If you've ever spent any time at all around kids, or have kids, or really even just were a kid at one point in your life, then you know that children, especially little ones, can be pretty disgusting.
For babies and toddlers, sticking objects in their mouth is often the preferred method of learning about the world, and anything is fair game. Especially at a place of learning.
Since libraries tend to offer lots of activities for little ones to foster that learning (and, let's be honest, to give their parents and caregivers a little break), books, toys, and anything else within reach is fair game to shove in their mouth.
Even for the older kids who should know better.
That's why the Oregon City Library came up with a masterful way of trying to contain the mess and germs: a bucket for licked items.
Twitter user Alex Halpern shared a photo of the lick bucket, which says: "Uh oh. Did your kid lick something? Put it in this Lick Bucket and give to a librarian on your way out." Then, in smaller print it adds: "Seriously, don't worry about it. This is normal kid behavior, it happens all the time, and we have plenty of wipes on hand."
The library, which clearly has a sense of humor, even tweeted back with a photoshopped version of Halpern's tweet, adding a baby goat (AKA a kid. Get it? Librarians are clever!):
Some people were a bit puzzled by the need for a lick bucket:
Well, the photo made its way around Twitter, and eventually Chrissy Teigen stumbled upon it. Teigen, who has a young daughter, Luna, who is no doubt in the oral phase of life, didn't realize that kids lick things at public places as they get older.
She shared the photo, asking: "Kids lick things in libraries and other places? This is good to know. Luna...does not yet lick"
People were happy to answer Teigen's question with a resounding "Yep!"
It turns out that kids are just as disgusting as we all thought. Maybe even more so:
And the licking apparently doesn't always get out outgrown:
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