NEW YORK (NYT) — Jails everywhere have long tried to make successful escape harder by dressing inmates in clothes that no one could mistake for ordinary civilian garb. In chain-gang and Keystone Kops days, broad black and white stripes were most common; today the standard is head-to-toe fluorescent orange. The effectiveness of that tactic is being simultaneously proved and eroded by two stores in Jonesboro, Ark., that have begun selling close copies of Craighead County inmates’ clothing to fashion-forward teen-agers. The outfits are even stenciled with phrases like “County Inmate” and “Correctional Facility In the weeks since the outfits began to catch on, the police in Jonesboro have been receiving calls about escaped prisoners roaming the city. They even searched a neighborhood for an “inmate” seen jumping a fence. “Apparently, the person was wearing one of the shirts sold at the mall,” Eric Erwin, a county deputy, told The Associated Press. A jail headcount confirmed that no one was missing. “We wasted about 30 minutes,” he said.

He warned that wearing the look-alike clothing was unwise, and not just because it was less durable than the real thing. “It might be the `in’ thing to do,” he said, “but it’s not a good `in’ thing.”

Orange clothing once led New Jersey prison guards to mistake Department of Environmental Protection scientists for escaped inmates. Shots were fired, but no one was hurt. The orange slickers the scientists wore when gathering water samples in marshes, as they were doing that day near the prison, were meant to reduce the chances of being accidentally shot by hunters.  Mouseketeers, get ready for liftoff!

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Walt Disney World has announced plans to build a multimillion-dollar ride that simulates a liftoff into space. The Mission: SPACE ride is scheduled to open at Epcot in 2003. The ride will be in a new Epcot Future World facility next to the Test Track ride. Details on the ride are still sketchy, but it will have visitors traveling to an international space training center where they will simulate challenges real astronauts face.

Former NASA astronauts and scientists, including shuttle astronaut Story Musgrave, are serving as consultants for the ride. Compaq is sponsoring the ride as part of a 10-year corporate alliance with Disney. “Epcot is the perfect setting, continuing the park’s dedication to the explorer in all of us with its unique attractions that inspire us to discover new worlds,” said Walt Disney World president Al Weiss.

Not really a stretch

NEW YORK (NYT) — The ease with which dot-coms and biotechnology start-ups attract attention from investors and the media must be frustrating to many an old-economy eager beaver. How else to account for a news release with this headline: “Niche-Product Slipcovers Grew Like High-Techs During 1999.” To be fair, the issuer, Sure Fit, which says it is the leader in ready-made slipcovers, did post 40 percent revenue growth last year.

Memories, like the corners of my mind

NEW YORK (AP) — Today is the 116th day of 2000. There are 250 days left in the year. Here are some business and legal highlights from this day in history:

In 1792, highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person under French law to be executed by the guillotine.

In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

In 1874, radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy.

In 1898, the United States formally declared war on Spain.

In 1901, New York became the first state to require automobile license plates; the fee was one dollar.

In 1945, delegates from some 50 countries met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.

In 1983, the Pioneer 10 spacecraft crossed Pluto’s orbit, speeding on its endless voyage through the Milky Way.

Adapting to the e-conomy

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Sign painter Clark Byers recently came out of retirement to put a 21st-century spin on an American icon, painting “See www.seerockcity.com” on a barn at the base of Lookout Mountain.

For 70 years, black-and-white signs atop hundreds of red barns along rural Southern roads beckoned northern travelers bound for Florida to “See Rock City,” “the world’s eighth wonder,” and look out over seven states. Now comes a contemporary appeal from a Rock City Web site. Same destination, different highway, says Bill Chapin, third-generation owner of the attraction atop Lookout Mountain in Georgia. “Today’s consumer expects the ease and convenience the Internet offers,” Chapin says.

Byers, 83, first painted “See Rock City” on the side of a Kimball, Tenn., barn in 1936 in a promotion that included a free barn painting for the consenting farmer. At one time, there were 900 or so “Rock City” barns scattered across 19 states. Today, only about 80 remain.

The Web site offers a history of the attraction, photos of Rock City barns, and breathtaking 360-degree panoramic images from swinging bridges and rocky peaks. “But as you might expect, there’s no substitute for the real thing…” the Web site says.