Here's a story you might be able to sink your teeth into: a tooth believed to be from the mouth of the late rock icon John Lennon (it is naturally a former tooth) has been sold at auction. The tooth, a rather discolored molar, was sold on Nov. 5, 2011 for enough money to put a cavity into most anyone's savings account - $31,000.
CNN reported that the auction house that conducted the sale of the tooth, Omega Auctions of the U.K., did no DNA testing to confirm it was indeed a tooth once from the mouth of John Lennon, but because it had been in the possession of Lennon's former housekeeper and her family all along, and because she said she was given the tooth by Lennon on the day he had it extracted, they believed her.
John Lennon's Tooth Moved to Canada
So did dentist Dr. Michael Zuk, who bought the tooth after bidding over the phone. Dr. Zuk is from the Canadian province of Alberta and the tooth had, until 2 years ago when it returned to the U.K., been in residing in that country. John Lennon had given it to his London housekeeper, Dorothy 'Dot' Jarlett who had worked for him from 1964-68.
"She was very close with John and one day, whilst chatting in the kitchen, John gave my mother the tooth (he had been to the dentist to have it removed that day)," Dorothy Jarlett's son, Barry, told CNN after the sale. "(Lennon) suggested giving it to my sister as a souvenir, as she was a huge Beatles fan. It has been in the family ever since."
Lennon's Tooth to Tour Dental Schools
Dorothy's daughter married a Canadian and moved to Canada and, as surely anyone would, when she left to begin her new life in Canada she packed up John Lennon's tooth. It stayed there 38 straight years until the family returned it to England 2 years ago, selling it to Allan McGee, who the BBC described as a collector of rock memorabilia.
The BBC reported that Dr. Zuk has written a book about celebrities teeth and quoted him as saying that once he heard about the tooth he "had to have it." Though he admits that some may find it "gross", he intends to take the aging, yellowing tooth with him as he travels to lecture at dental schools and surgeries.
John Lennon was shot to death by a crazed fan in 1980 in New York. Had he lived Lennon would have turned 71 on Oct. 9, 2011.
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