Lots of articles on a snowy day.

[conuly]

Some NSA Officials Favor Giving Snowden Limited Amnesty For All The Wrong Reasons

http://bit.ly/1gxXlHZ

Feds joins battle on citrus disease

http://bit.ly/1b5jANq

Obama to review changes in spy policy

http://usat.ly/18JP52D

Tech giants team up in anti-snooping effort

On the one hand: good for them! On the other, I am even more uncomfortable with corporate influence in the government than I am with the NSA, and that is saying an awful lot.

http://usat.ly/19v5TaK

The Return of the Welfare Queen

http://bit.ly/19odyex

Federal judge declares Utah polygamy law unconstitutional

http://bit.ly/1bFgIKy

This Ethiopian village has gained wealth, but has bred hostility

Because they aren't Christians or Muslims, basically.

http://bit.ly/IShpWz

ECONOMIC INEQUALITY: A MATTER OF TRUST?

http://nyr.kr/18Dk0jK

IF YOU REFRAIN FROM TALKING ABOUT RACE, PEOPLE MIGHT THINK YOU’RE RACIST

As many commenters point out, not all of the "black" people on that modified Guess Who? board look unambiguously black. So there's that as well.

http://bit.ly/1k0V0oL

Surprise! Charity Buys 21 Sacred Katsinam for Hopi at Auction in Paris

http://bit.ly/IVI58J

Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code

http://bit.ly/1duyD6q

How cholera evolved to be one of the deadliest diseases in history

http://bit.ly/18IkCil

This study shows how a good metaphor can change the world

http://bit.ly/1bEyUAv

Inside the Rainbow Gulag: The Technicolor Rise and Fall of Lisa Frank

http://bit.ly/1hPDhRG

The second operating system hiding in every mobile phone

http://www.osnews.com/story/27416

A Pen That 3-D Prints Bone Right Onto Patients

http://bit.ly/JeNtEF

In Ukraine, skepticism greets new vow on E.U.

http://wapo.st/1cruH49

Kindergartener signs song for deaf mom. It's the most adorable time of the year!

http://cnn.it/1gxU7UM

Teacher accused of feeding autistic student hot sauce rehired.

Either Florida has a serious teacher shortage or they really hate disabled kids down there.

http://abcn.ws/1ctku7j

Comments

[conuly]

Tabasco certainly is aversive (unless you like it, some children also like very very salty play dough). And it's not soap at all.

This whole conversation, incidentally, is making me wonder if *this* is why one of the nieces' schools specifically wanted crayola twist ups instead of regular crayons.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Tabasco is a flavoring. It can be used as an aversive by forcibly putting it in the mouth of someone who doesn't like it. Unless and until it is used that way, it is not an aversive. It makes no sense to speak of self-inflicted 'aversives', as when a child puts something in his own mouth, of his own free will after having been told not to, and finds that it tastes horrid.

The word that is needed here is deterrent. Tabasco on the electrical cords is a deterrent to puppies and kittens chewing on them (alas, it doesn't deter rabbits; split-loom conduit is the only solution there.) Tabasco on the crayons is a deterrent to children chewing on them, and unlike soap or antiseptic spray, it's a food product, made for human consumption. Some kids love it, especially those from cultures with a lot of spicy foods - my little Princess Plum Blossom eats green chilies like they were tomato slices; Tabasco wouldn't faze her.

Obviously Tabasco is not soap at all. I didn't say it was, nor even compare it to soap. Yes, soaking crayons in a flavoring meant for food could not possibly be explained as anything but a deliberate attempt to make the crayons taste bad: we've established that. We've also established that Tabasco on the crayons is potentially hazardous to childrens' eyes; thus is not a smart idea. Tabasco crayons=Bad; gotcha; no argument there.

However, I say the principle of using non-toxic unpleasantly-flavored substances as deterrents to children eating non-food items is sound, and that a teacher has as much right to do it as the Play-doh company has. If someone thinks of a more effective method for keeping crayons out of mouths, that'll be great, but as far as I know, nobody's thought of one yet. Since there are plenty of parents in the world who don't *get* that, IMHO it's best if teachers use deterrents (such as soap) that can plausibly be explained as having a legitimate purpose besides making the crayons taste nasty.