Sometime in the 1940s or ‘50s, a dentist named Dr. Joseph Stamp started forming a tooth-filled concrete block at the corner of Riverside Drive and Lexington Avenue in Elkhart, Indiana.

Legend has it that Stamp created it as a memorial to his childhood German Shepherd, Prince, though none of his descendants know why he filled it with human teeth he pulled from his patients. They guess that it “probably saved him on concrete.”

Stamp’s granddaughter, Susan Howard, states, “He pulled thousands of teeth as a dentist” and preserved them in a barrel of chemicals in his practice’s basement, which “kept the teeth from smelling.”

photos by Jennifer Shephard/The Elkhart Truth

Stamp, who passed away in 1978 at the age of 88, is described as “eccentric as all get out” by local history museum curator, Paul Thomas. The creepy tooth-filled rock can still be viewed today.

via Weird Universe

 
Well someone had to do it, right? Painter and sculptor Jessine Hein has created dentures of David Bowie’s old teeth because why not? They’re made of denture acrylics, plaster and acrylic paint.

Personally, I liked Bowie’s natural, crooked teeth vs. the porcelain, Chicklet-esque veneers he has now. They gave him character, IMO. Once he got his teeth fixed, he started showing up on shows like Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee. I blamed the veneers then and I still hold them responsible!

So far the denture sculpture is not for sale, but you never know…

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
An in-depth analysis of David Bowie’s teeth

 
Is this a reaction to the “perfection” of plastic surgery? Are we so inured to freakish “perfection” that the pendulum is finally swinging in the other direction?

Then again, this, too, is artificial. I’m confused!?!

Dental Salon Plaisir says its Tsuke-yaeba—or Stick-on Crooked Teeth—will impart that desirable “imperfect” look to men and women alike, making them more attractive to the opposite sex.

The theory behind that slightly odd approach is that classic beauty tends to scare away timid suitors, whereas a more down-home look is easily approachable.

Similarly, some Japanese women have been reported to favor men wearing glasses, as the physical flaw has a comparable aphrodisiac effect.

Anyone seeking Tsuke-yaeba will need to fork out upwards of ¥30,000 ($390) and undergo a short procedure as a Plaisir dentist applies the plastic gnashers with glue. Naturally, they’re color-matched to your real teeth.

Read more: Tokyo dental fad? Make your teeth look worse
 
(via Neatorama)