This online version of the exhibit is comprised of four sections: Discussion material related to the display in the exhibit case. (This page.) A collection of 200 excerpted selections which accompanied the exhibit. The exhibit guide, as a PDF [364K], including most of the material given in the first two items of this list. Online only content: Sidebars A more complete collection of quotations given in full with full citations. [Forthcoming, late October 2002.] "The Toothless Genius" Dental Do's and Don'ts How to Enjoy the Tooth-Ache Prophylactic Items (Tuller)

The Toothless Genius

I cannot earn much of a living,
Though why I could never make out.
That this headpiece of mine holds an intellect fine
Is established beyond any doubt.

My lack of all cranial adornment
Denotes a big brain underneath,
And if vanishing hair doesn't clinch the affair,
Just look at my absence of teeth!

Some people wear teeth artificial,
Which cost them exorbitant sums,
But I am not the sort such impostures to sport,
I am awfully proud of my gums.

As bare as the trees in December
My mouth shall forever remain,
That the people I meet may exclaim in the street,
'Ah, there goes a man with a brain !'

I may not quite rival Lord Kelvin,
I haven't yet mastered the dodge
Of propounding the claim of a Rayleigh to fame,
Or of even an Oliver Lodge.

But I know that my intellect's mighty,
Despite what my rivals have said,
For however they try they can never deny
That I haven¹t a tooth in my head.

The Toothless Genius. The British Dental Journal, 26(14) 1905:687-88. The British Dental Association.