How to save money Chinese style.

Today, I bought a toy for my son, Tiarnan, three. It is a Power Ranger toy. Now, there is nothing unusual about that...but there was something unusual about the packaging. The toy and the package were in two different worlds.

I shall explain. On the toy box, it said that the "Power Rangers, Dinothunder" set contained: "Magnifying glass, Retractable measuring tape, Compass, Archaeologist's shovel, Tweezers". Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I found that what it actually contained was a mask, a sword, a badge and an action figurine!

What has happened here appears to be one of two things: either the factory packaging it, in China, had no-one who could read English and they simply packed them into the boxes they had been given, without regard to whether it was appropriate - or the factory was saving money, by using excess packaging for another product, for a different product.

I thought it most bizarre. It is the first time I can recall that the packaging on an item was clearly meant for a different item. It is telling, perhaps, that this should come from a product that says: "Made in China", on the box. Perhaps only in a country with such a reputation for quality, such as China has, could a product actually end up in an irrelevant box.

I intend to keep the box, for the sheer oddity of it.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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The Secret of the Power Rangers

Are the Power Rangers hiding an operational secret? Fintan has the answer.

Yesterday, we decided to go to the Jewel Box on Mount Faber - a hilltop restaurant venue overlooking Singapore and Sentosa. It affords great views of the city from one of the highest vantages in the region. More of that, however, in another post.

We were with my mother and sister. So, with my wife and I and three kids, that made far too many for one taxi. Thus, we had to take two.

I went with my immediate relatives - Syahidah took everyone else, in a separate cab.

Syahidah was, perhaps, feeling a bit mischievous. She told the driver: "We're in a race. If we arrive second, you have to give us a discount!"

The driver was game, and nodded his agreement.

Ainan piped up at that moment: "You have to win - but you can't break any traffic rules."

The driver laughed at that. Ainan was clearly considering the issue of speeding (he is a careful boy).

The race was on. The only problem was that the driver wasn't sure where he was going. He soon got lost, Mount Faber being a rarely requested destination (I, for one, have only visited it once before in the last seven years).

At a loss, he picked up his hand phone and called someone for help. He spoke in rapid-fire Chinese.

Syahidah turned to Fintan, four, and said: "See Fintan, he is calling the Power Rangers for help."

Fintan looked stunned, "The Power Rangers speak Chinese!", he exclaimed, flabbergasted. Nothing could have been more of a surprise.

The next time he met a Power Ranger, he would know how to address them.

For the remainder of the journey, he looked at the driver with respect, no doubt thinking: "That man has the phone number for the Power Rangers."

When Syahidah arrived at the Jewel Box, she found us waiting there, already.

The driver duly gave her a discount, as promised. Any friend of the Power Rangers, keeps his word.

It was a comical beginning to a great evening.