gloves are >best as the latex is hard to remove and itchy to some. It also destroyed our >dissection scalpels, they latex won't wash off with soap and water, one needs >nasty stuff like acetone to get it off the blades, but then the plastic >handles are weakened. So this year I am going to use a large knife to quarter the >fruits, and plastic disposable knives for the students to pick out the seeds. > Ernie: Try mineral oil (or peanut butter, but that might prove problematic in your school setting) to remove the sticky substance from the scalpels. Old fashioned "orange sticks", used to manipulate cuticles during a manicure, were made from osage orange wood. Cheers, Mark Mazer Hertfor4d, North Carolina, USA