hours over a year. They aren't worth the same because they cannot offer the same value.

bloodorange 13y ago

The time it takes for an activity accounts for part of the "cost" of the activity. The lower the cost, the higher the chances of people carrying it out. It's not just about how much time it saves, it may make some people who are on the fence do more regarding oral hygiene.

shocks 13y ago

If saving three minutes a day is valuable to ones way of life, then I'd suggest that person should rethink their way of life...

chr1 13y ago
Not doing something unpleasant is valuable to most normal people

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]