How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Good question, luvvie. It's electron decay, mostly. You have to look at things closely to see the electrons. They're the little dinky ones that look like tiny smiles. The neutrons are the gray ones that look like frowns. The electrons were all a bit too smiley for 1912, so then I checked the sides of the letters and the old king's head, and everything was a tad too crisp and sharp. Even where they were worn, it was as if they'd been made to be worn." (3.90)
Wouldn't this make chemistry so much more fun? Instead of covalent bonds and measurements mysteriously called moles you'd have "smiley ones" and "frowney ones." We're all for it.
Quote #2
"Mother!" she said. "Giving the boy honey. You'll rot his teeth."
Old Mrs. Hempstock shrugged. "I'll have a word with the wigglers in his mouth," she said. "Get them to leave his teeth alone."
"You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it."
"Stuff and silliness," said the old lady. "You leave wigglers alone and they'll be carrying on like anything. Show them who's boss and they can't do enough for you." (3.106-109)
This is yet another moment where we all wish we could see the world like Gran does. She's not worried about dental hygiene, because she's given the bacteria in her mouth a stern talking-to, and that's all that's needed.
Quote #3
Something came up from the earth, and swung around angrily. […]It jumped from my hand to my shirt, I stroked it: a kitten, black and sleek, with a pointed, inquisitive face, a white spot over one ear, and eyes of a peculiarly vivid blue-green. "At the farm, we get our cats the normal way," said Lettie. (4.89)
So according to Lettie, the normal way to get a cat is to pull one up from the ground like a ripe potato. Those of us who went to the Humane Society and rescued one are obviously pretty strange.