Clowns?

Another from Yahoo:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A clown in the operating room may relax anxious
children who are about to undergo surgery...

Oh really? I've seen younger kids vibrate with clown-fear. I saw
one kid run right through the child gate, pulling the latch out of the wall,
in order to escape the clown. And who hasn't had to fish a kid out
from under the table at the first sign of Chuck E ? (who, really, is just
a clown with fur)