Recently, an ODP enthusiast pointed out to me that we were mighty deficient in tater tot casserole sites. And my reaction was, "Huh?" Tater Tots, sometimes called potato puffs, are a processed food product consisting of shredded potatoes pressed into cylindrical globs which are then pre-fried, flash-frozen, and meant to be reheated in a hot oven. They become a crispy, calorie-laden side dish that most of us, in the U.S. anyway, have used when putting together a quick meal. It had never occurred to me that they would ever be the key ingredient in an edible casserole. But then again, I never anticipated that cookies would be a key ingredient in ice cream! So one late afternoon, I went looking for tater tot recipes. To my surprise, tater tot enthusiasts among family and friends came out of their nostalgia closets, eyes misted over with memories of childhood Saturday night suppers, asking if I had included the one using cream of chicken soup, or the one with cheddar cheese, or the one with stringbeans. Even my own children, who had never been served a tater tot casserole by me, wanted to know if I had included the one with potato chips on top. Who knew?

We ODP editors try to have something for everyone. For instance, one of our recent ODP newlyweds mentioned his fondness for OK soda, an experiment that did not survive the marketplace but instead resulted in a tiny category for OK enthusiasts, Recreation/Food/Drink/Soft_Drinks/OK_Soda.

There are interesting ethnic categories you may not have heard of before such as Society/Ethnicity/Melungeon and contacts for socializing such as Computers/Internet/Chat/Topics/Kids. There are categories for people in tough situations, e.g. Health/Consumer_Support_Groups/Genetic and Society/Support_Groups/Personal_Loss, as well as categories for people who want a tough change, e.g. Society/Transgendered/Male_to_Female/Personal_Home_Pages and Business/Employment/Careers/Changing_Careers.

Dog owners will find almost any breed here, e.g. Recreation/Pets/Dogs/Breeds/Working_Group/Portuguese_Water_Dog, but so will lovers of more exotic animals, as illustrated by Recreation/Pets/Exotic/Hedgehogs. Celtic games enthusiasts can visit Sports/Strength_Sports/Highland_Games and find out where the next competition is in their home country. Sports/Petanque hosts sites for a bocci ball-like lawn game popular in Europe. People who like role playing can go to Games/Video_Games/Genres/RPGs or to Recreation/Living_History/European/Medieval/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism/Kingdoms.

Music lovers will find all kinds of special categories. Loudon Wainwright III fans will find sites about his son in Arts/Music/Bands_and_Artists/W/Wainwright,_Rufus. Do-it-yourself folks can visit such sites as Arts/Music/Instruments/Stringed/Hammered_Dulcimer/Make_your_Own. Or learn more about new headliners in categories like Arts/Movies/Titles/2/2gether and Arts/Music/Bands_and_Artists/C/Church,_Charlotte.

Finally, are you feeling reminiscent of the old schoolyard games such as Rock, Paper, Scissors and Thumb Wrestling? Check out Games/Hand_Games. Now all we need are categories for Kickball, Dodgeball, Kick-the-Can, and Hide-and-Go-Seek. Any one willing to trade their bologna sandwich to take this on?

There is truly something for everyone in the ODP. A big thanks to all the editors who create and lovingly maintain all the often small but wonderful special interest categories!