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	Maine Wants to Stockpile for Y2K By Declan McCullagh March 18, 1999 If Belinda Gerry has her way -- and Y2K goes terribly wrong -- the Maine government will hand each resident some 200 pounds of rice and beans next year. The state legislator proposes spending US$50 million to create a mammoth 13-million-cubic-foot food stash that would feed every Maine resident for months. After the idea was mocked this week by Maine's governor and radio talk show hosts, the legislation's supporters went on the defensive on Thursday. "They'll like rice and beans if there's nothing else to eat," said John Michael, a former state legislator and an advisor to Gerry. Where will Maine put that mountain of rice and beans? "You put it in the armory or a hangar. You put it wherever you want, really," Michael says. But the sheer enormity of such a task baffles officials. At current wholesale prices of $20 per hundred pounds, the rice and beans would fill about 5,600 tractor-trailer trucks. If dumped on a football field, the pile would stretch to 36 stories and weigh 124,000 tons. "I do not have enough vacant armory space at this time to absorb that capacity," said General Earl Adams, who oversees the Maine National Guard. The rest of this article can be found at Wired News.		FEATURES Book Reviews Y2K already has spawned its own genre. We tell you what books are worth buying. Chip 'n Little Cartoons Chip 'n Little goes on TV Chip 'n Little visits John Koskinen Chip 'n Little saves the world Warning: This cartoon has been called "foolish and tasteless." Y2K from A to Z Y2K Haiku Traditionalists may be shocked. Mad Cow Culture What does Y2K have in common with today's Mad Cow Culture? Answer: Everything. Declan McCullagh's Y2K articles Psychology of Y2K LATEST NEWS As of December 31, 1999 Get Your T-Shirt Quick Bill Gates Does Y2K Reader Feedback A Sarcastic Calendar Cooking After the Apocalypse A Real Y2K Disaster Hitchhiker's Guide Meets Y2K