(FORTUNE Magazine) – TEDDY GRAHAMS One vanishing species the World Wildlife Federation need not get alarmed about: the billions of tiny teddy bear cookies disappearing from supermarket shelves across America. Nabisco's one-inch-tall chocolate, cinnamon, and honey-flavored Teddy Grahams are selling faster than any new cookie in years. During the critters' first year in stores, consumers bagged more than $150 million worth, making the bears the third most popular cookie on the market, behind Nabisco's own Oreo and Chips Ahoy! Nabisco hopes to poach on the cookie's success by launching Teddy Grahams Breakfast Bears, its first entry in the fickle children's cereal market.

SOFT BIFOCAL CONTACT LENSES It's a pity Benjamin Franklin wasn't a baby-boomer. The inventor of bifocal spectacles might have figured out how to make great soft-contact versions. As all human beings age, they become presbyopic, or unable to focus sharply on close objects. Around 75 million Americans require multiple-correction lenses, and about six million baby-boomers between 35 and 44 currently wear contacts. + What a market for soft bifocals. But until now most wearers found them unsatisfactory. Allergan, Bausch & Lomb, Ciba Vision, and other manufacturers have recently come out with improved bifocal contacts that cost up to $800 for the first pair. Allergan's entry, shown here, uses a novel approach: A series of microscopic rings called echelettes separate light from near and distant objects, enabling the eye to focus on both simultaneously. The brain chooses which image to ignore. Many ophthalmologists remain skeptical that boomers will share this vision of the future.

ELECTRIC VANS Battery-powered vehicles may soon do more than tote golfers. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the R&D arm of the utility industry, has unveiled two highly charged vans with commercial possibilities. EPRI is taking orders on a $32,500 modified General Motors van, shown at right, with a range of 60 miles between inexpensive overnight ''refuelings'' from a charger that uses 220-volt current. Chloride EV Systems and Canada's Magna International, which replace the van's gasoline engine with electric motors and batteries, hope to produce 500 in the first year. Savings on the low-polluting vehicle's maintenance costs are supposed to offset the higher price. Those who want greater range will have to wait at least three years. EPRI and Chrysler are fine-tuning a minivan that can go 120 miles between charges, powered by a new nickel-iron battery from Eagle Picher Industries.

LASER VIDEO Five years ago, when RCA dumped a primitive system called Selectavision -- in which a needle read signals off a platter -- videodiscs seemed dead. Only Pioneer Electronics stood by laser video. Now Sony, Philips, Sharp, and others have joined in with so-called combination players that take three-inch audio CDs, five-inch CDs, and 12-inch videodiscs. Pioneer's new CLD-1070 combination player, shown above, is a price breakthrough, retailing for less than $500. Pioneer should sell close to 100,000 in the U.S. by the end of 1989, roughly 70% of the market, and expects to double sales next year. The movie discs combine CD sound with a sharper image than videocassettes can provide, and cost no more. About 4,000 laser films are already available.