think of the children...

a co-worker recently advised me that if i was entering into a serious relationship, i should begin pondering possible children's names now.

in a jocular way, he told me that the process of naming his fourth child nearly destroyed his marriage.

so i found a website that had a huge database of names with their definitions and etymological history.

it also listed the most popular names for 2006.

i submit to you, my dear readers, a disturbing fact.

of the nearly 4 million babies born that year, .021% of boys were named after the incredible stink-town that i currently dwell in, dayton.


dayton - who's name literally means "ditch town."

let's say for round numbers that half of those four million babies were boys. that would mean that 420 one- to two-year-olds are named dayton.

which i think is about 419 too many.

also note, the same number of boys were named oswaldo. (my apologies to any of you, as well, if you happen suffer that particular fate. may you never find yourself to be a well-hidden character in a series of children's picture books.)