For teeth that sparkle White, try the power of Black.

The last week was full of fanfare and excitement thanks to BlogAdda and their #WhatTheBlack campaign that unfolded one teeny little hint at a time. It all started with an e-mail in my inbox that said I had been selected for the activity as part of which I'll receive one never-seen-before item at my doorstep for each of four days starting 31st July. Each item was to be a hint to help unravel what the final day (the 5th) would bring to my door. Needless to say, I was instantly intrigued and stirred out of my self-imposed moratorium from social media and blogging.

There were some minor setbacks - a few bloggers didn't receive all their items (including me), there were delays and the activity had to be concluded in 4 days instead of 5 - but given the extremely short timeline earmarked for the activity and the countless products that had to be delivered everyday to so many bloggers' homes, it was indeed a humongous task that the BlogAdda team completed quite admirably. And it was a very interesting activity after all, that kept all participants constantly on the edge, making the most random of guesses until the secret of the final product was finally revealed. It made all of our minds hit the mental gym and start working out vigorously for a good 3-4 days. And that's always a good thing for writers - keeps the creativity flowing. It was a great campaign too - seriously, just look up #WhatTheBlack anywhere on social media and you'll know what I'm talking about. It was truly sensational! 

We bloggers are one hell of a powerful lot. Kudos to us!

Here's a slight glimpse of the items I received :D

*Surprise surprise!*
A beautifully wrapped black box hand-delivered at my doorstep on the first morning!

And what was inside of it?
A black painted solid egg-like object which stained my hands black :P

Peeking a little bit under its shell revealed an actual, solid DARK CHOCOLATE EGG.

And THAT was the message attached to the first item - to find out #WhatTheBlack was going on from Hint #1.

And this, my friends, was received on the afternoon of Day 2 -
A newspaper called WHATTHEBLACK TIMES with its colours reversed, ie, white print over black paper.
And with odd news items hinting towards various fictitious occurrences relating to Black objects!
It had me racking my brains for a good couple of hours.

The Indian Cricket team sporting black clothes? That's bizarre and never happened before.
I kept wondering what it could possibly be hinting towards.
As it eventually turned out, it was just a ruse to throw us off the scent of the real secret :P

Another ruse - black balls supposedly being introduced in
Cricket matches in place of the conventional white and red ones.
This one had me thinking the next item would probably be a round object,
possibly a ball or something else related to cricket :P
I couldn't have been more off the mark! :P

I waited and waited the entire next day but nothing arrived. I was really disappointed to say the least. It felt almost like it used to when in my childhood days, my father would turn up at the door at night after work without a bag of goodies in his hand for me. I used to get really cross at him and sometimes even ask him to go back, since he hadn't brought me anything like he did everyday. Sigh, I miss those beautiful days of innocence. But I digress.

And so, since I never received my Day 3 objects, here's some pictures I very cleverly stole from some fellow bloggers' posts to give my readers a glance at what the third day entailed. (With due credits to the owners, of course.)

Day 3 - If it wasn't a tea cup and a black tissue! Indeed, what else could it have been!
Confused? Scroll down and you'll know why this was so obvious given what the final item was.
Courtesy my dear friend Sushmita's FB post.

And what did the final day bring with it? What's that black, bristly thing you see there?
Again, courtesy Sushmita. Go say hello to her here; she's a chirpy little fellow!

1

The all new Colgate SlimSoft Charcoal Toothbrush. That was what the hints had been pointing at all along!
And really, it wasn't so hard to guess - I wonder where my creative juices have disappeared lately. I need to pull up my socks.
Wonderfully captured here by Mr. Rahul Prabhakar @RahulRishab (Check him out on Twitter)

Here's the deal. The chocolate egg represented all the bad things that erode our dental health and cause the formation of plaque. The significance of the newspaper I'm not so sure of, but it probably pointed towards an activity we do as part of our daily morning routine. Like reading a newspaper. Or brushing our teeth (you see what they did there?) The next was a tissue paper and a tea cup. That represents your breakfast and daily morning cuppa, which stains the teeth and overall causes more damage than all you regular tea-coffee-drinkers can even imagine. So all the hints basically pointed towards an object that you use in the morning and is related to the teeth. And the final item, no prizes for guessing anymore - was none other than the new Colgate SlimSoft Charcoal Toothbrush, which takes pride in its unique micro slim-tip Charcoal-infused bristles that succeed in reaching deeper between your pearly-whites and remove plaque better than ordinary bristles.

I received the toothbrush only yesterday and I am in love with the super soft bristles that are perfectly gentle and suited to my extra-sensitive teeth and gums. This is admittedly the first toothbrush I have used in years that is originally meant for adults. Yes, you heard me right - I use kids' toothbrushes. The ones with the Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy figures and rainbow colours. No, I do not have pedophilic or childish fetishes - I just have sensitive teeth and have been recommended by the dentist to use small-headed and soft toothbrushes. Larger heads and harder bristles make my gums bleed.

But evidently not any more! Because Colgate SlimSoft is pretty light, with cotton-soft bristles and a medium-sized head that doesn't cause any stress to my teeth or gums. So I might as well supplement my daily brushing regime with this new addition (it isn't even expensive!) - of course not letting go of the cute kiddie stuff though. They're cute.

So this has been fun and an interesting week that was. I hope more such campaigns keep happening in the blogosphere. BlogAdda, I hope you're listening!

Till the next time, keep brushing your teeth twice a day to avoid that emergency visit to the dentist. And keep those pearly whites flashing. You gotta smile - it costs nothing. :)