Zeno's Bar & Grill

No joke: this is a real product. You spray it on an envelope and it makes it translucent so you can see what's inside. Then, gradually the envelope returns to normal so your unsuspecting victim remains...uh, unsuspecting.

How, you might ask, did I ever happen to run across this? It's a long story, but I actually subscribe to a P.I. e-mail newsletter. All in the name of writing research, of course. It's truly fascinating. But hmmm, maybe this is what you'd call a crossover product. I could see it becoming handy as the kids got to be teenagers, but who really gets paper mail anymore?

What I'd really need is something that worked on electronic devices. Along those lines, I read today that MySpace is now developing software that lets parents track their kids' online profiles (but not page content). It makes you long for the good old days when X-ray Spray would actually have been useful.

--Melanie