Plastic

A human brain sits in a jar on the desk of Robert W. Flesher, president of Apogee Designs Ltd."It's almost a test," Mr. Flesher said about people's reaction to the floating mass of gray matter in his unassuming office. "I can tell whether you are a little more open."The brain as a paperweight is symbolic of the unconventional, laid-back attitude at 14-year-old Apogee, which designs and makes a variety of plastic items ranging from trash can lids to cutting-edge biotechnology equipment.But Apogee's real products are ideas and solutions.

I ran to the grocery store yesterday to find a cleaner for my dirty keypads. I asked the cashiers what they used, and two responded, "Alcohol." A man standing in line agreed. He said he once repaired typewriters and used it. All said to dampen cotton swabs in alcohol (don't soak them). Nothing should leak down. It worked. Cost: 81 cents.I disagree with the advice you got at the cash register. Because keyboards are made of plastic -- and often pretty cheesy plastic at that -- most experts warn against using alcohol, because it tends to pit the surface of keys and may eventually remove the letters for those who get fanatical about cleanliness.

Every day, I thank my lucky stars for the luxurious modern conveniences I enjoy that my parents never had: disposable baby wipes, cell phones, drive-through coffee shops, salad in a bag and curiously strong breath mints. But every once in a while, I am reminded of that old French phrase: Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Roughly translated, this means: "You will never find a plastic top that fits the container you choose to store leftovers in." My mother used to have Tupperware, and I remember it being a challenge when I was a child to find the matching top for a given container.

Letters, calls and the roar of the crowd:David Callahan, Baltimore: As an actor and former newspaper reporter, I was disappointed with Roger Simon's hackneyed argument against the National Endowment for the Arts.The television is always there for those who desire codified and "sound-bited" coverage of the NEA.I have trusted newspapers for a more thought-provoking and unbiased analysis and was therefore wearied to see the tired "crucifix in urine" photograph resurrected as the linchpin argument against NEA funding.

They didn't exactly appear comfortable. In fact, they looked like a nasty tumble waiting to happen. They were the Tupperware-inspired ballerina shoes worn at designer Cynthia Rowley's recent runway show during Fashion Week in New York. Uncomfortable? Dangerous? The same words could be used to describe Manolo Blahnik's stilettos and Jimmy Choo's skyscraper sandals. But what made Rowley's shoes so nifty, despite their appearance, was her unusual collaboration with Tupperware, not exactly a company one associates with designer chic.

On a quiet, wooded street of well-kept homes, Erin Alban's front yard is a sight to behold - but for all the wrong reasons, her Howard County neighbors said. Stuffed animals and signs, some with religious slogans, cover virtually the entire yard, the house and the carport. Used-car-lot-style pennants run between trees. Plastic reindeer. Smiley faces painted on the driveway. Lampshades tied to bushes. And, protruding from what had been the mailbox support, a bent plastic middle finger.

Anne Arundel County is expanding its recycling program to include several more plastics, papers and metals, as part of a larger effort to encourage residents to recycle half of what they dispose. Among the items now eligible for curbside recycling service are: plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic plates and plastic utensils, paper milk and juice cartons, and aluminum foil and pans. "There's no additional cost," said Richard Bowen, the solid waste recycling manager for Anne Arundel's Department of Public Works.

Carolyn Bodzin, a business owner and mother of three in Golden Beach, Fla., felt she had to do something about her crowded teeth. But she didn't want a mouthful of metal. So she turned to plastic - thin, clear molds that cover all of her teeth but can be taken out for eating and drinking. The molds are realigning her teeth without the discomfort and embarrassment of braces. "It seemed so easy and painless, I decided to do it," Bodzin says. From teens to sixtysomethings, people are trying the new, nearly invisible, technology that is attracting an increasing number of once reluctant folks into dental chairs.

POPLAR ISLAND - On the wettest March day since 1871, with winds howling at 35 knots, Jason Miller is decorating a sodden mound of dirt with plastic decoys. He pounds a metal stake into glop that just days ago was beneath the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and attaches a $20 plastic snowy egret to it. He repeats this process 35 times. If nature follows the script, real egrets will join the plastic colony, looking to carve out a small slice of prime waterfront real estate to build a nest and a family.

There is a roaring battle these days over whether a chemical called Bisphenol A is dangerous to humans. The chemical is ubiquitous - used to harden plastic in consumer products including baby bottles, food containers, cling wrap, toys, CDs, sunglasses, and thousands of other products. A number of independent researchers say tests on animals and other research indicates that Bisphenol A can be toxic at very low doses. But a review committee created by the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program has yet to find significant danger from the drug.