I was almost 8 years old when my parents and I moved back to the US from Germany where my dad had been stationed in the Army. Well, we had been back in the states for about a 2-3 days. I had just finished taking a shower, and I was brushing my teeth before getting ready for bed.
I wet my toothbrush and took out the tube of "toothpaste" that was in the cup holder with the rest of my family's toothbrushes. (We were staying with extended family at the time while my parents were looking for a place to move to.) In my mouth the toothbrush goes with the "toothpaste," and I start brushing away - thinking nothing of what I had swishing around in my mouth. To a 7 year old, it looked like a toothpaste tube; it was with the toothbrushes, so it must be toothpaste.
Well, for the first few seconds, everything went as normal, but then this intense burning sensation started coming from all over my mouth. You can imagine my parents' and grandparents' reaction when I started screaming at the top of my lungs. It burned so bad that I had tears streaming down my face, and I was literally screaming.
My parents rush for the bathroom, and I come out trying to explain to them through sobs and sniffles that my mouth was burning. My aunt started looking around in the bathroom for what could have gone wrong. All the while, I'm trying to say "toothpaste" through a mouth that feels like an incinerator is going off in it, and you know that way that children can't talk and cry at the same time. I was also trying to say, "Mommy, I don't like this place. I wanna go home (Germany) where they have nice toothpaste."
My aunt finally comes out of the bathroom, holding the tube of "toothpaste," and trying not to laugh. She then says, "Why on earth, honey, were you brushing your teeth with ICY HOT?!"
At the time, I was not in the least bit amused, but looking back, I can see why my whole family was trying so hard to not bust into fits of uncontrolled laughter.