A Pearle Vision Center survey found that 80 percent of those responding chose glasses over contacts. However, Pearle officials expect the number of contact lens wearers to double in 3 to 5 years.
The survey showed that 70 percent of contact lens wearers are between the ages of 18 and 45. Women account for 70 percent of contact lens wearers. Most people choose contact lenses for reasons of appearance, and the most popular tints for contacts are blue and aqua.
DANCE FEVER
There`s a new kind of Saturday night fever sweeping Haverhill, Mass. On the second Saturday of each month the Cedardale Health Club installs 100 tables with tablecloths and candles, hires a six-piece band and opens the spa for ballroom dancing. The experiment has proved a moneymaker. On an average night 350 to 400 people show up, generating $1,400 in ticket sales and $600 in liquor purchases made from a bar set up in the gym. About half the money is profit.
However, the crowd is not filled with lithe young women in leotards dancing the tango. Joe Saldi, who heads the health club`s ballroom dancing program, says that three-quarters of those attending aren`t even health club members. They are outsiders who pay $5 to strut their stuff, and most of them are in their 50s and 60s.
These folks haven`t joined the club in droves, but, Saldi says, ”They have family and friends. They`re bound to tell other people about what we have here.”
POISON PLANTS
The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association reports that each year emergency rooms treat more than 100,000 children who have swallowed poison. As many as 13 percent of those poisonings occur in unfamiliar surroundings, such as friends` or grandparents` houses.
According to the medical journal, more than 250,000 household products potentially are harmful if swallowed. Included in this group are cleaners, perfumes and house plants. Beware of daffodils, hyacinths, poinsettias, dieffenbachias, mistletoe, lilies of the valley, irises, philodendrons, rhododendrons, azaleas and narcissus.
The medical journal reminds that children never should be left alone in an area where potentially poisonous products are open and being used; one study found that three-fourths of accidental poisonings occurred in those circumstances.
Most drugs and chemicals produce noticeable effects within four hours. Signs of poisoning include drowsiness, sluggishness and vomiting.
SPINOFFS
Nearly 20 TV serials either in production or in the planning stage were spun off from motion pictures, Variety magazine says. ”Nothing in Common,”
”Peggy Sue Got Married” and ”Down and Out in Beverly Hills” are three of the latest.
