In the Genes

Our 7 year old niece, E, brings home books from school every evening. She generally prefers the fictional children’s literature, but she recently brought home a non-fiction book about bats.  It said that bats like to eat bugs, fruit and fish. It also said that bats have been getting some sort of illness that causes their noses to turn white. They aren’t sure what’s causing it. E apparently thought about it for a few moments and said she thought she’d figured out the problem. According to her, we have been “pollinating” the rivers and streams. That has caused the fish to become “pollinated” and the bats eat the fish, which is then causing the bats to get sick.  My sister (trying not to laugh at the confusion of the words pollinate and pollute) told E what a good job she had done in thinking that through.  E said that of course she would be able to do that.  Why?  Because she was “born of a scientist” and (speaking to my sister) “you are married to a scientist,” so, of course, she (E) can think like a scientist!

It's in the genes (or the water)!