Getting old is your 20-year tongue scraper finally breaking, and then ordering multiple replacements to find something that is anywhere near as good as the old one.

Also, realising you grew up in a bubble of relative peace and progressive values that has left you woefully unprepared for the rapid rise of fascism.

But mostly the tongue scraper thing.

@jamesthomson who needs a tongue scraper????????

@skramer1946 @jamesthomson
You DON'T use a tongue scrapper...?!?!?!?!?!?

Wow. Just...wow.

@jamesthomson if I may make a humble suggestion, Guru Nanda makes one that I picked up at Walmart while home for the holidays last year.

It’s incredible. It does an incredible job scraping the tongue and it’s made of metal so it’s probably pretty durable.

Not sure if you can find in your region but if it’s available, 10/10.

@jamesthomson If you had given me a thousand guesses, I would never have had you down as a tongue scraper!

(Obviously, not to the question: “Is he a tongue scraper?”, where “yes” would have been my second guess, if I were only allowed “yes” and “no”. But to “guess some things that James does that are minority activities”. ¹)

¹ Do I *know* this is a minority activity? No. Would I bet *quite a lot* if I were a betting person?² Yes.

² I do, in fact bet. But only when I (believe I) know the answer/result. It’s surprising how many people are willing to bet on facts of which they are ignorant. e.g. Is 1 prime?

@njr Basically, I have a bunch of allergies which mean I end up with a very furry tongue, and it helps enormously :)

@jamesthomson Fair enough. I really didn’t mean it unpleasantly.

I hope your quest for a high-quality tongue scraper is superbly successful. But unfortunately, I have no useful recommendations in this matter.

@njr Thank you, and I didn't think you did!
@jamesthomson
I use a sundae spoon with an extra long handle but any spoon does a good job.
@jamesthomson Surprises me how few people use one. Personally I find stainless steel ones to work better than plastic or copper.
@jamesthomson at 51 long years on planet earth, I have now learned that there exists an object called a “tongue scraper” and/or that people scrape their tongues. 🤯
@jamesthomson I’ve owned several but none of them worked as well for me as just dragging my tongue against my upper teeth. I don’t know if that’s because I never tried this excellent tool you found or because I can stick my tongue out a long way. 📏 👅
@jamesthomson This is very relatable: I had one with a transparent look. Needed to replace it with a new one only to find the old model was no longer for sale. The new model is OK but there is no comparison 😅
@jamesthomson mine is just a shaped stainless steel ribbon. I can’t see how it would break, but I pray it never does and I have to buy the complex contraptions I see on Internet
@jamesthomson I dread having to replace anything these days
@jamesthomson But if you were a true nerd, you would be 3d printing your own stash of tongue scrapers.