BRAZIL: Pif-Paf

Brazil was in the throes of a domestic crisis last week.

In war-prosperous Rio de Janeiro well-to-do wives had caught the gin rummy fever. They called it "Pif-Paf" (pronounced peef-paff). They began their games at teatime, played for high stakes. At dawn they went to bed white with exhaustion, slept with the aid of sedatives. Next teatime they began all over again. The local press reported that they were running into debt, pawning their jewels, neglecting their husbands and children.

Cried Rio's Diario Carioca: "Pif-Paf is enslaving, fascinating, completely dominating hundreds and hundreds. . . ."

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