Golden Retriever paws.

A little over a year ago my wife came home from one of her many trips to California with a bouncing 10-week-old Golden Retriever whom we named Whiskey.

We had no idea how big Whiskey would get. While her parents were large, she was the "runt" of the litter--the smallest of the dozen or so of her brothers and sisters.

Maybe it's a unique feature of Manhattan living, maybe it's the magnetism of a puppy, but as we walked Whiskey in those early months, we would often be stopped by dog-lovers, experts and a variety of commentators.

It wasn't unusual for us to be stopped on the corner of, say, 83rd Street and hear someone say "look at those paws, she's going to be big." And then be stopped on the corner of 82nd Street and hear someone say, "look at those paws, she's going to be petite."

My point, of course, has nothing to do with Golden Retrievers.

It's twofold.

1. Everyone always acts the expert.
2. People are usually wrong about 50% of the time.

I think that holds for Golden Retriever paws.

I know it holds for advertising.