as a mangle. Some mangles make us blink. The

as a mangle.

Some mangles make us blink. The Reader's Digest carried an time about an avid golfer who runs a paint-supply business. He developed "a non-polluting grass paint for lawns, golf courses and real-estate agents." Tough on the agents, nice on the lawns.

The University of North Carolina arranged last fall for students to get their grades through the World Wide Web. "Grade information is accessed using the Student ID Number and a six-digit Personal Access Code (PAC). Your PAC is your date of birth unless you have changed it.' Makes sense.

New York magazine carried an item about author Anne Rice. She has started publishing a newsletter "which she personally types by hand." It's an achievement not to be belittled.

In South Carolina the Horry County Solid Waste Authority sent out a notice on items that should not be recycled. The notice ended with a cryptic warning: "To avoid suffocation, keep away from small children." Come on! Little nippers can be a nuisance, but they're not that dangerous.

A store that rents videotapes of movies advertised a special promotion: "Rent one Video, Get one Video Free. Free Video Rental must be equal to or lesser than the value of the lowest rental price." Asked what that meant, the cashier replied, "I haven't a clue."

In Olympia, Wash., the ThurstonMason Senior News Carried a feature about Grace Hall, an adventurous grandmother who hitchhiked across the country. As a teenager Grace helped her father in his auto and bicycle repair shop. After her father's death, she married Ed Small, the story continued:

"The newly married couple tried to run the garage, but Ed wasn't at all mechanical and Grace was soon pregnant."

Makes you think, doesn't it?

There was also something to ponder in a wire service item from Iceland last October. The Loki volcano erupt