A white-toothed smile is a gesture that many likely engage in dozens of times a day without thought. Historian Colin Jones traced the history of the smile and found a toothy smile is a relatively young phenomenon.
In his recent book, "," he argues that the white-tooth smile emerged in 18th century Paris in conjunction with the cult of sensibility and the creation of modern dentistry.
An open mouth used to mean the person was [...] insane or their reason was totally out of control- Colin Jones
Host Frank Stasio talks with Jones, fellow at the and professor of history at , about the making of the modern smile. Jones will also present a lecture about the topic at the National Humanities Center this evening at 5 p.m.
Here he is taking you behind the scenes of his discovery:
