Friday, December 19, 2003

Silver Cars Are Safest? There is a new study from New Zealand which seems to indicate that silver cars are 50% less likely to be involved in a crash resulting in serious injury than white cars. The authors of the study, which accounts for variables such as the age and sex of the driver, the use of seat belts, the age of the vehicle and the road conditions, were not able to explain why silver cars were safer.  However, noting the powerful conclusions of the study, they did suggest that increasing the proportion of silver cars on the road could reduce car crash injuries. No word yet on how safe silver bicycles, skateboards or hang gliders are, but rest assured the Kiwis are working on those very important questions. 3:16:42 PM    Say what?[]

Full Set I have finally reached my goal of obtaining a full set of first edition Hot Wheel cars.  I now have all 42 of the 2003 First Editions, and with a couple of exceptions, they were all purchased from retail outlets.  In other words, I have yet to enter the world of eBay or toy show purchasing to add to my collection.  I resist those steps because I know they could be dangerously addictive. I love Hot Wheels cars.  I loved them when I was a kid.  In fact, there is a portrait studio-type 8x10 picture of me with a Hot Wheels car when I was three.  It wasn't taken that way by design; I apparently just threw a fit when my parents or the photographer tried to take it from me.  So there I am in the picture, with my best 1972 plaid jacket and a Hot Wheel car that would be worth a lot of money if I still had it today. Linus loves them, too.  And why not?  They are cool-looking, they are sturdy, you can play with them in a variety of ways, and what the hell else are you going to buy for under a dollar?  1:50:18 PM    Say what?[]

Quick List: 5 Things That Have Changed About Toothpaste Since I Was A Kid Remember when our choices were white and mint green? Flavor Stripes-Aim make have started the neon color revolution, but it was AquaFresh that raised the ante by stealing Goober Grape's idea and putting flavor stripes in the paste.  I remember those first AquaFresh commercials very well: (Deep voice, excited) "The green stripe contains awesome breath freshening power.  The white stripe contains cavity-reducing and mind-controlling Flouride.  And the red stripe contains Red Stripe beer, straight from Jamaica!" Baking Soda-Does anybody really understand what the baking soda is supposed to do?  I've got baking soda in my toothpaste, my antacid, my deodorant, my litter box sanitizer, and my refrigerator.  Is there anything it can't do?  Did NASA develop baking soda? Peroxide-Again, what the hell is this supposed to do?  Clean the mouth, I suppose.  How much crap can you put in one of those tubes before you no longer have enough actual toothpaste? Tartar Control-Honestly, I think tartar is a made-up concept.  30 years ago, if you'd told someone we would have special toothpastes for tartar control, they would have thought your whole diet consisted of eating uncooked steaks slathered in tartar sauce. Whitening Powers-I'm convinced the whitening effects of these pastes cannot be clinically verified.  Besides, when I see people who have had those artificial tooth-whitening procedures, I find it really distracting.  Look, nobody wants yellow teeth, but it is possible for teeth to be too white.  Beyond that, I'm not sure it's good for teeth to go through the process required to make them totally white. 10:24:57 AM    Say what?[]

© Copyright 2004 DH. Last update: 1/2/2004; 9:25:11 AM.