No Trivia Left Behind

Americans' obsession with trivia knows no limits, and presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama are happy to feed the fervor.

The candidates recently shared with Entertainment Weekly the names of their favorite TV shows and superheroes, although we're a little uneasy that one show that made the list is a current cable series about a serial murderer.

Nevertheless, in honor of America's trivial obsessions with the men who would be commander-in-chief, we present a presidential pop-culture pop quiz. Match each character or show with the candidate who listed it among his favorites:

Super Heroes

1. Batman.

2. Spider Man.

Musicians

3. Linda Ronstadt.

4. John Coltrane.

5. Usher.

6. Frank Sinatra.

TV shows

7. "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

8. "Seinfeld."

9. "Dexter."

10. "M*A*S*H"

Answers: 1. Both; 2. Obama; 3. McCain; 4. Obama; 5. McCain; 6. Obama; 7. Obama; 8. McCain; 9. McCain; 10. Obama.

CAN YOU BLAME THEM?

One effect of rising food prices has been shrinking package sizes that have shoppers getting a 14-ounce can of corn for the same price that got them 16 ounces last year.

Even steeper price increases for cattle feed has farmers downsizing, too. Presenting: mini-cows.

The incredibly shrunken cattle stand about 42 inches and, at 500 to 700 pounds, weigh about half as much as full-size models. Best of all, they only eat about one-third as much, according to The Wall Street Journal, and their meat is more tender. The dairy versions, however, produce only about one-sixth as much milk as regular dairy cows.

Ken Willingham, owner of Judkens IteBte Ranch in Russellville, Mo., which has more than 30 miniature Herefords, says his little bovines are flying out of the barn. As soon as he puts them up for sale on the Internet, he tells us, "they're gone." And they're easy to raise. "If they've got grass, they'll get fat," says Willingham. His wife, Judy, adds that they're docile.

But others say the tiny cattle compensate for their size with attitude. As Texas minicow rancher Kwail Baskett told The Wall Street Journal, "They sort of have little-man syndrome, little-bull syndrome."

BUT DON'T INHALE

At last: the bright side of high gas prices: Expensive gasoline makes you lose weight!

At Washington University in St. Louis, researcher Charles Courtemanche compared 25 years of gasoline prices with obesity rates. When prices rise, people walk and bicycle more and eat out less. The result: The pounds melt away. According to a report published last year, Courtemanche estimated that a $1 rise in gas prices reduces obesity by 15 percent.

Sharpening our calculator fingers, we estimate that when gas hits $8, we should all look like greyhounds.

REPRINTED FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.

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