A Cry for Kelp Comes From Canada -- Stay Off the Seaweed While Driving

You may recall the seaweed warning to drivers that Jay Grass of Whittier noticed in Nova Scotia (see photo).

It implied that Canadian motorists were even crazier than Angelenos, requiring a notice not to drive into the ocean.

Well, Jack Dickert of Redondo Beach may have an explanation. Dickert wrote his cousin in Nova Scotia and found out that one type of seaweed is harvested in that area.

“It is used in cosmetics, ice cream and some drugs,” the cousin e-mailed him. “It is spread out to dry on the beaches.”

Now the drivers’ warning makes sense to me, though I think I’d prefer chocolate chip over seaweed ice cream.

Speaking of driving obstacles: Erv Nichols passed along a newspaper story about plans to have a road paved -- not, thank goodness, about a wayward tot (see accompanying).

Out of the blue: I’ve been thinking of hiring some assistants to help put out this column, so the ad that Merv Kopp of Thousand Oaks spotted seemed heaven-sent (see accompanying).

Everyone’s trying to get into the act ... as comic Jimmy Durante used to say. Laker fan Jack Nicholson’s near ejection from Staples Center for pestering refs was only the latest instance of a celebrity interfering with a game. Some others:

* Fashion designer Calvin Klein was led back to his seat by security guards in March after he touched the arm of Knicks player Latrell Sprewell and mumbled something while the stunned Sprewell was about to in-bound the ball at Madison Square Garden. Klein later announced he would seek treatment for a drug problem.

* Singer Jimmy Buffett (“Margaritaville”) was ejected from a Miami Heat game in 2001 for allegedly yelling profanities at officials.

* Director Spike Lee verbally sparred with Indiana Pacer star Reggie Miller in Madison Square Garden during the 1994 playoffs, and in subsequent seasons.

Unclear on the concept? With summer approaching, Janet Paulson of Santa Monica sent along an ad she cut out long ago (see accompanying). I wonder if the dubious special was offered because the store figured men weren’t experienced at buying themselves dresses.

MiscelLAny: The police log of the Canyon Life newspaper said an apartment resident in Rancho Santa Margarita complained that “a man and a woman were yelling at each other while in a hot tub.” It’s one of the great causes of discord in America -- the debate over whether the bubble jets should be turned on.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.