The Fascinating Forties

The December TV guide arrived yesterday. It features an advertisement for a book called Grandma's 1001 Uses For Baking Soda and Vinegar, which is a fairly self-explanatory title, I feel. The advertisement tries hard to build a bit of mystery, though. It says:

You'll discover:

• How to kill small tree stumps with these simple ingredients.


• What will help with an upset tummy? Turn to page 27 to find out.


• To help soothe bee stings, insect bites and sunburn, make a paste from these ingredients to give you instant pain relief.


• Cockroaches! Use these two common kitchen ingredients, which are chemical free* and safe to have in your home, to rid you from these nasty and dirty pests.


• An unusual way to get rid of warts!


• Fun ideas for kids to keep them occupied.

Why so coy, advertisement? I'm fairly sure the answer to all those points is baking soda and vinegar. It's in the name of the book.

A few pages on, there's an advertisement for a figurine of Princess Diana that is "a radiant 23cm tall". Can height be radiant? I don't think so.



* No, they're not, book. Everything's chemicals.