Columnist Susan Snyder: Explosive recipe lowers the boom

Friday, April 2, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at snyder@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4082.

Beware exploding dinner rolls.

Five people reported suffering minor burns after following a recipe for icebox dinner rolls published in April editions of Southern Living magazine, the Associated Press has reported.

The recipe as printed called for boiling a cup of water and half a cup of shortening over high heat for five minutes.

Wincing already, aren't you?

Evidently, melted shortening floats and traps hot water below until it explodes. (I'm inclined to trust the AP on this one. Do not try this at home.)

The recipe should have called for pouring boiling water over the shortening to melt it. Southern Living has recalled the magazine from newsstands and sent subscribers corrected recipe cards.

It seems most American are satisfied with the position of women in the United States, according to results of the Gallup Tuesday Briefing poll released, well, on Tuesday, of course.

The data, gathered in January, shows 68 percent of us are satisfied with women's lot in American life. It's a decline from January 2003 when 75 percent of those polled said they were satisfied.

The poll surveyed Americans' satisfaction in 21 different areas. The position of women was third highest. The nation's security from terrorism received the second-highest satisfaction rate with 70 percent, and 81 percent of Americans said they were satisfied with the United States' military strength and preparedness.

When the poll was taken, 70 percent of men said they were satisfied with women's position in American society.

The other 30 percent are stuck in kitchens across the country making exploding dinner rolls.

Move over, Oscar Mayer Wienermobile: A hot new vehicle is making the rounds and stealing headlines this spring.

The PantsOnFire-mobile, depicting a 12-foot-high likeness of President Bush with his britches aflame, is set to cruise into Las Vegas this month. (Think, "Liar, liar ...")

The mobile political spoof was built with donations from members of True Majority, an Internet-based activist group created by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. True Majority is based on the principle that millions of residents agree on the same issues but lack the time to take action.

The group operates on 10 principles that include attacking hunger and poverty, taking the money out of politics and advancing renewable forms of energy.

The PantsOnfire-mobile is actually a 1997 Crown Victoria that pulls the Bush likeness on a trailer. It is driven by local volunteers. Look for it in Las Vegas from April 27 to May 8.

Or look for it on the Internet, www.pantsonfire.net.

Last, a 15-year-old California high school student is trying to collect and distribute 1 million thank-you letters to current and past U.S. military service members.

Shauna Fleming has enlisted her classmates at Lutheran High School of Orange County in Orange, Calif., to help sort and re-package the mail for distribution at military bases, veterans hospitals and other military groups.

For information on where and how to send a letter, log onto www.amillionthanks.org.