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This just in: cell phones bad for rats

I suppose it's possible that the potential threat posed by the electro-magnetic radiation emitted by cell phones will one day be a serious health concern, but you'll have to laugh when you read this transcribed e-mail dialog between Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla. Whether you use a cell phone or not, the description of Dr. Henry Lai's elaborate experiment (designed to determine whether or not cell phones could cause long-term memory loss in rats) as well as certain choice pieces of late-'90s "digerati" trivia (coats with specially lined cell-phone pockets are hitting the market) makes this a worthwhile read for its conversation-starter value alone. Quittner and Slatalla have a keen eye for dissecting the way that digitized, multi-tasked culture is changing our lives, and their repartee makes for an interesting read. Christy Stabin

Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:35:03 -0800