Oral Fixation: People Will Put Anything In Their Mouth

I would now like to introduce you to the horror that is: oral fixation. *dun dun DUUUUUNNN!*

Now I am horrified by the habit people have of chewing gum and leaving it somewhere. We've all had our experiences with that. That's bad enough.

No, this is an oral fixation of epic porportions. People chew on pens or pencils. And YIKES when it happens at the registers. People stick the cap in their mouth, pull it off the end of the pen, sign their name, recap it and then abandon the spit covered pen at my register.... EW! EW EW EW EW EW EWWWW!

Think about that! You and how many other people have put their germ laden mouthes on that pen to do the exact thing you just did!? And then you wonder how the fuck you came down with bronchitis, pneumonia and whooping cough, the flu, and tuberculosis all at the same time!

Add to this the oral fixation people have to things that should not go into your mouth. I get that chewing gum can be a habit, or even an addiction to some degree. But don't put inedible shit in your mouth just to have something there! I have seen people buy gummy lifesavers, snip off the end of that cheap ass plastic tray, pop in their mouth and then walk around gnawing on it. If they swallowed it, I could at least assume they were afflicted with the eating disorder Pica or something, but no.

I've sat in class with someone who had something hard and plastic in their mouth, which they constantly played with. They open their mouth, move it around with their tongue and share the rattling, clattering sound of inorganic material clanking against their teeth. Here is a list of things I have seen/experienced:

• waxy gum wrapper (wouldn't the gum taste better?)
• plastic trays from gummy lifesavers (this was proudly pulled out and shown to me in tooth marked, spit covered glory before they popped it back in)
• plastic tag holders (the ones they punch through clothes to hold the price tag)
• twisty ties (do you know what that was holding together or exposed to?)
• computer keyboard key (WTF REALLY?!)
• button off a shirt (fuck lady you're 20 years old!)
• cherry stems (because tying it in a knot with your tongue wasn't classy enough, you would chew on it for hours afterward too?)
• toilet paper (SERIOUSLY? I mean, I'm praying to God that you didn't use it first, but... really?)
• feather (Jesus Tapdancing Christ that could NOT be sterile)
• bottle cap

For the love of God just stick to Mentos or sugarless gum! Altoids! SOMETHING more apropriate!

May all your customers be nice,

Comments

[LaserSpawn]

i chew on the maraschino cherry stems, but that's because they actually have some flavor. however, i just chew on them to get the flavor and then it's trashed. happens in the space of two minutes tops. the rest of the stuff makes me want to gag. (the TP part actually tripped my gag reflex.)

[frozenterror]

Grossest thing I ever saw (and I've seen a lot of gross things):

My mom used to work with someone who would chew on pens. I don't mean that she'd tap her teeth, or lightly chew the cap, I mean she'd stick half of it in her mouth and just go to town on this thing.

What makes it gross was someone else ended up needing a pen to write something short with (let's say it was just a signature). The pen was out of ink, so she used one of Chewer's pens. It also didn't work, even though there was ink plainly visible in it. So she tapped the point a couple of times, and finally it released a torrent of about 1% ink and 99% gelatinized spit.

[lamer]

I'm an oral fixationer.. If I don't have something in my mouth and I'm sitting got an extended period of time, I start yawning. I have mints, pens, whatever. I changed recently over to tooth picks. I'm evil and gross, blah blah blah. But is that really worse than listening to me eat and smack?

[The Last Archimedean]

When I used to get the urge to have something in my mouth I resolved it with butterscotch and soda. Haven't had that issue in years.

[perky]

I hate, hate, hate it when someone takes their credit card, or membership card out of their mouth and then give it to me to process. UGH.

[Chicajojobe]

I'm a germ phobe so I'd never do most of what you described, but giving your mouth something to do seems ease anxiety.
I've done the chew and knot cherry stems too. Also gum, mints, and chewing tooth picks. Only clean things though, and I don't then hand spit covered objects to people.
I have occasionally when thinking really hard chewed a pen without realizing, but I try not to because I know they aren't that clean.

It also helps to have something to fiddle around with in my hands.
I think it's just overall nervous energy.

[Bumble Bee]

About the person who had that plastic thing in their mouth....I have my tongue pierced, it sounds exactly like you described, especially because if i'm bored i will roll it over my teeth (although more on the bottom then the top- the top's metal, the bottom is plastic). But then again...a barbell should be in one's mouth when the tongue is pierced....

[Aita]

Yeah, some people can be a bit gross, but I'm one of a lot of people who enjoy chewing on things. I mean, I have a wearable, so I have a mouthpiece/mic that I chew on, but before I picked up cybernetics I used to have pieces of silicone or rubber to chew on, specifically.

I'm more curious as to why it bothers you?

[Mollywobbles]

I used to put coins in my mouth when I was a kid, until my mother told me how dirty money is. I also used to use those clothing-tag holders as a toothpick/dental floss when I was bored. I used to chew gum a lot, too, until working in fast food where it's forbidden. Now I smoke, pop both my jaw joints/grind my back teeth, crack my knuckles and compulsively touch my fingertips to each other on my right hand (I also could never keep my hands still, even as a very small child). The fingertip thing drives my husband nuts because it's CONSTANT, and my thumbnail makes a distinct scraping sound against my skin. I dunno, I've always had nervous energy and compulsions to put things in my mouth or run my tongue over my teeth.

Is everything else that bothers you the fact that you can hear it, or is it just a germ thing? Because I know I can't stand to hear people chew food (hearing them chew gum is fine, but hearing food makes me ill), and seeing people put dirty things in their mouths bothers me too - especially if it's something that has to be handed to you (like if someone is picking their teeth with the corner of their credit card).

[The Last Archimedean]

When I get very nervous I need to either chew gum or go for a butterscotch and soda. I used to have to do it a lot more frequently before I trained myself to calm my nerves. It took a lot of effort and a lot of help, so I understand why people chew things. I recommend it be a food item.

[Ilia]

Aita and Mollywobbles

It bugs me mostly because 1) it's gross what they put in their mouths, and 2) because they pull it out and show me in spit covered glory, or 3) they just drop it on the counter. *shudder*

[WMDKitty]

Oh, Ceiling Cat, this guy that sat behind me in my Business Law class. He'd chew on paper, regular notebook paper, and it was so. fucking. annoying. that I was thisclose to turning around and screaming at him to stop.

I'll admit to using my mouth as an "extra hand" at times, out of pure necessity.

[Chicajojobe]

@TLA,

Having it be a food item other than sugar free mints or crushed ice chips isn't an option for me. It leads me into the habit of overeating when I'm stressed.

[CharlieWhiskyMike]

I remember this Year fair seeing a Kid 3,5 years Old on a caroussel putting his plastic Tickets in his mouth slabber slabber and give the salliva covered Ticket to the caroussel Guy when the Ride starts

[Teh_Beckeh]

There is very little on this earth that can disgust me more than gum chewers. The sound of it, the sight of it, even the smell, often makes me physically ill. (Oddly enough, I can smell the difference between a mint and mint gum.) What's really irritating is when gum chewers say "oh, so-and-so is so loud when chewing. I'm not one of the loud ones." Chances are if someone things they aren't chewing loudly, they probably still are. I don't care if they are part bovine, go to the bard to chew your cud. :)

[Nomnom]

Well it's one thing to nervously chew on your own stuff, and its quite another to stick random pens in your mouth and then leave them or put anything you have to give to someone else at any time in your mouth.

I definitely don't have an oral fixation (or any nervous energy). Actually I can't even chew gum for very long without getting nauseous from it.

Wouldn't toilet paper just dissolve in your mouth? Interestingly I got some in my mouth this morning when I used some in a tissue-paper capacity to spit out gunk I hacked up. (Post nasal drip, guys. Fun stuff.)

[Queer Geek]

This goes back to child development where Piaget states that an infant's first exploratory stage is oral. Apparently some adults have not progressed since they are reverted back to the beginning stages of their childhood.

With that said, it's gross to put things in your mouth especially when someone is sharing that object around the office. Pens, paper clips, erasers, and anything else that can be used in an office space.

Yes I chew gum and even chewed on cherry stem but I toss the garbage out not hand it someone else to use. That's just nasty!

Then again, I'm into oral. :P

[Karebear]

When I was trying to quit smoking, alot of things made it into my mouth just to please the hand to mouth motion. I pretended to "smoke" pen, penicls, straws...basically anything long and circle like. However, I only ever use my own, and I'm a jerk and don't let people borrow my shit.

[Hiedi]

I take water zumba at the Y. I've watched kids eat those swim boards used in swim lessons. they even eat those water noodle things. Quite few of them have chunks missing.

[TimmieHoe]

I have a habit of chewing on things :/ I had Pica as a kid and put a lot of nasty things in my mouth (rocks, paint chips, blinds...) Nowadays I make sure it is my own item before gnawing on it. I also use my mouth as an extra hand (I put my lips over my teeth before putting it in)

I do get disgusted with those who use other people's items or a shared item (bank teller pen as an example) and just go to town on it. It's not yours, and now I have to use a pen laden with your spit.

[Skittles]

I don't get the issue unless they are handing the spit covered item to you. Most of the items you listed off aren't unsanitary as bacteria needs a moist wet environment to stay alive so once they dry out most if not all of the bacteria is dead. Plus we have immune systems for a reason.