The main idea of this reading is that Americans are obsessed with practices of health and beauty. In other words, the American people, according to the author Horace Miner, believe that the human body has a tendency to debilitate and become ill. They believe that the human body is ugly. Therefore, to avoid these physical problems they concern themselves with many kinds of practices of health and beauty. The first of these practices that Miner mentions is our obsession with medicine and drugs. Doctors and pharmacists prescribe medication that we store in our medicine cabinets. We tend to store many different kinds of medications and drugs and forget what they are used for. We fear to use them again yet we never throw them out in the hopes that they will prevent future sicknesses. Another concern of health and beauty that Miner mentions is the mouth. We go to dentists once or twice a year to ensure our social relationships. These dentists enlarge the holes that are in our mouth or form holes if we do not have any. Materials are put into these holes to attract other people and prevent...... Word Count: 1630 Page Count: 6.5 (250 words a page / double spaced)