I know it’s a tough economy and all that, but I don’t think a business needs to give up part of its core to make a buck.

Here are a couple of examples of local businesses that recently made me scratch my head. Although a big believer in the all things in moderation philosophy, I still found these a little strange.

Growing Smiles Pediatric Dentistry

We were told by the staff at Growing Smiles Pediatric Dentistry that it’s really not appropriate for young children to be eating raisins. You see, they warned us that bits of the raisins can get caught in between the gums or in the teeth and lead to tooth decay.

So when our oldest turned four in October, image my surprise when I opened the mailbox to find this gift from Growing Smiles:

Uh, OK. So raisins are a no-go but a giant, sugary cookie is cool? I’m confused. Kind of like when my daughters accompanied my wife to her doctor’s appointment to …

Dr. Pamela Huerter

As a way of thanking our girls for being good while Amy had an appointment, Dr. Pamela Huerter gave them these Smashburger gift certificates.

In full disclosure, I love Smashburger and we totally took advantage of these gift certificates, although the kids hated their food and didn’t eat much of it.

If you’ve ever watched a movie like Food, Inc. or Super Size Me, it seems pretty clear doctors have a hard time recommending that anyone eat fast food. Yes, I enjoy fast food. Yes, we sometimes let the kids eat it as well. But having your doctor give you free gift certificates to Sodiumburger? That’s a little weird.

What’s your take? Got any examples like this to share?

There are people in this world that have spent $179.99 to purchase one of these.

After today, I can officially say that the economy is well on its way to recovery.

I had to run to Kansas City today and stopped in at the Lawrence Service Area (northeast of Lawrence in I-70) for a quick pit stop. While scanning the coolers for my favorite drink (Diet Mt. Dew if you must know) I noticed a beast of a statue standing about four feet tall out of the corner of my eye.

It was a white tiger.

It was ceramic.

It cost $179.99.

As I was purchasing  my beloved drink, the cashier asked me if I needed anything else.

“Maybe one of those white tigers,” I laughed. “Does anyone ever buy one of those things?”

My cashier explained to me that the store carries the tigers in gold, red and, of course, white. And then he said, “We sold out of the first shipment and we’re almost out of the second one.”

I’m not sure how many came in a shipment, but I presume one of each color.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m calling this recession over.