News In Brief

I MAY ADD A LITTLE GARLIC, TOO

Umur Sahin is a commercial baker in the port of Giresun, in northern Turkey. But not just any baker. He's famous for his baklava, the rich dessert traditionally made with chopped nuts, raisins, and butter among thin layers of flaky pastry and soaked in honey or syrup. Giresun is an ideal place for these because it produces hazlenuts in abundance. Except that Sahin doesn't make his with nuts and raisins. No, the key ingredient in his is ... anchovies. "As I see it," he says, "you can make anything with anchovies." Even cookies, which are next on his agenda.

BE GENTLE, THOUGH, OK?

Man's best friend, it's said, is his dog. Not in Alan Pinto's case. For him, it's Hammy, his pet hamster. So much so, in fact, that the Liverpool, England, resident willingly allowed garage mechanics to take his $38,000 Mercedes apart because Hammy had crawled into the engine compartment and couldn't be coaxed out. All ended happily, though, after a female hamster was introduced into the equation as a lure.

Lycos surfers this year cared most about Britney Spears

When computer users go Web surfing, statistics show they're usually looking for entertainment. Case in point: Lycos. In its year-end report, the popular Internet portal says more surfers sought information on teen pop star Britney Spears than on any other subject. Election 2000? It finished a distant 12th. In fact, the only other nonentertainment-related subjects in the top 25 were tattoos, Christmas, marijuana, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Holy Bible - in that order. Last year's leader, Pokemon, finished third. Lycos' top 10 search categories for 2000:

1. Britney Spears

2. Dragonball

3. Pokemon

4. World Wrestling Federation

5. 'N Sync

6. Pamela Anderson

7. Tattoos

8. Napster

9. Jennifer Lopez

10. Summer Olympic Games

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society