"You can't get there from here," goes the stereotypical Maine direction-giver. Despite such navigational challenges, should you find your way to Adams Pond in the northeasternmost state's Lincoln County, you might something worth looking for. You've heard of fighting fire with fire, but what about fighting oil spills with ping-pong balls? Such was the proposal floated before the Lincoln County commissioners, who entertained a novel pitch from Casey Stevens, County Emergency Management Agency Director. Stevens asked for a $5,000 grant to build an oil boom to control spills, a sum which includes the cost of 50,000 ping-pong balls. "We would construct an oil boom to control a spill," explained Stevens. "Since we can’t use oil, ping pong balls would be used as they float and react to wind in a similar manner." Although no photos are yet available (the above shot depicts 96 million floating "shade balls" protecting the Los Angeles Reservoir from sunshine and algal growth, another triumph of the hollow plastic sphere), we are happy to report that the commissioners approved Stevens' proposal. Who knows what other wonders remain to be discovered through novel reapplications of our familiar sport? If we can help mitigate environmental disasters with ping-pong balls, then there is no reason we cannot innovate ourselves out of war, famine, pestilence, and someday perhaps even that other horseman of the apocalypse. Maybe you can get there from here after all.

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