Tylenol

It's not that they live in a cave or anything like that. It's just that they don't know any better. So they go through life slurping their soup, picking their teeth, and chewing with their mouths open. Sometimes these uninformed souls lose out on a job, maybe a promotion, because no one took the time when they were young'uns to teach them table manners. And with holiday entertaining and dinner parties just around the corner, a heap of folks are going to show their lack of "social grace" around the table.

The mother of an 8-year-old girl found dead in a bathtub in a North Wilmington apartment recounted what she'd done after discovering the body: She wrote farewell letters to her family, mailed a few bill payments - then attempted suicide by swallowing the contents of a bottle of Tylenol. Dawn Lee, 34, who remains under arrest in New York on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, insisted that Destiny Lee had drowned accidentally on Dec. 8. Delaware officials say an autopsy proved inconclusive, and they are awaiting the results of tests, including toxicology, to determine the cause of death.

When consumer research revealed just how often people would leave home forgetting to turn off the iron, Sunbeam Corp. responded by introducing an automatic shut-off iron. After seven people died from cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in 1982, Johnson & Johnson conducted exhaustive public opinion surveys to see if it could regain people's trust. The answer was yes, and the solution included having the company chairman speak publicly about the incident, and introducing tamper-proof containers.

AN ANNUAL TOURNEY AT THE PALESTRA WOULD BE A NET GAIN FOR ALL The athletic directors of the Big Five schools would do well to begin an annual tournament at the Palestra so some of the fervor can be put back into this tradition. It also could provide an economic boon to the city. As a Temple and La Salle graduate who recently moved out of Philadelphia, it would be exciting to visit the city for a basketball tournament. It could be a good way to start each college basketball season in Philadelphia.

Dr. John J. Spikes Sr., 67, of Doylestown Township, a recently retired forensic toxicologist who helped investigate several 1982 deaths from tainted medicine, died Saturday at Abington Memorial Hospital. From 1985 until last month, he worked for National Medical Services Inc. in Willow Grove as a forensic toxicologist and acted as an expert witness in civil and criminal cases. In 1982, Dr. Spikes was Illinois' chief toxicologist and a member of the 105-member task force that investigated the tainting of Tylenol tablets that led to several deaths in the Chicago area.

In the television ad, singer-actress Julie Andrews told of a "new" line of products to ease arthritis pain. But the attorneys general of Pennsylvania and 18 other states saw nothing new about them. The medicines, they said, were repackaged versions of well-known ingredients - aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen - labeled with the name of a prominent patient-advocacy group. Yesterday, the states announced a settlement of nearly $2 million in a deceptive-marketing case brought against McNeil Consumer Products Co., of Fort Washington, and the Arthritis Foundation, an Atlanta nonprofit organization, for marketing the painkillers.

At 10:24 p.m., Dr. Brian McDonough, his white shirt still crisp and his blue eyes still sparkling, was going strong more than 16 hours after he'd pulled out of his Chadds Ford driveway. The medical reporter for Channel 29's "The Ten O'Clock News," McDonough was finishing up his story on the air last week on the overuse of Tylenol and risk of liver damage. He reminded viewers that the safest approach was to follow package directions. "OK, Brian. Good advice," WTXF-TV anchor Tracey Matisak said, moving on to another story.

Area doctors are reporting an increase in hand-foot-and-mouth disease, a viral infection characterized by small blisters in those parts of the body. The disease, which is not considered dangerous, strikes hundreds of Philadelphia area children every summer. Some pediatricians say they have been seeing two or three cases a day. "It's the equivalent of the common cold but not as irritating," said Margaret Fisher, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.

Scott Hoch won the Tylenol Kids Classic for the third consecutive year. But no one knows whether he'll get a chance to win a fourth. Hoch yesterday shot a 5-under-par 67 to finish with a 9-under 135 total and a three-stroke victory in the two-day tournament at White Manor Country Club in Malvern. After accepting his $50,000 winner's check, Hoch surprised a few people by saying he hoped to defend his title again next year, even though the current sponsor was pulling out. Kevin Scanlon, the tournament's executive director, later confirmed that McNeil Consumer Products and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Corp.

Scott Hoch was the big story as the sixth annual Tylenol Kids Classic Pro- Am golf tournament opened at White Manor Country Club in Malvern. But he wasn't the only story. Hoch, who won the event the past two years, yesterday birdied five of the last nine holes to finish with a 4-under-par 68 after one round. As the tournament winds down today, Hoch will have a slew of competitors chasing him, including: Chris Perry, son of Jim Perry and nephew of Gaylord Perry, both former major league pitchers, whose 69 included five birdies.