Tuesday, January 18, 2005

picker-upper

"However you kick it, betel is the ticket.

According to the earnest Encyclopedia Britannica, this exotic stimulant drug is chewed habitually by some 10 percent of the world's population, almost entirely in southern Asia and the Pacific. That puts it right up there with the big guys like alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. But in America, chances are, you'll be the only person on the block who's chewing."