Trends for April 8, 2002

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, April 8, 2002 | 9:03 a.m.

Sweet success?

Spring has definitely sprung. And with it (for reasons we're not entirely certain) has come a slew of contests in need of contestants.

Stuff must be getting stale at Mrs. Fields Cookies.

The company, with 450 stores nationwide, is calling on baking junkies (who also happen to be aspiring actors and actresses) to turn over their prized, family cookie recipes for the chance to win a part on a soap opera.

If that isn't enough to make Aunt Ida turn in her grave ...

The winner of the contest, called "Winning is Sweet ... So Are the Days of Our Lives," will see their sweet treat being sold at Mrs. Fields outlets starting in October, and also will receive $1,000 along with a walk-on role on (you guessed it) NBC's long-running daytime drama "Days of Our Lives."

OK, so there is a charitable side to this sickeningly sweet contest: A percentage of the sales of the cookies will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, based in White Plains, N.Y.

Contest entry forms (due by April 30) can be found at mrsfields.com and at the cookie company's shops.

The nose knows

And now for something that downright stinks:

Odor-Eaters, makers of odor-destroying insoles, are searching for youngsters age 5 to 15 with stinky feet and their offensive footwear to participate in the company's aptly named "Rotten Sneaker Contest."

From the first batch of entries, judges will select the top-six stinkiest shoes (from photos, not the actual specimens, thankfully) in two age groups, and single out a pair of grand-prize winners (now, those winners will need to mail in their shoes), who will go "nose-to-nose" with local finalists from around the country.

Members of that group will compete next year in Montpelier, Vt., (known, apparently, as "The Rotten Sneaker Capital of the World") for a grand-prize package worth $2,500 featuring a U.S. Savings Bond, the Golden Sneaker award, a year's supply of Odor-Eaters products and the honor of having their sneakers enshrined in the Odor-Eaters Hall of Fame.

Entry forms for the contest are available at odoreaters.com, and must be completed by prospective contestants' moms and dads by Oct. 31.

Tooling around

Handymen (and women), get your tools ready.

Power-tool maker DeWALT is willing to hand over $1 million to the person it deems the "fastest screw-gun slinger" in the country.

The object of "The Million Dollar Challenge" is to drive five screws into a piece of wood as fast as possible using DeWALT's 14.4-volt cordless drill.

The company is hitting the road making stops in 50 cities nationwide conducting qualifying contests at home-repair stores, construction sites and other events. Las Vegas was visited last weekend but, if you're willing to travel, there are several other cities including Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles where "local" competitions are scheduled.

Local competition winners will land prizes and continue on to one of 16 "regional" contests, where they are eligible to win a 2003 Chevy Express van loaded with DeWALT tools. The top 16 regional winners will travel in November to the finals competition, being held at Phoenix International Raceway, to compete for the title of America's fastest screwdriver and attempt to "beat the clock" for the million dollars.

For more information about competition dates and cities, visit dewalt.com.