The National Debt At $39.95:

Masochists may sometimes feel left out at Christmas, but not this year. For just $39.95 they can receive a handy miniature (5-in. length, 2-in. diameter) calculator that displays the time, the date and, at the push of a button, an up-to-the-second tally of the national debt (programmed to rise by $8,000 a second from a base of $2.35 trillion on Oct. 1, 1987). Says inventor Warren Dennis, a Pasadena, Calif., tinkerer and punster: “Maybe when people see the national debt like this, right in front of them, they’ll take an interest in the issue.” He promises to donate $1 from each sale of the toy, named Debtman, to a fund to reduce the debt.