Gossip is the civilized version of grooming each other for fleas. You can stop gossip with a simple, "That's none of your business." but why would you? Somewhere in our deep past we remember when cavemen gossiped over the a recent kill, memorializing the one that didn't hold up their end of the kill. Stories begun by gossip are a significant channel of informal communication with something like 70% accuracy. The stories gathered here began life within 10 miles of Carleton Place. Linda guesses that makes them 50% accurate. Gossip-born stories, sharing standard currency of human connection, will make you smile, then you can pass them along, adding your own layers to make them even more spectacular