Aviva Trivia

1. In France, children have their “tooth mouse” which apparently was based on a fairy tale. It seems that a good queen needs a little help defeating an evil king and a fairy comes by to help. She changes into a mouse and knocks out all of his teeth. Whether this is really the connection to the present day Tooth Fairy, no one really knows, but it sounds quite plausible!

2. So, what do we know about this Tooth Fairy who has been visiting children for centuries? Well, she is tiny enough so that you can’t see her, she visits only when you are sleeping and can somehow get under the pillow to take away the tooth. And then the best part¦ she leaves money for the tooth regardless of the size. 

3. Over the years, I have given this a lot of thought and have come to the conclusion that the Tooth Fairy is a close cousin of Tinker Bell. And if you were lucky enough to get a glimpse of her, she wears this silvery pink costume and takes the teeth home with her to build this magnificent castle¦ so the teeth that you hope to sell to her had better be pearly white!

4. I don’t know how or why the Tooth Fairy missed Britain, but in years gone by, children were not instructed to place their tooth carefully beneath their pillow. Instead, they were to drop it into a fire so that after they “kick the bucket”, they wouldn’t have to look for it?? Now that is just plain bizarre! I would love to have heard the story that parents concocted for their kids. I can’t see talking about death to a five year old!

5. If you go back even further, the Vikings had their own Tooth Fairy traditions. Instead of waiting until the tooth fell out, a “tooth fee” was left for the child when the tooth first appeared. Somehow, I think that I like the Tooth Fairy story better. Just sounds more magical!

6. Now here is something that you might never have considered. In Costa Rica, parents have baby teeth that have fallen out, made into a charm! Can you imagine wearing teeth around your wrist?

7. You are going to have a hard time with this one, but did you know that before placing the tooth beneath a pillow was fashionable, mother’s placed the tooth in a small flowerpot full of dirt. Not sure what she expected to happen, but that is what they did!

8. I even found a company that makes elaborate envelopes so that you can save the lost tooth. A lock of hair I can imagine¦ not sure that I would want a tooth.