My Wife, The Forensic Scientist

So many people say that television will rot your brain.  In some ways I agree.  As a child I we had only 3 channels, all in living color.  My dad bought a state-of-the-art device that allowed him to adjust the aerial remotely.  This meant there was a remote chance of picking up additional channels.  Those of us who were kids in the pre-cable days remember the anguish of the State of the Union address which meant the President was on all of the channels and there really was “nothing on”.  That was before cable television invaded our homes.  Now we have more than 100 channels to choose from, many of them dedicated to a single topic, like golf, sports, and even news.  Television may rot our brains, but sometimes it can teach us valuable tools.

My wife is a big fan of the mystery genre. Not only does she enjoy reading those types of books she also likes the TV shows. Some of our favorites shows are Castle, The Closer, Bones, and The Glades. She is good at solving many of the murders before they get to the end.  Her mind just works that way.  Me, I usually solve it exactly when the reveal it at the end of the show, don’t you?

Anyway, one evening we were watching TV when I noticed some bright spots on the screen.  My first reaction was, “oh no, the TV is broken.”  Most people would be happy for an excuse to buy a new set, but I would rather put the money into home improvements.  I walked over to the TV and took a closer look.  When I touched the bright spot, I discovered it was a liquid of some kind.  It was clear and odorless, but I wasn’t sure if it was tasteless or not.  Relieved that the TV wasn’t broken I stood back up.  I noticed that there will similar drops on the picture hanging on the wall behind the TV and on the wall too.  My first impulse was to check for a leak in the ceiling right above the fan, but there was nothing there.  I needed to investigate more. I looked at the drops on the wall and they seemed to have the same properties.  When I asked Debi what she thought she reminded me that the dog had just gone crazy trying to shake the stuffing out of one of her toys.  My first reaction was that it was dog spit; suddenly relieved that I didn’t check for a discernable taste.  She then points out a trail of water coming from the animals’ drinking fountain into the living room.  Upon further investigation she noticed the toy the dog was playing with was wet.  Next, came the flashback montage where she explained what happened.

She threw the toy into the kitchen.  The toy landed partially in the drinking fountain.  The dog picks it up and runs into the living room, leaving a trail of water behind.  The dog displays her rage by viciously shaking the toy splattering the wall and TV.  Mystery solved.  I guess I should continue to pay the cable bill.