Pine-Sol, I believe.
That is the reason that very early on in my son’s lives I put sanctions on the importation of battery operated toys in the house. Besides being so annoying that you actually consider stabbing Q-TipsTM through your eardrums to drive out the noise, I firmly believe that they stifle a child’s imagination and creativity. As a result we have lots of Legos, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, etc., not to mention tons of books.
Ahhh, blissful electronic silence.
Now when you step on an errant Lego in bare feet…
But I digress.
[Paris Hilton]
“That’s so hot…”
[/Paris Hilton]
What I want to know is, why has Sesame Street played up Elmo so much in the last ten years or so, like he’s the focus of the entire show? Most of the other characters are far superior, including the vastly underrated Grover.
Because they needed something to focus on once Kermit left the show. Seriously.
For my money, you can never have too much Cookie Monster.
Robin
Have you seen the horror that is Limbo Elmo? My 1-year-old nephew got this particular abomination for his birthday. It puts all the other Elmos that I’ve seen to shame.
Perhaps buttonjockey accidentally sprung forward instead of falling back and oversprung?
Buttonjockey, I can’t get that song out of my head either, may I have that barbeque fork when you’re done with it?
Have any of you guys heard of the OFF switch?
No good… I have a whole slew of nieces and nephews. They know where the on/off switch is. Better is slipping a small piece of paper between the battery terminal and the contact, “Oops! I guess the batteries are dead! Sorry, homes…” 
Oh! And when the little ones ask, “Wassat mean ‘I’m S.O.L.’?” Refer them to mommy or daddy, and evacuate the area quickly.
Ehuh?Lwhat off switch?MMMMMI can’t hear you!O!The Elmo’s too loud!
Genius!!
Goddess no, and may I never.
Actually, 2 hours earlier than california, but an hour later to the east coast, if you wanna be nitpicky.
Wile E, the fork is all yours.
Amateur. My kid knows (a) where to scrounge for fresh batteries, (b) where the battery doors on his toys are, and (c) where the Philips screwdriver is kept.
The only thing that works effectively around here is a wire cutter carefully slipped into the toy’s innards…
Well, in my own defense I must point out that my tactics are designed only to put the rug-rats off for a brief time… IE: long enough for me to escape the situation. A permanant solution is up to the parents. 