For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





the conspiracy: Starting in the mid-’40s, American cities began putting fluoride into their drinking water under the guise of preventing childhood tooth decay. Freedom-loving Americans found it hard to swallow. As Dr. Strangelove‘s Brig. General Jack D. Ripper put it, “Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?”

the conspiracy theorists: The John Birch Society peddled the fluoride-as-pinko-plot idea for many years. (One Bircher recently quipped, “Don’t be surprised if we learn soon that the fluoride in Chinese toothpaste is nuclear waste from North Korea.”) Today, fluoridation opponents include scientists and environmentalists who say overexposure can cause serious health effects. The Fluoride Action Network, the most prominent anti-fluoridation group, was cofounded by former Sierra Club executive director and ecoguru David Brower.

meanwhile, back on earth: Those toothless paranoids may have been partly right. Though fluoride’s not eroding our moral fiber, research shows that too much of it eats away teeth and bones. Which is a problem, since it’s not just in 59 percent of Americans’ water; it’s also turning up in foods made with fluoridated water, including ice cream, hot dogs, and beer.

Kookiness Rating: (1=maybe they’re on to something, 5=break out the tinfoil hat!)