Philosophy
The tooth fairy first appeared around the turn of the 20th century
by
Colin Schultz
February 13th, 2014
smithsonianmag.com
In the United States, kids drop a lost tooth under theirs pillows, and the Tooth Fairy brings them a monetary reward. But, says Michael Hingston writing for Salon, “every recorded human culture has some kind of tradition surrounding the disposal of a child’s lost baby teeth.” Globally, these tooth-shedding rituals are as diverse as you'd expect. So how did Americans end up with the Tooth Fairy?
According to Hingston, the Tooth Fairy is a wholly American creation, an amalgamation of the traditions other cultures, blended together and sparked up with a bit of Disney magic.
At the core of the Tooth Fairy is a mouse:
… In many countries around the world, children continue to leave teeth out in the hopes that a mouse will come take them away in exchange for money or some other gift.
Layered on top, says Hingston, is the veneer of the fairy, a traditionally European folk character. But just like Coca-Cola had a hand in defining the look of Santa Claus, it was Disney that helped the Tooth Fairy stick.
It’s no coincidence that at the same time the tooth fairy was starting to gain traction in the United States, Disney was also releasing animated films like “Pinocchio” and “Cinderella” — each of which features a benevolent, maternal fairy with the power to make wishes come true. Pop culture helped solidify the tooth fairy in the mainstream, and she’s been a fixture there ever since.
Tooth fairy [Wikipedia]
- The Value Of False Rituals
TheWife loves rituals. She finds great meaning in them, even if they are new rituals that she or we are inventing for our family as we go. I, on the other hand, have never been one for rituals. They've always seemed like inauthentic actions performed...
- Faith/off - Easter Vs Passover
And so it was that three days after his crucifixion, Jesus sent the Easter bunny to lay some chocolate eggs for kids to find, get high on sugary sweets, and eventually get tooth decay that would drive stock prices up for the Tooth Fairy's corporate...
- Not Found At Cvs, Osco, Or Wallgreen
Chocolate Bar Cigarettes Condoms Hand Cleaner Medicine Tooth Paste...
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Do you support vigilante justice? No...2 Yes...1 Sometimes...2 I am surprised at the results. I would like to know what criteria would be used in decision making for the two that voted "sometimes". It seems undeceive. And the one that voted "yes"...
- Macabre...galileo's Lost Tooth And Fingers
Maybe not as macabre as you think. Remember Einstein's brain . "Art collector finds Galileo's lost tooth, fingers" November 20th, 2009 Reuters An art collector has found a tooth, thumb and finger of the renowned Italian scientist Galileo Galilei...
Philosophy
Remember her...the Tooth Fairy
"Very American Creation"
The tooth fairy first appeared around the turn of the 20th century
by
Colin Schultz
February 13th, 2014
smithsonianmag.com
In the United States, kids drop a lost tooth under theirs pillows, and the Tooth Fairy brings them a monetary reward. But, says Michael Hingston writing for Salon, “every recorded human culture has some kind of tradition surrounding the disposal of a child’s lost baby teeth.” Globally, these tooth-shedding rituals are as diverse as you'd expect. So how did Americans end up with the Tooth Fairy?
According to Hingston, the Tooth Fairy is a wholly American creation, an amalgamation of the traditions other cultures, blended together and sparked up with a bit of Disney magic.
At the core of the Tooth Fairy is a mouse:
Perhaps the most widely practiced ritual, one that has been documented everywhere from Russia to New Zealand to Mexico, involves offering the lost tooth as a sacrifice to a mouse or rat, in the hopes that the child’s adult teeth will grow in as strong and sturdy as the rodent’s — a wish for transference that anthropologists call “sympathetic magic.””
… In many countries around the world, children continue to leave teeth out in the hopes that a mouse will come take them away in exchange for money or some other gift.
Layered on top, says Hingston, is the veneer of the fairy, a traditionally European folk character. But just like Coca-Cola had a hand in defining the look of Santa Claus, it was Disney that helped the Tooth Fairy stick.
It’s no coincidence that at the same time the tooth fairy was starting to gain traction in the United States, Disney was also releasing animated films like “Pinocchio” and “Cinderella” — each of which features a benevolent, maternal fairy with the power to make wishes come true. Pop culture helped solidify the tooth fairy in the mainstream, and she’s been a fixture there ever since.
Tooth fairy [Wikipedia]
- The Value Of False Rituals
TheWife loves rituals. She finds great meaning in them, even if they are new rituals that she or we are inventing for our family as we go. I, on the other hand, have never been one for rituals. They've always seemed like inauthentic actions performed...
- Faith/off - Easter Vs Passover
And so it was that three days after his crucifixion, Jesus sent the Easter bunny to lay some chocolate eggs for kids to find, get high on sugary sweets, and eventually get tooth decay that would drive stock prices up for the Tooth Fairy's corporate...
- Not Found At Cvs, Osco, Or Wallgreen
Chocolate Bar Cigarettes Condoms Hand Cleaner Medicine Tooth Paste...
- "vigilante Justice" Poll
Do you support vigilante justice? No...2 Yes...1 Sometimes...2 I am surprised at the results. I would like to know what criteria would be used in decision making for the two that voted "sometimes". It seems undeceive. And the one that voted "yes"...
- Macabre...galileo's Lost Tooth And Fingers
Maybe not as macabre as you think. Remember Einstein's brain . "Art collector finds Galileo's lost tooth, fingers" November 20th, 2009 Reuters An art collector has found a tooth, thumb and finger of the renowned Italian scientist Galileo Galilei...