When I log in to my e-mail every morning, I know most of what pops up on my screen will become a victim of the delete key.
But every once in a while, a message comes along that is just too good to trash. Often these tidbits aren't worth full-blown stories. They usually cite some survey or study that you can't imagine anyone conducting, so I save them for a rainy day.
This is that day.
To start with, did you know that the average person spends more than 32 full days every year inside his car? Horrifying, isn't it?
Fortunately for all of us, Auto Expressions is on the case. In a recent press release, the company — which calls itself the "industry leader in car air fresheners" — said it produces 400 different types of fresheners with 40 unique scents.
Auto Expressions says more than 46 million vehicles on the road today have air fresheners, and producing those little sheets of stinky cardboard has become a $228 million industry.
"Today, air fresheners are as high-tech as many electronic devices and come in an endless array of scents, designs, materials and state-of-the-art delivery systems," the release said.
Yeah. OK.
All I know is my oldest daughter, Emma, recently convinced us to buy a freshener that smells like apples for our minivan. The scent is fine, but every time I opened the van for the first few days after we got it, I was convinced one of my kids had left a half-eaten apple somewhere in the vehicle.
At least Emma is in line with her demographic. Auto Expressions says citrus and fruit scents are the most popular with younger people. The overall favorite is vanilla, and the hottest licensed images for fresheners are SpongeBob SquarePants and Hello Kitty.
Apparently lots of people want smelly cartoon characters in their car. Who knew?
Much less surprising is the press release I received from Intrigue Learning Services, which makes Web-based software to increase computer safety and decrease computer stress.
The latter is a serious problem, say the folks at Intrigue Learning, citing a recent survey conducted in England by Compaq and Mori that found that 70 percent of those polled admitted to "shouting, swearing, kicking, hitting or otherwise being violent toward their computer when problems occur.
"It's no wonder, then, that computers were also declared the most frustrating household appliance by 55 percent of respondents in a 2003 University of California poll."
I can't believe only 70 percent of people admitted to hurling verbal abuse at their computers. The other 30 percent must be liars. I think all computer users at least groan in frustration and call their machines "stupid" at some point. I've never kicked my machine, but it's been a pleasurable thought at times, along with just chucking the dumb thing out my sixth-floor window.
And speaking of things that annoy people, let's talk cell phones — specifically, cell phones in the hands of teenagers.
According to a recent Coinstar Teen Poll, 29 percent of young people have their own cell phones. Again, I thought that percentage would be higher, because I have walked through a shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon.
Anyway, of these talking teens, 46 percent said they had no idea how many monthly evening/weekend minutes they had available, and 36 percent said they had no idea how many daytime minutes they were allowed each month.
Combine that with only 25 percent of teens saying they pay their monthly cell phone expenses, and you can see why I am not looking forward to having three teenage daughters.
Oh, well. At least if I get frustrated with the huge cell-phone bills that are undoubtedly in my future, I can join the crowd and take out my frustrations on my computer.
If that doesn't work, I'll escape into the sweet-smelling confines of my car. Mmmmm, apples.
Back to answering your financial questions next week. If you have one, please send it to me by e-mail at gkratz@desnews.com or by regular mail to the Deseret Morning News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.
E-mail: gkratz@desnews.com