Definition: Dissect

I entered another giveaway contest yesterday. I didn't win... My husband asked, "Have you ever won something from that lady?" No, I haven't, which is only natural since I've only entered her weekly sweepstakes twice (and I think I was late the first time) and I was only one out of more than a thousand to enter that particular giveaway. But out of all the (little) time I spend entering giveaways my win rate is quite decent. I probably enter an average of two a month and win an average of once every 2 years. I just won another giveaway so I'm not really due to win again until 2019.
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The giveaway I did win recently is a set of educational books on birds through the blog Growing With Science. One of the books includes "an actual owl pellet for kids to dissect", which I hoped my kids would not be too grossed out by. An owl pellet is a much nicer dissection project than, say, a whole animal. Something I can certainly handle. What I didn't realize, though, is that my Reese (8.5yo) first needed a definition of the word "dissect". When I proudly displayed our winnings on the computer screen, she looked at me, stuck out her tongue with a loud "YUCK!" and declared that she drew the line. She was not willing to dissect bird poop. She.Would.Not.Put.THAT.In.Her.Mouth. I quickly explained that "dissect" means "cut open and examine", NOT "ingest". "Phew! Ok, I'll do that."
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I win just often enough to keep entering contests, though only if they are easy to enter, they are ones I come across in my regular activities anyway (not changing my lifestyle to pursue them), and they are for products I find appealing. With that mindset I'm not likely to win any contest again for several months, but statistics are funny-I could just as well win again next week. Maybe next time it'll be something we want to ingest and not just dissect.