Alison Emblidge Fromme | Washington State Magazine

Spring 2005

Just Buy It! Ty Bennett capitalizes on your impulse

A shopper in the ice cream aisle pulls out a tub of mint chocolate chip and hesitates as she notices ice cream scoops hanging from a display on the freezer door. Ah ha, she thinks, it would be nice to have a real scoop instead of always using a spoon. Into the cart goes a scoop, along with the ice cream.

Shoppers don’t mind spending a few extra dollars on items that aren’t on the list, and that’s what Ty Bennett, 1995 Washington State University alumnus and pioneer in the impulse buying business, counts on.

“We didn’t invent [impulse buying]. We just reinvented it,” says … » More …

Spring 2005

New Zealand mud snails: A tiny gastropod is a major problem here—not there

They have already invaded the Snake River, Yellowstone National Park, and lots of other sites. They can reach population densities greater than 300,000 per square meter, carpeting stream beds and changing the way nutrients cycle through the ecosystem. It was a little difficult, though, to explain all of this to the gentleman who wanted to confiscate my snails. » More ...