Saturday, March 6, 2010
Largest
toothpaste collection - world record set by Dr. Val Kolpakov
SAGINAW, MI, USA -- Dr.
Val Kolpakov, a practicing dentist in Saginaw, Michigan,
has collected since March 2002 over 1,800 toothpastes -setting
the world record for the Largest
toothpaste collection.
Photo: Dr. Val Kolpakov stands in front
of part of his world's
Largest toothpaste collection. Photo
by Ashley L. Conti/The Saginaw News (enlarge
photo)
“I thought that collecting toothpaste was
a nice hobby for a dental professional. It allows you to learn
more about your profession,” he said. “I had friends all over
the world, so I asked them to mail me toothpaste from the
countries where they lived.”
The world's
Largest toothpaste collection available to public
to view at his practice, Denture
Care Clinic at 1227 N. Michigan in Saginaw.
Kolpakov, known to patients as “Dr.
Val,” said his interest in collecting tubes of toothpaste
started when he read about Carsten Gutzeit, a German
who collected 500 tubes.
He began buying toothpastes on eBay and
contemporary versions in stores.
Some are whiskey-flavored, some taste
like curry and others like bamboo. One dates to World War
II and is made with a radioactive compound.
About a fourth of his Largest
toothpaste collection is displayed in the waiting
room at the Denture Care Clinic, 1227 N. Michigan.
Kolpakov works there as a denture specialist.
Kolpakov graduated from medical school in
Russia and began working as a pathologist and a researcher.
In 1993, he emigrated and worked as a researcher at the University
of Michigan.
In 2000, he graduated from the University of
Michigan Dental School and moved to Saginaw, where he now
practices. Kolpakov also maintains a dental practice in Atlanta
and travels back and forth.
“After I started my Web site, toothpasteworld.com,
people were able to find me on the Internet. Several people
donated me their small collections,” he said. “Some companies
donated me their old and recent products."
One of the items Kolpakov considers to be
the oldest, most rare and most expensive: an English antique
Georgian 1801 silver tooth powder box. Toothpaste was not
invented at that point, and tooth powders were used instead.
He paid more than $1,500 for the box.
Among his favorite toothpastes? The whiskey,
scotch, rye, bourbon, red wines, amaretto, champagne and other
alcohol-flavored toothpastes.
“I have recently acquired a nice set of five
booze-flavored toothpastes from the 1960s. My other passion
would be the chocolate-flavored toothpastes. I have a set
of pure chocolate cream packed into a toothpaste tube with
a toothbrush for chocolate lovers. It’s more like a gag gift,
though, and is not intended for brushing teeth regularly,”
Kolpakov said.
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Saturday, March 6, 2010
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