Scene: on the Don Mills bus. Little A has been getting very hyper and noisy, and I at one point (gently) put my hand over her mouth while telling her she needs to keep it down. She responds by pretending she’s going to bite me. I turn it into a game by threatening to bite her back, and soon we’re both mock-threatening each other with biting all kinds of different things. Culminating in this exchange:

Little A: I’m going to bite your nose off!

Me: Well, I’m going to bite your elbows off!

Little A: I’m going to bite your… (thinks for a minute) BRAIN off!

Me: I’m going to bite your —

Little A (interrupting): No, Muime! You can’t bite anything any more, because without your brain your nerves can’t control any of your muscles!

The perils of a scientifically literate 6-year-old…