Donating Yarn Will Knock Their Socks Off
(From For the Record, November 21, 2000:) Address wrong: The address for the Rainbow Socks program is 621 Temple Road, Wilton, ME 04294. The address in Sunday’s IN Life section was incorrect.
Six years ago, women in the U.S. who were concerned about refugee women in the former Yugoslavia started a program called Rainbow Socks.
The program provided donated yarn to the refugee women, who knitted socks, mittens and other marketable products. The knitted items are sold abroad through a mail-order catalog. The refugee women use the profits from their knitting for food and housing for their families.
The Rainbow Socks program still needs yarn. Those interested in donating, or buying the socks, mittens or rugs, can get details from the project managers, Babbie and Stu Cameron, Rainbow Socks, 621 Temple Road, Wilton, MA 04294; call (207) 779-1798 or e-mail rainbowsox@ctel.net. (From October/November Ms.)
* Men, listen up: If you guys needed a reason to exercise, this may be it. Exercisers are less likely to become impotent, according to a study by New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Mass.
Compared with men who did not exercise, men who burned 200 calories or more a day in physical activity, a level that can be met with as little as two miles of brisk walking, had far less risk of erectile dysfunction.
“If you do at least that, you can reduce your risk by half,” said researcher Carol A. Derby. Not surprisingly, she said, “men who were sedentary had the highest risk.” (From the Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Fast fact: There are only 5 percent more men than women playing college basketball, but the men get 37 percent more funding. (From October/November Ms.)
* Getting married? Whether you’re planning to tie the knot or already have, check out the articles, resources and quizzes on a new Web site, www.equalityinmarriage.org. The site is maintained by the Institute for Equality in Marriage.
Just a sample of a quiz on the site that measures your knowledge:
Q. What do the states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin have in common?
A. The community property laws in these states start by dividing marital assets on a 50-50 basis before tailoring the division to individual cases. All others have “equitable division” laws in which the judge decides what is “equitable,” which isn’t necessarily what is “equal.”
* Plan your strategy: With flu and holiday seasons approaching, hospital emergency rooms can be jammed this time of year.
A couple of ER doctors offered a few tips for a smoother ER experience, should you need one:
—Time your visit for between 2 and 6 a.m., the slowest period in most ERs. (Use your best judgment in ignoring this advice.)
—Phone ahead. Most ERs will tell you if they are slammed and you can call around and see if another hospital is less busy.
—Don’t be a jerk. Yes, you’re in pain. Yes, you may be bleeding. But doctors are human, too, and they respond to nice people. Says one top ER doc: “You don’t have to be cheerful. Just be neutral. Neutral is great.” (From December Men’s Journal)