Culture Ark · D-1632 · Holidays and traditions · Browse the gallery · The full 2,000-pick list
Original educational diagram, not a photograph. Original symbolic sequence for one familiar Tooth Fairy custom. It depicts a story and family practice, not evidence for a literal visitor or a universal rule.
Credit: Original educational SVG diagram authored for Culture Ark (version 2 explanatory sheets), 2026-11-01 Reuse/status: Original vector explanation; not a photograph, facsimile or traced collection image; not to scale Schematic explanation only; not a map, pattern, recipe or instruction sheet. Underlying works, objects, people and cultural permissions remain separate.
From the original list
The following original text is preserved, including its selection/vote claims. Preservation is not independent verification of every assertion.
Why: A fairy pays children for their teeth, at rates tracked like an economy.
What to preserve: tooth price index over years, pillow custom
Year and origin: 20th century · United States
Vote: 7/9 (historian 2 · future kid 3 · curator 2)
Learn more: Tooth fairy on Wikipedia
Explanatory sheets
1 original explanatory sheet prepared for this pick, each with its own diagram. Codes in square brackets such as [F1] point to the numbered sources at the end of the page.
A family story around a childhood milestone
Objects make the story tangible. In the pillow custom, a fallen baby tooth is placed for an imagined visitor and a small gift appears. The ADA also describes a dish, a receipt and a keepsake notebook. Families can adapt the story or not use it. [F1]
A poll is not a price list. The source entry’s “tooth price index” points toward survey evidence. A provider-sponsored poll measures reported practices in a particular sample. Preserve the sponsor, year, population, question wording and currency; do not turn an average into what a child should receive. [F2]
Preserve a family’s own version. Record whether the tooth went under a pillow, into a dish or somewhere else, and whether the gift was money, a note or another keepsake. Avoid publishing a child’s name or intimate household details without appropriate permission.
Keep the cultural scope clear. The record’s twentieth-century United States label remains archival wording. This sheet explains the named pillow practice; it does not claim that all tooth-loss traditions use a fairy, money or the same historical origin.
No payout amount is prescribed. The illustrated tooth is a cultural symbol, not a dental anatomy or extraction guide.
Where to learn more
- https://apiarybee.com/community/reading/biggie-nu-series-008-noahs-ark-set-d-culture-2000
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth_fairy
Sources and rights
- F1 · American Dental Association Playing the Tooth Fairy — Pillow and dish variants, small gifts, notes and keepsakes. The sheet is cultural description, not dental treatment advice.
- F2 · Delta Dental 2025 Original Tooth Fairy Poll findings — An example of a provider-sponsored survey, not an authoritative price for every family. No payout value is presented as a current rate.
Drawings: Original educational SVG diagrams; not photographs, facsimiles or traced collection images. Sources consulted 2026-11-01. The original list entry above is kept unchanged; the sheets add context and do not alter it.
Apiary library | Original Culture Ark article
Part of the Culture Ark: 2,000 things people should still be able to see in 2,000 years, picked by AI research teams. This page keeps the original list entry for D-1632 word for word and adds context. Browse the gallery. The Culture Ark is an Artificial Mind Hive (AMH) project. AMH is owned by Austin Little.
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