This week at work a couple of the guys have been talking about their kids and the things they’ve done recently. The creative director’s two-year-old daughter has apparently started answering the phone, and he spent 15 minutes of his lunch hour one day trying to get her to give the phone to mommy. The web programmer’s four-year-old son, on the other hand, gets into more sophisticated mischief; not only does he cut his younger brother’s hair, he moves files and folders around on his daddy’s iMac, dropping icons into the Trash when he thinks the desktop is too cluttered.

This of course often leads to the topic of possible hazards about which a parent has to worry. As I have no kids of my own, the best contribution I could make to these conversations is the best hits version of all the stupid things I ever did as a kid.

When the web programmer mentioned keeping the scissors out of kids’ reach, I told him about the time I tried to cut a plugged-in electrical cord with a pair of metal scissors. [Boy, had I been in for a shock that day—but hey, I was curious.]

Then we all got to talking about keeping other office supplies out of reach. Staplers? I once stapled my thumb after loading one with new staples. Yes, I was curious to see how the staples would emerge from inside.

The creative director then remarked at how curiousity seems to play a big part in some of the dangerous things we all do. Once, after using some kind of flammable varnish to polish a table of his, curiousity had him putting a lighter to a varnish-soaked rag before he could even think about it. Woosh! Flames shot to the ceiling.

You know those cigarette lighters in most cars? I fiddled with one out of curiousity once, pushing the knob in and letting it pop back out. When I pulled it from the socket, I looked at the swirly design inside with fascination, then put the tender skin of my fingertip to it, not realizing that it would be hot. For weeks afterward, I had a very nice “manufactured” fingerprint burned onto my actual fingerprint.

*Sigh* The things I’ve done to myself out of curiousity. Know that I’ve also been curious about hot stovetops, thumbtacks, and dogs’ teeth, but we’ll skip the stories on those so I can keep my dignity.

I’m just glad I’ve never been curious enough to wonder which way the blades turn when the kitchen sink’s garbage disposal is turned on. Else, I’d be typing this entry with my nose.

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