Dear Heloise: Many people enjoy a COLA drink because it’s refreshing, but did you know that it has other uses as well?

* Pour a bottle or can of cola in your toilet, wait one hour, then scrub and flush.

* Dog get sprayed by a skunk? Pour a cola drink over the affected area — the cola will lessen the odor.

* Gum stuck in your child’s hair? Pour some cola on the gum, wait a short while, and it’ll be easier to remove the gum.

* Got rusty tools? Place them in a plastic pan and cover with a cola drink. Wait about an hour, then remove, and the rust will be loosened and easily can be removed from the object.

— Jordan L.,

Kenosha, Wis.

WAR CAKE

Dear Heloise: You had a recipe for War Cake that my mother loved. Since she is coming to my home to celebrate her 90th birthday, I’d like to make it for her, but I don’t have the recipe. Would you reprint that for me?

— Tricia W.,

Bartlesville, Okla.

Tricia, I’d be happy to reprint that for you and your mother. And give a big “Happy Birthday” to your mother from Heloise:

War Cake

Using a medium- to large-size cooking pot or pan, mix together 2 cups of brown sugar, 2 cups of hot water and 2 teaspoons of shortening. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of raisins, and 1 teaspoon each of salt, cinnamon and cloves. Boil for 5 minutes after the mixture begins to bubble. When the mixture is cold (and it MUST be cold), add 3 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking soda that has been dissolved in a couple of teaspoons of hot water. Mix well.

Pour into a greased pan and bake for about 1 hour at 350-375 degrees.

This easy-to-make cake is found with other yummy recipes in my pamphlet Heloise’s Cake Recipes. To order one, send $3, along with a stamped (71 cents), self-addressed, long envelope, to: Heloise/Cakes, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Or you can order it online at www.Heloise.com. A homemade cake is always welcomed by your family and friends, or at just about any social gathering.

— Heloise

NON-RUBBERY GELATIN

Dear Heloise: Why is my gelatin rubbery on the bottom?

— Frances T.,

Norcross, Ga.

Frances, it’s likely due to not dissolving the powdered gelatin enough. Keep stirring the gelatin in very hot water before you add the cold water, and add a capful of lemon juice or vinegar to the mix. This will help with avoiding that rubbery bottom.

— Heloise

SOMETHING’S FISHY

Dear Heloise: I love to cook fish, and it’s healthy, but handling and cleaning the fish leaves a smell on my hands that I don’t really like. Even washing doesn’t seem to help completely. I either use half a lemon or I rub fresh rosemary from my garden on my hands. The smell is gone!

— Laura P., Kingston, R.I.