It’s National Tooth Fairy Day!

When I read that today, August 22, was National Tooth Fairy Day, it had me wondering...what is the going rate for a tooth? So, here's what I've found. It appears kids losing their baby teeth has mostly kept up with the times. Back in the year 2000, the going rate was $1.50. By 2010, $2.50. And here we are 12 years later, and the average is over $4.50! I remeber giving my kids more for the front teeth, because that is a game changer for speech, eating and those school pictures. https://twitter.com/WinCalendar/status/1561712693152710658 How did this Tooth Fairy thing even begin? According to an article in Forbes, the Tooth Fairy's origins weren't even discovered until the 1990s when a couple of folklorists, Rosemary Wells and Tad Tuleja,  did some digging. Of course rituals revolving around what to do with baby teeth date back to ancient times, and greatly vary. Some people buried the baby teeth in a hole or wall. The Forbes article goes on to say that apparently a story in a poular magazine from 1949, Collier's magazine, "mentioned the Tooth Fairy in 1949. And yet the first Tooth Fairy reference citation -- in the World Book encyclopedia -- didn't come until 1979!" Head scratcher, right? Tad Taluja found that things changed in our society, following the end of WWII. The Depression had ended and there was more money to spend on our families.  A shift in parenting practices and attention took place at the same time. We were more inclined to cater to our kids, and creating rituals was part of that. Fairies like Tinkerbell were popular. Not to mention, it gave parents a teaching moment for kids. Sure, it was about moving from one stage of childhood to another, but also provided an opportunity for kids to learn to save, so the article says. Did you have a special place for the tooth to be placed and the Tooth Fairy to leave her reward? Check this out. https://twitter.com/okthenwhatsnext/status/1561658867712499712 All this talk of teeth had me thinking about country music artists with the best teeth. You know, the ones with the million dollar smiles? Or perhaps the ones you see photos of and think, "they should do commercials for Crest!" Let's take a look at some of these perfect- smile country music stars!   [gallery ids="1043613,1043610,1043616,1043631,1043634,1043655"]