Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 04:03:53 +0000
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Sender: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
From: Bob Rankin
Subject: TOURBUS - 15 Jun 2000 - CRAYONS, LEGOS & SOUTHERN WORDS
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TOURBUS Volume 5, Number 97 -- 15 Jun 2000
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\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
FIVE YEARS of Searchable Archives at http://www.TOURBUS.com !!
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
CRAYONS ARE SAFE! / Bulk Legos / Southern Word Homepage
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00123.html
http://www.snopes.com/toxins/crayons.htm
http://www.lego.com/bulk/
http://www.netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
Howdy, y'all, and greetings from beautiful Tuscaloosa, Alabama. :)
TOURBUS is made possible by the kind support of our sponsors. I thank
the folks at Financial Engines, Buyers' Reward, and Tenagra for making
today's post possible. As always, please visit our wonderful sponsors
and thank them for keeping the bus rolling!
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By the way, this is Bob sending out today's issue for Patrick, who is
wrestling with his ISP's mail server today. On with the show ...
-------------------------------------------------------
CRAYONS ARE SAFE! CRAYONS ARE SAFE! CRAYONS ARE SAFE!
-------------------------------------------------------
Break out the crayon box and start nibbling, folks! The U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has released the results of its
investigation of the safety of crayons. You will remember that the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently reported that major brands of
crayons contain asbestos. Well, the CPSC found
a trace amount of asbestos in two Crayola crayons made by Binney
and Smith and one Prang crayon made by Dixon Ticonderoga.
However, the amount of asbestos is so small it is scientifically
insignificant.
In Crayola crayons and Prang crayons, CPSC also found larger
amounts of another fiber, called "transitional" fiber, which is
similar in appearance to asbestos fiber. While there are
potential concerns about these fibers if children are exposed to
them, CPSC tests concluded that the risk a child would be exposed
to the fibers either through inhalation or ingestion is extremely
low and there is no scientific basis for a recall.
While the CPSC found that the risk of exposure to the fibers from
using or even eating crayons is low, the CPSC did conclude that these
fibers really shouldn't be in children's crayons in the first place:
As a precaution, because crayons are intended for use by
children, CPSC asked industry to reformulate crayons using
substitute ingredients. Binney and Smith and Dixon Ticonderoga
quickly volunteered to reformulate within a year to eliminate the
fibers. Rose Art, which has only a small percentage of crayons
made with talc, also agreed to reformulate.
The best news of all is that
CPSC tests concluded that there is no cause for concern. Parents
and teachers can continue to use the crayons they have and
purchase crayons from store shelves.
You can read the complete text of the CPSC's crayon safety press
release at
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00123.html .
It looks like the only danger of using crayons is if your mom catches
you drawing on her walls. :)
By the way, if you want to read an excellent summary of this whole
asbestos in crayons scare, I strongly recommend Barbara "the truth,
asbestos I can figure out" Mikkelson's recent "Crayon Me a River"
article at
http://www.snopes.com/toxins/crayons.htm .
I know I mention snopes.com a lot, but it is one of my favorite sites
on the Net (along with David Emery's urbanlegends.about.com). :)
-----------
Bulk Legos!
-----------
I am a HUGE fan of Lego building bricks, so this his is possibly the
coolest news I have heard in ages: if you live in the US or Canada,
you can now buy Legos in BULK! That's right ... BULK LEGOS! Just
point your Web browser to
http://www.lego.com/bulk/ .
Currently, you can only buy basic Lego bricks and roof tiles (for
example, you can buy 100 2x2 bricks in any color for US$6.99 plus
shipping). To see a complete list of available Lego bricks and tiles,
point your Web browser to
http://www.lego.com/bulk/bulkpage1.asp .
While current the selection is kind of slim, you should be able to
order Lego plates, doors, windows, trees, other specialty elements,
and even bricks and plates in hard-to-find colors in bulk quantities
in the months to come.
Oh, and if the folks at Lego don't start shipping to addresses outside
the US and Canada soon, let me know. I'd be happy to be the middleman
for any TOURBUS-riding Lego fanatic on any of the other continents. :)
--------------------------------
The *NEW* Southern Word Homepage
--------------------------------
I am proud to announce that my world-famous Southern Word homepage has
(finally) been completely redesigned and updated! The page now
includes every Southern Word that has appeared in TOURBUS since our
first issue back in July of 1995!
If you haven't visited the Southern Word homepage in a while, I think
you'll like the changes. Just point your Web browser to
http://www.netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html .
That's it for this week! Have a safe and happy weekend, and don't eat
too many crayons! :)
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
CRAYONS ARE SAFE! / Bulk Legos / Southern Word Homepage
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00123.html
http://www.snopes.com/toxins/crayons.htm
http://www.lego.com/bulk/
http://www.lego.com/bulk/bulkpage1.asp
http://www.netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
---------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE WEEK
---------------------------------
SANGLE (adjective). Unaccompanied by others.
Usage: "Mercy ... Bubba is 14 and he's still sangle?!"
[Special thanks go to Marsha Miller for today's word]
You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
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