A kid at a field museum made me rethink how I look at old tools

I was at the Royal Ontario Museum last month, just wandering through the pre-Columbian section, and this kid, maybe 9 or 10, was staring at this display of obsidian blades. He asked his dad why anyone would bother chipping rocks when they could just use a knife from the kitchen. The dad stumbled for an answer, but I chimed in about how the flakes are sharper than steel, and the kid got this look like I'd told him a secret. He spent the next ten minutes comparing every blade angle to the photos on the info plaques. It stuck with me because I've painted a lot of old houses, and I know the value of a worn tool that just fits your hand. Has anyone else had a kid ask a question that made you see a common artifact in a whole new way?

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