Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Room Cleaning Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Room Cleaning Invention

“Ben, you need to come clean up your cars,” Ben’s dad

called across the house.

“I did not get them out,” said Ben, walking into the

living room where his dad was sitting on the couch.

“I didn’t ask if you got them out,” his Dad said, like he always did.  “I am not trying to mean, Bud.  I just need help getting these cleaned up.”

“But, it is not fair, Dad,” Ben complained, not quite ready to give up the fight.  “I have taken these toys out twice in the last year, and Peter has taken them out at least a hundred times in the last two months.” 

“It doesn’t matter who took them out,” his Dad said, now at the end of his rope.  It had been a long day and his dad was just tired.  “Please, Ben I need help getting them put away.”

Ben went ahead and helped this time, but he really hadn’t even heard the latter part of what his dad had to say.  Ben’s mind was still stuck on proving to his dad that he was doing way more than his own fair share of the work.  

The next day, when Ben came home from school, it looked like a Star Wars guy bomb had exploded in the middle of his bedroom.  There were Star Wars guys on the floor, Star Wars guys on his bed, Star Wars guys in his closet, and even Star Wars guys in his sock drawer.  Ben wasn’t all that surprised to see Star Wars guys stuck in Peter’s hair and mouth.  He knew what was coming next.

 “Ben, can you help clean up your bedroom,” his mom called from the kitchen, where she was already hard at work on dinner.  “Your little brother has been playing back there.  I can only imagine what it looks like.”

“I’ve got a good idea what it looks like,” Ben muttered under his breath.  “You’re a creep face,” he said to Peter, who thought that was funny because he had no idea what Ben had just said. 

This was the first time in a while that Ben was not too stressed about having to clean up.  He went into his sock drawer, past the Star Wars guys and the socks and pulled out what he had been expecting to be able to use today.  It looked a lot like a digital watch, only it did not have any visible numbers on it.  Ben bent down to pick up a Star Wars guy off of the ground and wrapped the wrist straps around him. 

“How many times has Peter got this guy out in the last two months?” Ben asked the watch. 

The watch flashed “73” across its screen.

“How many times have I cleaned up this Star Wars guy in the last 2 months?” Ben asked, with a sense of pride.

The watch again flashed “73” across its screen.

“I knew it!” Ben said running off to show his mom that he was clearly over-worked.

Without saying a word, his mom took the how many timeser and put it on the frying pan.

“How many times in the last two months have I cooked dinner on this pan without any help?” his mom asked in a not very polite tone.

The number “58” flashed across the screen.

“That is close to every night, Ben,” she said, handing it back to him with a disappointed look on her face.  “Please clean your room, now.”

Ben went back to his room a little bummed that his mom was not blown away by his strong work ethic, but determined to still have a little fun.

When he got back to Peter, he put the how many timeser on Peter’s nose.

“How many times has Peter picked this nose today?”

“14” showed up on the screen.

Ben thought it was gross, but funny.  Peter laughed, and tried to eat the device.  Ben stood up and took the how many timeser into Fran’s room.

“What do you want?”  Fran said, immediately skeptical when Ben entered her room with a smile on his face.

“I just want to show you my new invention,” he said, as he put it on her arm. 

“What does it do?” she said, pulling away form Ben.

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt,” he said, putting it

back on her arm.  “Just watch, Fran.  How many times has Fran lied to me today about putting that Lego in my cereal bowl this morning?”

The number “1” flashed across the watch face.

“Sorry,” Fran said, shrugging her shoulders as she knew she had been caught.

How the how many timeser is used today:  Police use it to see how many times bad guys have lied.  Parents use it to see how many times a brother hit a sister.  And, sisters use it to see how many times their brothers have looked in their diary during the day.

How many timeser sale price:  26 million dollars

What Ben bought with the money:  His own ice cream store with unlimited hot fudge.


Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.