Chuck Shepherd
As Americans' fascination with guns grows, so, too, does the market for protection against all those flying bullets. Texan John Adrain has introduced an upscale sofa whose cushions can stop up to a .44 Magnum fired at close range, and now is at work on bullet-resistant window blinds. Another company, BulletSafe, recently touted its $129 baseball caps — with protection against the same bullets, but only in front — though the company admits the cap won't prevent concussions. The Colombian suit and vest designer Miguel Caballero offers an array of bullet- and knife-resistant selections, made with Kevlar and Dyneema, which are also used by clothiers BladeRunner and Aspetto (maker of "ballistic tuxedos").
Unwise investment
Ronnie Music Jr., 45, won a scratch-off lottery prize last year of $3 million in Waycross, Ga., and must surely have thought he was on a roll — because he soon flipped the money into a Georgia methamphetamine gang. The "bet" went sour, and he now faces decades in prison, as he pleaded guilty in July to drug trafficking and firearms violations after his associates were found with $1 million worth of meth and a load of guns.
False alarm
A Fargo, N.D., fire official said in July his crew had responded at least twice to alarmed-citizen phone calls to go help a man obviously homeless, covered in a blanket on a park bench, who seemed not to be moving. The First Lutheran Church later explained that the "man" was just a statue — their idea of Jesus as a homeless man — and its Canadian designer said versions of the statue had been placed in several cities, including Toronto and Detroit.
High standards
Almost half of all produce raised by U.S. farmers is thrown out before it reaches a consumer's plate, and though there are several contributing explanations, the most striking is American eaters' "cult of perfection." "It's about blemish-free produce," said one farmer, e.g., "sunburnt cauliflower" or table grapes not quite "wedge-shaped" enough. America's "unyielding cosmetic standards," according to a July report in the Guardian of London, even means that much of the annual $160 billion worth of imperfect food is simply left to rot on the vine, or sent directly to a landfill, because farmers anticipate retailers' reluctance to stock it.
Drones to the rescue
In July, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to keep black-footed ferrets in northeastern Montana from dying out — with drones that shoot peanut butter M&M's coated with a vaccine. Before the drones, there were too few ferrets to justify, economically, hand-delivering the candy.
Unclear on the concept
The membership of the Westerly (R.I.) Yacht Club voted in June to retain the club's men-only admission policy, which some members told a Providence Journal reporter was necessary to preserve the club's "family atmosphere." Apparently, according to the report, they feared being tempted at social events by having unmarried women around as "full" female members, instead of the currently allowed "spousal" members.
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