When I get a phonebook in the mail, I usually find the old phone book and toss it, and leave the new phonebook in its place. The only time I ever look at it is when I’m looking for a particular business or type of business — and these days I usually do that online.

Perhaps from sheer boredom, I decided to try something different with the phonebook that arrived this week. I decided to page through it — through the Yellow Pages section, at least. And, wow, did I find some cool stuff.

For one thing, there is a whole section of coupon pages. I tore out all the ones that looked useful.

There was also some amusement to be had: On an ad for men’s haircuts: “Just Because You Live in Southern Illinois Doesn’t Mean You Have to Look Like It.”

I learned about some local businesses that I wasn’t aware of. An ad — how it looks, the object of its appeal — tells you a lot about a company.

This whole process didn’t take much time. Maybe 30 minutes. I was just skimming. But it was time well spent.