Chicago Tribune

Pop quiz: How often should you floss?

If you think twice a week sounds about right, you’re like most Americans surveyed in the American Dental Association’s first oral health quiz. And you’d be wrong, as they were, about that and many other dental basics, netting them the lowly grade of “D” on the quiz.

“We’re hoping that this sets the low bar,” said Dr.

Do you have any idea what happened on that hotel bed before you walked into the room? You don’t want to know. Neither do I, which is why, first thing when arriving in a new hotel room, I usually toss the bedspread in the closet.

It seems I’m not alone. For years, surveys showed that hotel guests most value customer service, cleanliness and maintenance — in that order, said Ron Pohl, Best Western’s senior vice president of brand management. Two years ago there was a subtle but significant shift: Cleanliness leapt to the top of the list.

“Beyond seeing stains and dirt, people were comfortable,” Pohl said. “Today it’s not what they see that they’re concerned about; it’s what they don’t see.”

CHICAGO - A fire chief’s demonstration of the dangers of fireworks became a teachable moment Tuesday morning when a canister tipped over and shot fireworks into a crowd, injuring a director of a fire safety group.

Almost nothing bad is left to be said about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's tenure at the buyout firm Bain Capital. His Republican primary opponents already said it earlier this year. The private-equity business, according to Newt Gingrich, is filled with "rich people figuring out clever, legal ways to loot a company." According to Rick Perry, its practitioners "take companies apart so they can make profits and have people lose their jobs."

President Barack Obama subsequently launched Bain-driven attack ads against Romney, no doubt with more to come.

Buzz Bissinger's new book is a physical and metaphorical journey.

"Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind & Heart of My Extraordinary Son" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is Bissinger's account of a 12-day, 3,600-mile cross-country drive he took in 2007 with his then-24-year-old son Zach.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Here's the scope of the Ryder Cup: It's more than three months away, and U.S. captain Davis Love III hears a comment about it on virtually every hole he plays.

On Saturday at the U.S. Open, he was paired with Rod Pampling. He's Australian.

SAN FRANCISCO - It seems so obvious now.

How could anyone have opposed allowing Casey Martin to use a cart? Why was he forced to sue the PGA Tour in order to pursue his dream of playing professional golf? Has anyone ever paid to watch Tiger Woods walk?