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And of course, Caterpickles’ very own Official Junior Photojournalist: The Five-Year-Old Howell
Category Archives: Health
How not to die (Not appropriate for children)
One of these days Caterpickles will get back to answering The Six-Year-Old’s questions as usual. Today is apparently not that day. Have you seen this? How Not to Die: Angelo Volandes’s low-tech, high-empathy plan to revolutionize end-of-life care (The Atlantic) … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Miscellaneous Musings
Tagged Dr. Angelo Volandes, end of life care, Futile medical care, health care proxy
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Classic Caterpickles: “Why do pale people get more moles?” (Caterpickles consults the dermatologist)
Sorry for the long silence. Spring cleaning (and painting and landscaping) have taken over my life. Completely. For another week at least. In the meantime, I hate having Caterpickles remain dark. So here’s the most popular post I’ve ever published. … Continue reading
“Do mice get Lyme Disease?”
Well over a year ago (yes, it takes me a really long time to get to some of these questions), Daddyo came home from work primed with a fascinating story about how a bad acorn harvest in the fall of … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Nature
Tagged do mice get Lyme Disease, Lyme Disease, Lyme Disease prevention
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Weremice and other news of the week
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but that’s not because I haven’t been reading the news. Well, ok, maybe it’s a little because I haven’t been reading the news. But mostly it’s because I haven’t been … Continue reading
“Did the ancient Egyptians have anything to brush their teeth with?”
Scene: The Five-Year-Old sails through the dining room on her scooter and stops abruptly at the sight of Mommyo slumped over her computer. The Five-Year-Old, curiously: “What’s wrong, Mommyo?” Mommyo, disconsolately: “I’m having trouble getting back to writing after so … Continue reading
“Why doesn’t Santa have heart disease?”
As you know, earlier this week after reading The Night Before Christmas, The Five-Year-Old and I had a conversation about the perils of smoking, and whether Santa smoked. The Five-Year-Old has obviously been busy processing this information because today she … Continue reading
Posted in Funny Stuff My Daughter Says, Health
Tagged heart disease, Santa Claus, smoking, talking to kids about smoking
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Classic Caterpickles: “Why can’t cats drink milk?”
I need a day to catch up on some things. You know what that means… Time for a Classic Caterpickle. For a girl obsessed with cats, The Four-Year-Old is oddly indifferent to the Disney movie The Aristocats. I suspect this … Continue reading
“Why is it called that?”: The Chickenpox Edition
This question is far too old and my notes far too scanty to give you any reliable context for how it came up. But I can make a few guesses. Since what notes I have on this topic date from … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Linguistics
Tagged chickenpox, how did chickenpox get its name, varicella
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Questions I Am Not Qualified to Answer: Entry #45091
After seeing me toss the remains of her bag of freeze-dried fruit on the ground for the birds, The Five-Year-Old reached for a discarded slice of apple. Mommyo, urgently: “Don’t eat that!” The Five-Year-Old, curiously: “Why?” Mommyo, definitively: “You’ll get … Continue reading
“Where in the human body do we have cartilage?”
Mommyo, promptly: “Your nose and ear.” The Five-Year-Old, thoroughly: “Where else?” The iPhone, belatedly: Cartilage is found in the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the … Continue reading
Michael Howell
Shala Howell
