July's Interesting Factoids

I have four weeks under my belt now as the Mid-Morning producer, and I have to tell you...never a dull moment in this job. Sure, it's busy as busy goes, but it's also just flat out interesting. I'm learning all kinds of stuff and Jamie has assured me that never ends.

So here are some of the things I learned on the job this month.

* Did you know you can make play dough out of dryer lint? It's true. Or so a book says. I've actually never tried it myself. Combine 3 cups dryer lint (pulled apart), 2 cups water, 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp vegetable oil in a pot. Stir continuously over low heat until the mixture is smooth and binds together. Pour it onto wax paper to cool. - Real Simple's 869 New Uses for Old Things (I kind of want to know who figured that out.)

* Did you know you had an intrauterine environment? One of the show's regular guests is a health and nutrition expert and when she was on this month, she kept talking about the lifelong impact we all have from our intrauterine environment. I looked at Jamie and said, "I think I'll stop blaming everything on my childhood and start blaming it on my intrauterine environment."

* If you ever break that little plastic keyless entry remote for your car...here's a trick I learned for reattaching it to your keychain without forking out the dough for an expensive new remote. A listener suggested buying knee high hose, slipping the remote down into the hose, pulling it tight around the remote, tying it onto the keychain and then cutting off the rest of the hose. You can still see the buttons through the hose. Love it!

* Are you familiar with the term "quackery?" A guest used it and it made me giggle, so I looked it up. A quack (which I always thought meant a crazy person) is actually "a pretender to medical skill; a charlatan and one who talks pretentiously without sound knowledge of subject discussed." Word of the day. Quackery. If you need other words to throw into daily conversation, try gustatory or plumage.

* Ever heard of Flat Daddies? I think this was my personal favorite product that I learned about this month on the show. Flat Daddy posters are for kids whose dad( or mom...there are Flat Mommies too) is deployed. The lifesize, from-the-waist-up posters can be taken with families on trips, to special occasions, or just put in the house as a bit of comfort. I loved the stories Elaine Dumler told the day she was on our show - I got a little tear in my eye! (Of course, I'm a sucker for all those coming home shows on TV.) I think this is a great and thoughtful product for kids who miss Dad or Mom during deployment. Great program!