Tooth Fairy

I had the pleasure last night of playing the part of the Tooth Fairy for the first time. My six year old daughter has had a floppy front tooth for quite a while now and yesterday the tooth finally came out.

Being that the standard amount given for a tooth was twenty five cents as a child I decided to inflation adjust all the way up to a clean Sacajawea dollar. How much would you give for a tooth these days? (Scientific study here from in8sworld.net)

I've been thinking about how bizarre this tradition really is. Let me see if I have this right: When young child loses a tooth they leave it under their pillow. Then, in the middle of the night they are visited by a magical fairy who has a tooth fetish. In exchange for the tooth the fairy leaves cash, usually in the form of a coin. Weird.

From drbunn.com:

The tooth fairy appears to by a uniquely American legend, with origins in European traditions.

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One tradition in England held that if a child's tooth fell out, that child must drop it into a fire, to avoid having to look for it after death, and this may be the origin of the importance of a lost tooth.

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Centuries ago, in Europe it was a common practice when a child's baby tooth fell out to bury it in the ground. The tooth was likely buried in the garden or surrounding field. It was done so that a permanent tooth would grow in its place.

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Even more interesting is the fact that Vikings had a "tooth fee," or a fee that was given to children upon the use of a tooth. The baby teeth were later strung to make jewelry, some people claim. This old legend is surrounded in mystery. Alongside it is the superstition in early Viking days that children's articles and pieces contained great power. Having an article of a child, or a child in your possession was supposed to bring power and luck in battle.

Comments

[Grinth]

=) The comments on the silliness of the tooth fairy reminds of an early eighties SNL skit where Eddie Murphy plays the Tooth Fairy being interviewed. The whole time he is wearing a pink dress. It was great stuff...

[Nate]

You haven't forgotten we already hashed this out in March, have you? I always wished I could, like in Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts (1963) when King Aeetes animates skeletons with the teeth of the Hydra - 'sow' them on the ground, and have an ready to fight undead army at my bidding, but it never did work for me.

[Non-Prophet]

Ack. Sorry man, I remembered it, but I remembered it as a poll on your blog sidebar. I'll link ya in the piece!