Tooth Fairy Folklore..

Nonna had the good foresight to start researching Tooth Fairy Folklore of different cultures to spice things up a little bit. I don't want to encroach upon her findings should she choose to post them, but here are some things I've found courtesy of the Wiki page on Tooth Fairies.

One cool premise was this:

"Some believe that other useful purposes (for the Tooth Fairy) include giving children a sense of faith in things unseen, believing in the incorporeal, and helping them understand the difference between the real and the imaginary."

Also, this pointed me towards the Terry Pratchett novel entitled 'Hogfather' - which involves entirely around the Tooth Fairy and the numerous people she has subcontracted the business of collecting teeth to. See more about it on its own Wiki Page.

An amusing account of Terry Pratchett's (and thereby, Discworld's) account of the Tooth Fairy:

"Unlike our concept of the Tooth Fairy, the Discworld Tooth Fairy is operated as a franchise. Tooth collection is subcontracted to ordinary young women who walk the streets at night with money, ladders and pliers. (The pliers are necessary in case the tooth collector finds herself without the correct change - a second tooth can be taken to balance the books.) The Tooth Fairy lives in an unreal place shaped by the idea of a child's painting. The entity that became the Tooth Fairy personification was originally the first bogeyman. The bogeyman's stated purpose in establishing this was to prevent the teeth from falling into the wrong hands, as they could be used to control the children. It seems that centuries of watching children had given it a (slightly creepy) affection for them."

One more contentious issue - what does the Tooth Fairy do with the teeth?

Terry Pratchett's answer:

"(Pratchett) Suggests they're just collected, neatly labeled and filed away in a museum-like castle. Pratchett also suggests that the tooth fairy's business involves intricate record-keeping and accounting."

Also, for those interested, here is the Straight Dope Staff Report on the origins of the Tooth Fairy.

She tells us herself that none of this mish-mash is true - we'll leave it up to you to decide.

Some fairy concepts from me will come tomorrow, just you watch!