By meeting a useful man in 1941, he learned from scratch to fly four-engine aircraft.

ECONOMIST: Freddie Laker

James Christie, it was said, could sell fog to a Londoner--a useful skill for the man whose name has since become synonymous with the business of furnishing the well-heeled life.

FORBES: In the House

In her magnificent (and prescient) book The Forgotten Man Amity Shlaes creates a useful metaphor that is easy to grasp and explains a lot.

FORBES: Capital Is On Strike

Redknapp was speaking following Cole's inclusion in Fabio Capello's England World Cup squad and feels that if the Chelsea man does not stay at Stamford Bridge he would be a useful acquisition for someone.

BBC: Joe Cole set to leave Chelsea - Harry Redknapp

Mascarenhas was eventually caught by Patel at third man and the Kiwis took late-order wickets, but a useful 15 off 10 balls by Graeme Swann at the end helped England up to 184-8.

BBC: England thrash Kiwis in Twenty20

Sort of a lazy man's social phone, but we reckon that can be quite a useful thing for the targeted demographic of college students.

ENGADGET: HTC Wildfire hands-on (update: video!) Hands-on