MacDougall's daughter Meg had a strong fascination with the chemistry sets she saw marketed as educational toys and created her own 'experiments' that extended to the family's mealtimes. To encourage her interest in laboratories (and to ensure their meals were safe) MacDougall purchased beakers, Petri dishes and test tubes and let her eat her own meals from them. "It looked a little funny when guests came over," said MacDougall in one interview, "but at least we could start eating food that was the right color again."