Although Patty said it wasn't really all that unusual I saw an ad in the personal ads portion of the classified section of the paper thanking St. Jude for favors granted. We went to Jay and Dixie's later the same day I noticed it and Dixie had also noticed it in the paper and thought it interesting. I thought it was definitely odd.

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From the Grab Bag in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner comes, "Report is the Humane Society of Fallstown, MD., long has looked for something to repel mice. But the only good mouse deterrent they've come up with so far, I'm told, is tiger urine." My goodness . . .

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And have you seen the latest, a Ratapult? It flings the rat into a bin or box or whatever but supposedly not with enough fervor to crush its insides. And it resets itself so no human smell (from the act of resetting) gets on it after it's placed. Technology on the march . .

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More Harper's Index information:
"Portion of all oil produced worldwide that is used for transportation in the United States: 1/5.
Portion of all illegal drugs produced worldwide that are consumed in the United States: 3/5.
Percentage of Americans who say that mowing the lawn is 'risky': 54.
Ratio of Americans killed by lightning each year to Americans killed by fireworks: 9 to 1.
Proposed maximum fine for participating in a dwarf toss in South Carolina: $200.
Maximum number of aphids that FDA regulations permit in a pound of frozen broccoli: 269.
Average number of times an American opens the refrigerator each day: 22.
Rank of dog, cat, snake and U.S. president, among World Book Encyclopedia entries consulted most often: 1,2,3,4."
These are all copyrighted 1989 by Harper's Magazine (Jeez, six years ago . . .)

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One interesting coupon in the Sunday paper was for "Frosty Paws", the world's first frozen treat for dogs. Seems sort of strange to me. Has anyone bought this for their dog? I think this product must have died. Several years have passed and I never saw mention of it again.

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In an old issue of the Mercury News in a section called News of the Weird comes the following.
"A London firm recently began marketing cigarettes under the brand name 'Death'. Said firm director B.JU. Cunningham: 'I'm being honest. I am selling death.' A skull and crossbones is on every package along with this warning: 'Cigarettes are addictive and debilitating. If you don't smoke, don't start. If you smoke, quit.' Cunningham, a heavy smoker, said sales are going fine." Admittedly it's a bit stupid but interesting as to the lengths of stupidity people will go.

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