Odds & Trends

POSITIVE ID To see ourselves as others see us, in Poet Robert Burns' wish, has never been literally possible, since all conventional mirrors present an image that is reversed and flattened. For the first time a mirror is available that gives a "positive" reflection: no longer, for example, will people who part their hair on the left see the part as being on the righthand side, as a regular mirror shows it. Developed over a six-year period by two former M.I.T. engineering students, George Lechter and David Eckel, it is called the Really Me mirror and retails for about $50. Some 5,000 have been sold, many to speech therapists, who use them to guide patients' mouth exercises, and to plastic surgeons, who use them in consultations to help patients understand what they can expect from operations. The marketers report that some 70% of those who see themselves positively for the first time do not like their appearance and would prefer an old-fashioned rorrim.

THIS WAY, POR FAVOR Homeowners who employ Spanish-speaking maids and gardeners no longer have to take Berlitz lessons to communicate with them. Tell a Maid and Tell a Gardener (published by Tell-a-Maid, $2.50 each), devised by Linda Wolf, a Beverly Hills language teacher, consist of detailed checklists of chores in Spanish and English, terms for household and garden utensils and multicolored pages of cutout cards with instructions in both languages, like "Take out the trash" and "Polish the silver." The books, available at supermarket and pharmacy checkout counters, have drawn fire from some Hispanic organizations that regard them as racist and demeaning, but have been defended by such groups as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Says Author Wolf: "If I can save a maid's life because she doesn't mix ammonia and bleach and die from toxic fumes, I'm doing her a favor."

BLUE AND BRITISH The British, who have not come up with a new cheese since they developed Stilton nearly three centuries ago, are now marketing a product quaintly titled Lymeswold. The first European-style blue-veined full-soft cheese ever developed in the U.K., it resembles a German variety of Brie in texture and appearance; in flavor it is somewhat like Italian dolcelatte, a milder cousin of gorgonzola. It has a white rind, costs up to $5.70 per lb., and will last as long as six weeks in the refrigerator. The cheese was developed by the Milk Marketing Board, the national dairy cooperative, and is so popular at home that no supplies have yet been made available to the colonies. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.