This idea is so smart and easy, I think a parent must have come up with it. Florida gives inmates playing cards. (Are they part of a kit that includes a harmonica and a picture of woman to cry over? Gawd, I've been watching too many old movies.) Anyhow, the decks aren't just everyday playing cards--they highlight 104 unsolved cases, with details about crimes and so on. Okay, so last week some of the inmates were playing Go Fish (Really? "Do you have any stabbing victims?" "Go fish.") and one of the guys paid attention to the card that had info about the 2004 murder of James Foote. He gave authorities a tip that resulted in the arrest of Derrick L. Hamilton for the crime. See how teaching your kids to play simple card games now could someday help them win earlier parole.

I think this idea could be applicable for parents. Make up a deck with some key unsolved mysteries of the house, like who left the refrigerator door open all day, and which sibling beheaded Elmo, and who ate the entire box of Newman-O chocolate cookies in one sitting? Let the kids play Texas Hold 'Em or Go Fish and wait for the tips to come pouring in. Now that's crime fighting.