Science Experiment # 522

Master J is all about doing "experiments". He's always loved science and wants to find out "what if...". "What if I combined toothpaste with water and some soap, would I be able to make minty body soap that would clean really well?" Ummm, no. You would definitely smell minty, no doubt. But clean? Not so much. He's always been a seeker of knowledge.

So it should come as no surprise that when I was helping him put some bins of legos under his bed I would run across one of his experiments. As a side note, I'm usually on top of what Master J is doing. As active as he is, he really doesn't get much past me. I learned early on that an unsupervised Master J is fine, so long as you don't mind purple cabinets or blue paint on white carpets.

Anyway, as I'm pushing a bin to the back, I notice a plastic jar on it's side in the back. Inside the jar I can see what looks like a milk container. The single serving kind you get at Subway. It's kind of hard to make out for some reason. So I pull the container out from under the bed. And realize that it's full of water. Cloudy water. Hmmm. Interesting. I ask Master J to please take the jar down the hall and put it on the counter next to the sink, but not to open it. I do this for the sole purpose of letting him know that I know. He looks a bit sheepish and apologizes for having water in his room. I finish what I'm doing and head down the hall with the intention of emptying the water out of the jar and recycling it.

The first thing I notice when I open the lid is a slight odor. I know I've smelled it before, but it's faint enough that I can't quite place what it is. I dump out the water and pull out the milk container. Which I assume is also full of water since it's sloshing. I undo the lid and without thinking, dump it into the sink. It comes out in chunks. And then I get hit with the wall of putrid milk smell. GAG! Oh my goodness, how long has that been in there? Because there's more solid than liquid and it is bad. So I do what any good parent does.

ME: Hey Master J, come to the kitchen.
MJ: Yes?
ME: Check out what's in the sink.
MJ: (looking quizzically at the white chunks) what is it?
ME: Smell it, see if you can figure it out.
MJ: (takes a big whiff) GACK!
MJ: (looking accusingly at me) What is that?
ME: Milk
MJ: (looking back in the sink) What's wrong with it?
ME: It's rotten.
MJ: From what?
ME: You tell me.
MJ: Is it because it was under my bed?
ME: Yeah. What didn't it have under your bed?
MJ: Refrigeration?
ME: Yup. Don't do that again.
MJ: Okay Mom. That's gross.

Now if we could just get him to use that brain to think through his experiments BEFORE he does them, we probably have the makings of a great scientist. Otherwise, we just have the potential for smelly carpet at any given moment. Boys. Sigh.