Farther back than even I can remember there occurred a national uproar concerning fluoridation. During the 1950s fluoride was being added to the water supply across the country in hopes of strengthening teeth and improving dental health. As little as one part fluoride added to a million parts water could cut tooth decay by as much as 40%. Furthermore, the effect was permanent -- people brought up in areas with fluoridated water remained resistant to decay their entire lives. But the late 1950s had a distinct paranoid streak. It was the height of the Cold War, the years of Sputnik,...