Cold As Ice, America v. Luxembourg and Barbie Sexes It Up

Are Americans taking the idea of diet-friendly snacks too far? Chewing Ice is becoming a new snack trend among consumers, as evidenced by a 23% increase from 2003 to 2006 in sales of machines that produce easier-to-chew ice, with names such as Nugget Ice and Pearl Ice. Some quick-service restaurants are even selling ice-to-go by the cupful (going rate: $.25) or by the bag. I did always LOVE eating that Sonic ice. Might have been the best part of the drive-through experience. Who am I kidding...the Frito Pie still takes the cake on that one.



Who would win in a drink-off: the U.S. or Luxembourg? While the average American adult drinks the equivalent of 38 six-packs of beer, a dozen bottles of wine and two quarts of distilled spirits per year, 39 other nations outdrink us...the list is topped by Luxembourg, where residents manage to ingest roughly 284 bottles of beer and 88 bottles of wine annually.

On People Aren't Wiied Out Yet: Unable to keep up with consumer demand for the Wii this holiday season, Nintendo could be losing approximately $1 billion in potential sales, according to analysts.

Barbie's outfits has always seemed a little too racy for comfort but who would have thought that Mattel would propagate this stereotype through their Barbie Collector dolls - "designed to be appreciated by adults, not kids." The Lingerie Barbies, for example, wear items described as "heavenly bustier with pink peek-a-boo peignoir". And just so kids don't accidentally see the outfits while exploring the Barbie website, the doll's picture is confined to head and shoulders. Read more here.