Hell in a handbasket, pt. ∞. Speaking of dim awareness, here's another thing that had mercifully escaped my attention until now. Stories like this definitely tend to arouse the inner Old Fart. Maybe it's just a form of jealousy — until I ran across this (via M. Rosenberg), not only did I have no idea that the item itself existed, it would simply never have occurred to me that anyone could make a business out of selling garish germ-ridden tooth jewelry to teenagers, poor cud-chewing hick that I apparently am.

Errol Gaines, an eighth-grader at Frick Middle School in Oakland, is on his second set of gold teeth.

"When I first got them, the girls said I was cute," he said. Now Gaines has the same compliment: "Grills make the girls look a little prettier."

Eighth grade. Can lip plates be far behind? Oops, too late!

Posted by David Fleck at 25 November 2005 05:50 PM