Etc...

So you just pull this pin ...

It's probably good that young Piotr Ernst doesn't live in one of those American communities where educators operate under a "zero tolerance" policy and a mere butter knife can bring a suspension. As it was, his actions caused the police to rush to the school he attends in Trzebnik, Poland, and order it evacuated. A lengthy interrogation of his father, Fryderyk Ernst, then followed. So did the youngster take a live hand grenade to class one day? As a matter of fact, he did. It seems the students were assigned to bring "something interesting" from home for a "show and tell" session. Piotr considered the possibilities and decided that a piece of World War II memorabilia from dad's collection would be perfect. But wait. Since he's only 9, doesn't that make his father too young to have been in the war? Yes. But his hobby is searching a woods near his home with a metal detector.

Anyone who has ever received junk e-mail (and who hasn't?) is familiar with the tantalizing come-ons inserted in the subject field. Many of them give a hint of get-rich-quick schemes. Others appeal to the reader's sympathies. Or they simply try to tap into his or her basic curiosity. A sampling of subject lines found in spam received by Monitor staffers in recent months:
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