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“You break it, you bought it.” That’s a sign displayed in some stores that feature fragile merchandise. “You reap what you sow,” meanwhile, is an old proverb that means “you eventually have to face up to the consequences of your actions.” You take your blue-collar beer brand and do an advertising tie-in with a flamboyant transgender star, and your sales fall through the floor. That’s not a saying -- that’s what happened to Bud Light.Harvard University is finding out the hard way that actions (and inactions) have consequences as early admissions applications plummeted 17 percent this autumn in the wake...

Lux Interior, lead singer of influential garage-punk act the Cramps, died Wednesday morning (February 4) due to an existing heart condition, according to a statement from the band's publicist. He was 62. Born Erick Lee Purkhiser, Interior started the Cramps in 1972 with guitarist Poison Ivy (born Kristy Wallace, later his wife) — whom, as legend has it, he picked up as a hitchhiker in California. By 1975, they had moved to New York, where they became an integral part of the burgeoning punk scene surrounding CBGBs. Their music differed from most of the scene's other acts in that it...

As some of you know, I recently purchased a small cabin. There is a path leading from the back door to a small pond a few hundred yards away. Walking this path yesterday, I was able to identify poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac and Virgnia creeper on either side of the path just waiting for some hapless soul like me to brush against them. Just typing this is causing me to break out in a rash...that's how allergic I am. I would welcome any horror stories from Freepers about their encounters with the aforementioned plants and advice about any...

I have a question for those of you who enjoy gardening. I have a very good friend who has a yard full of this vine. We thought it was a form of poison-ivy because whenever we touch it, we get a rash. We have researched quite a bit and discovered it's not poison-ivy, but peppervine. Has anyone else ever run into this? I have found a couple of gardening forums that have some anecdotal evidence of the rash, but nothing factual. We have found it is very prolific and next to impossible to eradicate. Thanks all for your help.

WASHINGTON - Another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy. The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, researchers report Monday...

Poison Ivy Basics Poison ivy is a red, itchy rash caused by the plant that bears its name. Many people get it when they are hiking or working in their garden and accidentally come into direct contact with the plant's leaves, roots, or stems. The poison ivy rash often looks like red lines, and sometimes it forms blisters. The culprit behind the rash is a chemical in the sap of poison ivy plants called urushiol (oo-roo-shee-ohl). Its name comes from the Japanese word "urushi," meaning lacquer. Urushiol is the same substance that triggers an allergic reaction when people touch...