I’ve got a can of this stuff on the shelf in my utility room, and I’ll bet you do, too. The first story about this stuff came from Reuters News Service. Before I tell you what the stuff is, let me tell you about an "application" discovered by the British police in Bristol, England.

One of the major drug problems in Bristol is druggies snorting cocaine lines from the top of toilet tanks. They go into the bathroom — some call it the "loo" — and snort cocaine.

Bar owners discussed the problem until one enterprising owner said he’d figured out how to eliminate cocaine snorting at his bar. Startled, the other bar owners turned to him with looks of anticipation.

"I just spray the toilet seats and flat surfaces with WD-40," said the bar keeper.

Imagine the startled reaction of the other barmen, "WD-40?" they questioned, almost in unison.

Next, a delegation of barmen went to the Bobbies in Bristol and explained the discovery. It took a bit of convincing, but after a demonstration, Bristol, England, discovered the 2001st use for WD-40.

This super lubricant does many things: it loosens rusted screws and nuts, lubricates bicycle chains, eases stiff locks, helps remove bumper stickers — there’s virtually no end to the uses.

But in the case of cocaine, when the drug is dusted onto a surface that’s been sprayed with WD-40, a chemical reaction takes place. "The drug congeals and the cocaine becomes useless," says a British cop.

The new use for the spray lubricant took the makers of WD-40 by surprise in San Diego, CA. "It’s not meant to be ingested," said a company spokesman. "It says so clearly on the can, so we wouldn’t advocate it for that purpose — but people will use it how they will."

In spite of the corporate disclaimer, police and bar owners in the town of Bristol have seriously reduced the incidence of cocaine snorting in public places.

As Martha Stewart would say, "And that’s a good thing!"