I’m driving along I-5, heading north toward Portland. My two adorable grandsons, 7 and 10, are fighting over something in the backseat of the car.

“Please keep your hands to yourselves,” I tell them.

The next thing I know water bottles are flying around my head. I see blood in the rearview mirror and hear lots of screaming.

I stomp on the brakes and pull over. It turns out that 7 tried to bite 10’s knuckles and 10 punched him, knocking out 7’s front tooth. Then 7 swallowed the tooth.

He’s now crying inconsolably, “I want the tooth out of my tummy.”

I throw up my hands.

Fighting is in our DNA. Research on mice shows that their brains process aggressive behavior like other rewards. My young grandsons, too, often appear to fight just for the joy of feeling the surge of adrenaline.

Mice and humans, it seems, pick fights for no apparent reason other than the rewarding feeling of aggression.

Watching my grandsons, who probably are no more aggressive than their peers, I’m not surprised that the rate of lethal violence among Homo sapiens is seven times higher than all other mammals.

“How will the tooth fairy know about my tooth?” wails 7.

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