Pepperoni, Extra Cheese And A Survey

Mon., Feb. 8, 1999

Darcy Camden Lewis & Clark

Consider yourself warned. The next time you order a pizza, you may be the subject of a random survey.

Every year, the Dominos national pizza chain questions its delivery people on all sorts of interesting subjects and then releases the results. Did you know that pizza sales rose 27 percent the night “Titanic” was released on video? Or that, in 1998, women tipped 11 percent more than usual during “Ally McBeal,” and prank calls rose 44 percent during “South Park”?

And chew on this disturbing tidbit: in Washington, D.C., 67 percent of people who ordered a pizza pretending to be Linda Tripp were actually men.

* The oldest trick in the book. It’s true that most liquor vendors are not easily fooled by teenagers trying to buy alcohol without ID. So chances are, if you give a lame excuse like “my dog ate my wallet,” Mr. Booze Salesman will not hesitate to kick you out of his store.

Well, now there is a company called Century Council (www.centurycouncil.org) that compiles why-I-don’t-have-ID-excuses by teenagers and prints them on stickers and posters. The company then offers them to convenience stores, free of charge, to decorate their sales counters as an inventive way to warn all minors that they will be carded, no mercy given. Some of the more classic one-liners include: “I’m allergic to plastic, so I can’t carry it,” “My wallet fell in the casket just before it was closed,” and “I’m undercover with the FBI; we’re not allowed to carry ID.” Who do these kids think they’re fooling?

* Random Survey. We asked 58 random people, 29 guys and 29 girls, if they would jump into (yes, down inside) a Port-a-Potty for $1 million. Since I have never actually been inside one, I do not know how deep it actually is. I guess you just have to use your imagination.

A whopping 69 percent of the guys said they would, while only 38 percent of girls said they would. Most of the guys answered without even thinking about it, which says to me they will do almost anything for money.

Lee Douthit, a junior, said he’d jump in for only $200.

Enough said? I think so.

* College 411. Check out CollegeBoundNET at www.cbnet.com. This site features an interactive guide created to help this year’s college bound students embark on the admissions path.

* Useless fact: Muhammad Ali claims he has seen a UFO on seven different occasions.

* Compiled from wire reports and other interesting sources.

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