hit the fan now.” That phrase, incidentally, did not come into the language until after there was electricity. People say that they are not referring to a lovely Japanese lithograph showing a kimono-clad woman whose long shiny black hair is twisted up into a bun, and who is coquettishly providing her own personal breeze with a colorful rice-paper fan. Then sp/at/-right in her porcelain-like face. So, no, it has to be an electric fan, which revolves so fast it protects you from the shit—or spreads it, depending which side you’ re on—or what’ sa fan fo/? Meanwhile, even as all that shit is hitting all those fans, the laxative industry continues to blossom. New brand names are constantly competing in the open marketplace. Ex-Lax has even come out with a “milder” version for women—certainly an indication of rampant male chauvinism in their Research & Development section. What’ s_ the implication of this trend? Do females have different digestive systems than males? Is it perfectly acceptable for macho men to have chocolate-covered sandpaper coursing through their intestinal tracts? And yet credit must also be given to those friendly folks at Ex-Lax. They were the very first sponsor on television to include a sign-language translation of a commercial—a long-overdue service for the constipated hearing-impaired. Indeed, this had been an early demand of the Deaf HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015176