From the “so simple it’s a wonder no one has thought of it before” file comes the self-standing Dews Toothbrush from Ryan Harc. With its ability to stand upright, the design offers a simple solution to the problem of where to put a toothbrush without running the risk of covering it in an assortment of germs which will happily make their way to the insides of your mouth next time you brush your teeth.
Just like those Bop Bags that are designed to take a pounding and bounce back up for more, the handle of the Dews Toothbrush is weighted and shaped with a rounded end so that it balances on its base – keeping any microscopic nasties away from the head of the toothbrush. Unfortunately, for all of those driven to paranoia about household germs by advertisements for cleaning products on TV, the Dews Toothbrush is only a concept.
However, the Dews Toothbrush designed by Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee took out the Design Concept award in the 2009 Red Dot Awards, so hopefully some toothbrush multinational will sit up (much like the toothbrush itself) and take notice and bring the concept to the dental care aisle of supermarkets in the not too distant future.
Via: Yanko Design.
This design wouldn\'t make a difference in bacteria on the bristles, but it would keep other dirt from getting on them.
Watch that Mythbusters episode where they did the experiment with toothbrushes in the bathroom. You can also watch them blow it when they invalidate the control brush by bringing it into the bathroom to wet it for its bacterial test.
The rest of the experiment is pretty shaky too because they brought every brush in the bathroom to the same point (the sink) to wet them each day. Would\'ve been better to use a spray bottle of water brought in from outside the bathroom to spritz them all, then take the brushes out of the bathroom to scrub them on the culture dishes individually.