Posted by mattdds on May 8, 2003, at 22:40:41
In reply to Re: the word quack » mattdds, posted by Larry Hoover on May 8, 2003, at 15:48:19
Larry,
As hard as it to admit (being the stubborn dental student that I am <wink>), that *is* pretty funny. I guess I am a quack after all, by definition!
I just read online somewhere that the word quack does indeed come from dentists in Northern Europe who would use silver-mercury fillings in the 1700's. The word "quaksilber", was the precursor to quicksilver - or mercury! Dentists who used amalgam were known as "quaksilber placers", or "quaks" for short.
I can't wait to tell my friends at school, they will really get a kick out of this one.
Perhaps this will relieve some of the stigma of being a "quak", and then we can feel better about ourselves. Misery loves company, and if we're all quacks (by definition), we have lots of it!
I must admit I feel a bit silly for getting offended. I was in too much of a hurry, and probably read what I wanted (or expected) to read, based on your other posts.
Thanks for the great exchange, BTW, I had fun!
Best,
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:223248
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030505/msgs/225265.html