I was standing in the kitchen washing last night's dishes when my six-year-old held up an uninflated turquoise balloon and said "Daddy, can you please blow this up?" "There's things in there, said my 3-year-old," who stood beside her. I turned the water off, wiped my hands and took the balloon. I could feel some tiny trinkets in the limp balloon and thought - What the heck! "Sure sweetheart," I said - and began blowing. After about six or seven breaths, she said "That's big enough Daddy." I gave it one more big breath, then tied it off. I handed her the balloon and she held it for about one second before it popped. She jumped and the small plastic things showered onto the floor around her. I kneeled to help retrieve the treasure, and found myself staring at an assortment of these...
