I was recently surprised to hear from a friend that at her child’s school carnival they bobbed for apples. I have always been proud of how I have kept my germ neuroses in check since the birth of Texas. I have never been one to douse him in sanitizer, or incessantly ask him to wash his hands in public. I bought BPA bottles, organic baby food and only steam-cleaned the tile when he was first crawling (so he would not be exposed to chemicals) but all in all I think I have been pretty lax about the whole germ thing. Which is why I was surprised at my genuine horror at the idea of the apple bobbing. Kids did it for decades and lived – then again the average life expectancy was much shorter. But the thought of a bunch of slobbery day care petri dishes all slack jawed, with mouths full of water one after the other almost sent me into an episode.