YANKEE INGENUITY: Here's a report on a line of perfumes that, among other things, smell like dirt, mildew, a funeral home, or tomato leaves. I have actually seen this stuff here at a frou-frou shop called The Cadeau, and it wasn't exactly cheap. I only recall smelling the Tomato fragrance. It was accurately done, a lovely scent like the end of summer. I don't wear perfume, though I think I would rather smell like a tomato than like many of the things at the cosmetic counter. I'm not so sure if I'd say the same about sushi or a funeral home. People buy it, thus it must satisfy someone. That's the beauty of the market.

And from other fruitful minds comes a new lightweight gun that fires over and around barriers. With "basically the same architecture" as the M16 assault rifle, it is "five times as effective at twice the range." Cutting beyond Vietnam-style vegetation quicker than you can say "quagmire," it may make it possible to fight ground wars with the minimal casualties of an air war. Woo-hoo! Is this a candidate to replace my daisy-cutter wallpaper?