Don't eat the white stuff either

The humorous reference to "white death" takes on a whole new meaning.

To the list of simple childhood pleasures whose safety has been questioned, add this: eating snow. A recent study found that snow — even in relatively pristine spots like Montana and the Yukon — contains large amounts of bacteria.

Parents who warn their kids not to eat dirty snow (especially the yellow variety) are left wondering whether to stop them from tasting the new-fallen stuff, too, because of Pseudomonas syringae, bacteria that can cause diseases in bean and tomato plants.

Fortunately I'm not raising bean or tomato plants; I'm raising children. Face washes, snowball fights and eating snow are still permitted at Casa Wigderson.