For once, I'm glad my name is Debbie

When you include the 2 different spellings, Deborah and Debra, my name was by far the most popular name for American girls in the 1950s and the 3rd most popular name in the 1960s.

Which explains why I was never the only Debbie in my class, from kindergarten through college. I always hated the fact that I had the same name as roommates, coworkers, and even an aunt and a cousin.

But a recent study in Canada showed that kids with unpopular names are more likely to become juvenile delinquents:

... regardless of race, the more unique, rare and unpopular the name is, the more likely it popped up in youth crime files ...

Lee calculated that for every 10 per cent increase in the popularity of a name, there is an associated 3.7 per cent decrease in the number of troublemaking kids with that name.

However, research also showed that the [popularity] of a juvenile's name is also associated with other factors, such as socio-economic conditions and family structure.

... juveniles with more unpopular names also tended to live in the state's more disadvantaged counties.

Time for some quickies:

• Some of the good Christians of Shreveport, LA, are on a rampage. They held a book burning and Harry Potter was among its victims. One woman said:

"As I tore the pages, I felt a generational curse of immorality and perversion breaking off my family."

The minister who led the protest explained:

"We need healing. We've got pornography, abortion, murder, violence on the rise in Shreveport ... The focus is making sure we can do everything e can for our city as ministers ...

"I am not a doom and gloom preacher, I am a truth seeker. But we are at the threshold of dark days."

I beg to differ on the doom and gloom disclaimer.

• Thelma and Louise? Two guys in Salt Lake City crashed their car into a canyon in what may have been a suicide attempt. When rescuers arrived, the men used broken glass to slash their wrists and threw blood at them.

• Let's play Jeopardy. The answer is a couch, a hard hat, commodes, a traffic sign, a Batman costume and 30 seaweed covered grocery carts. The question? What did Operation Clean Sweep find in San Diego Bay?

• The next Jeopardy answer is: Peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, sesame, tropical fruits, milk, eggs, soy and wheat. The question: What foods do some allergy activists want to ban from all schools?

• Haven't you wanted to do this sometimes? A judge in New York locked up 46 people after no one would admit whose cell phone rang rang in court.

• If you're ready for some feminist rage, read this story about the woman who was raped but wasn't allowed to use the word rape when she testified against the guy who did it.

• Read this article about a truly bizarre way to die. It involves a cobra and a condom.