Marketer Says He's Nailed a Nasty Habit

A Dutch marketer says he can cure the pernicious problem of nail biting in under a month with the “preventer,” a tooth guard that’s molded to fit either the upper or lower teeth and makes it impossible to bite. “The impulse disturbance is so frustrated that it is controlled,” the nervous-nibbling naysayer told the AP. “You don't have any problem any more.”

The preventer can be removed for eating, but Alain-Raymond van Abbe, whose clinic treats nail biters, says it can help the 600 million people who munch on their nails because of stress or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. (More nail biting stories.)