Winning fish
When I was 6 Dad took me and my older brother to the local fair. I remember Mum repeatedly saying to us beforehand "Don't you dare come back with a goldfish!". So, of course on arriving at the fair we immediately asked Dad if it would be okay to go and win some fish. He said "yes". We returned to the house with two goldfish, and our very annoyed mother had to go out and buy a fish tank to put them in.

People reassured my mother that they wouldn't last long - but they lived for 11 years. Because she was now known as the family fish keeper, people kept offloading their children's fairground fish on her as well. Eventually she had to get a 15 gallon tank. I only started helping with the water changes after about 8 years...

She never trusted us to go to a fair without her again.
(Supermonkey, Sat 11 Jun 2011, 21:46, Reply)