This Christmas will be memorable for an unusual gift I found in my stocking—seahorse shaped tooth cleaning brushes. Made in Taiwan and sold in a set of three, the the brushes have a bristly action-end and a tail for picking. Creamy brown color, complete with painted-on eyes, the seahorses are truly unique. I’m not really sure how Santa delivered these to me, but they are certainly a mystery object.

I’m not sure how to even begin interpreting this. Is there a linguistic or cultural poetic relationship between seahorses and teeth in Taiwan inflected Chinese culture? The text on the pack is written in Japanese, so perhaps these were created for exclusive export to that exotic market. Both places are islands, however, so certianly seahorses are not an unfamiliar species.

Anyway, mediate on this.