Trivial tidbits, week four

Welcome back, trivia fans.  I know you missed me and my riveting game last week, but I was preoccupied with a Dexter marathon in preparation for Sunday's season premier.  In honor of Dexter, and an uproariously funny incident involving Braden and a scrapped knee and a maxi-pad band-aid, I bring you this week's trivia question:


When, and by what company, were the first disposable maxi-pads available in America?

This week's prize:  a year supply of feminine hygiene products.  Good luck!

Trivial tidbits, week three

Braden pulled a loose tooth yesterday before school--his second tooth lost this month.  The tooth fairy, feeling a little strapped by the recent activity, did a little research about tooth loss to see if she needs to seek part-time employment to support this new habit.  In celebration of Braden's two teeth, this week offers two trivia challenges.


How many years does it take most teeth to cycle from first eruption as a baby tooth to final stage of permanent tooth?

This little tooth fairy reminds me of my angel tattoo.

On average, how many baby teeth does a child lose per year? (Braden, being the over-achiever he is, has lost more teeth this month than the average child looses in a year.)

On the upside, Gigi--my mom, who informed me this evening that I earned whatever change was on hand when I lost a tooth as a child--has promised to match whatever the tooth fairy leaves Braden on his next tooth.  Actually, this isn't the upside; even with half of the pot sponsored by an outside source, the tooth fairy would still have to scrounge for $2.50 in order for Braden to earn the average income left by the tooth fairy under each pillow.  (For those of you not following the awkwardly worded word problem, this means the average child earns $5.00 per tooth.  Outrageous!)

If you know the answers to tonight's trivia questions, you will earn $2.50 per question.  Or you can yank out a tooth and wait for the fairy...

There's no crying during a water gun fight

Shortly before coming in from playing for the night, Braden and several kids in the neighborhood started a water gun fight.  Actually, it wasn't even a fight.  Braden had a large water gun that he refilled several times, allowing four other kids to squirt him until it was empty, making him the only child in soggy shoes for most of the "fight."  Excited squeals echoed off the sides of the carbon-copy duplexes on our street indicating that a good time was being had by all...and then a cry broke through the twilight.

I looked around, assuming that someone had tripped and scraped a knee.  When I noticed Ava kneeling on the sidewalk, I moved closer to see if she was okay.  "I'm not allowed to get my clothes wet," she wailed in agony.  I inspected her shirt, which was a little damp but not drenched and promptly coaxed her back into the giggling mob that was now running down the cul-de-sac away from Braden.  She followed suit, and sprinted down the block...for a moment...and then she crumpled to the ground, sobbing even louder.  Again I sought the source of her anguish, and again she wailed, "I'm not allowed to get my clothes wet."

At this point, I lost my patience for the cute, doe-eyed doll.  While Braden should have considered the other kids before barrelling after them with watery furry, I have a major issue with a child who knows her parents wishes--in this case that she not get her clothes wet--yet actively participates in an activity that defies said wishes.  I understand that she's a child, but she was eagerly and happily involved in the fight when the gun was pointed at Braden, but the moment the tables turned, she became a loud, accusing tattle-tale.  Had that been Braden with the crocodile tears, I would have said to him what I said to her:  "If you know that you are not supposed to get wet, why in the world would you play with the boy with the water gun?"

I know this is harsh, even bitchy, but kids need to be held accountable, even at eight, for their actions.  Yes, Braden was holding the water gun that got Ava wet (and he went to bed early because of his role in the drama), but Ava knew better, as evident in the fact that she cried.

Ava's mom shot me that "how dare you let your child be so cruel" glance as she gathered her up to take her inside.

Oh well, I don't want Braden playing with someone who cries over a damp shirt anyway...

Trivial tidbits, week two

Braden has been sick for the past several days.  It's nothing serious, just some annoying bug that presents with a fever slightly over the "infectious" level and some potty habits not worth discussing.  Some people assume this means I've had a break the past few days; that life is easier with a sick boy than with one that is well.  If only... Unlike most kids (or what I assume to be the case with most kids), Braden's activity level does not decrease as the fever increases.  I do the best I can to subdue him, claiming that too much movement will irritate the fever, but fighting with him about abstract concepts such as how skateboarding can negatively impact his upset stomach takes too much out of me.  Cabin fever set in shortly after the first dose of Children's Advil took hold and we spent five days fighting fever and each other.  The only thing that brought either of us solace:  a Shrek marathon.

There are thousands of gems hidden among the ogre's caustic, but compassionate, quests with Donkey, Puss, and Fiona which lend themselves to trivial trivia.  After all, nearly every movie in the Disney library is alluded to in some fashion in the movies.  However, my favorite moment can be found early in the original when Shrek and Donkey cross the swinging bridge into Dragon's castle.  That scene provides the inspiration for today's trivia.



After crossing the bridge, Shrek pats Donkey on the head and says, "That'll do Donkey; that'll do."  From which movie does this line originate?
  

I'll check back in 24 hours to see who wins the grand prize: a date with Braden the next time he's sick!