groovey purpose & politico thrifting

i haven't been thrifting much as of late, but this morning felt the calling. so i bundled off to salvation army where i found a couple of treasures, the above dish being one. i am a sucker for the atomic snowflake. also, unlike other dishes, we could use a serving platter or two around here.

but my question is, what is the purpose of the grooves? is it to capture drippings so that they all pool up in the little bowl at the end? is it just decorative? the little bowl at the end is too shallow for dips and the like. and so i am a little mystified.

the dish has no name brand stamp, so i can't look it up anywhere. and you get a funny combination of things when you google "serving dish with grooves." please do leave a comment if you think you know what the grooves are all about.

while i was at the thrift store i heard this conversation.

irrational, gruff voice: "you should vote for mccain."
calm, rational voice: "it's against my principles. i want someone who is honest and consistent with their opinions."
irrational, gruff voice: "if obama wins, i'm going to put a sign up that says, 'i told you so.'" (meaning, he thinks everything will fall apart if obama wins?)
calm, rational voice: "well, i don't think we would do too bad with either, but it is mccain's running mate that concerns me."
irrational, gruff voice: "oh palin, i just love her."

it is the, "i just love her," that completely makes me want to double over and vomit. i can see maybe (though it is a stretch) if she is sitting next to you at a pta meeting, or she works down the hall from you, or if she is a fellow hockey mom, and you "just love her." but we're talking vice president!!! we're talking, potential president if old man mccain drops. i just can't believe people think that, because they "just love her," she is a capable world leader.

hopefully, we will not have to put her to the test.