Perpendicular to that section, though, is what might be termed the "aisle of doom," which includes 10 brands of ice cream and frozen yogurt, 61 types of ice cream sandwiches, and 15 varieties of potato and corn chips.

The store also carries 13 flavors of tea, three brands of mustard, and 12 kinds of chewing gum, not to mention the wide selection of cookies, cakes, and candies.

"It's a junk food store," said one observer, who asked to be called "a local chess player."

"People are coming here and buying a lot of fun foods. Fortunately, Harvard has one of the best dorm food systems in the country," he added.

Referring to the overhead sign, the chess player noted that "That's merely stupidity on the part of the designers."

But the people who designed Store 24 aren't the same ones who have to deal with the hordes of customers who jam the place each night.

All three of Wednesday night's employees chose the "third shift," from midnight to 8 a.m..

Amy G. Madanick opted for the third shift because she works as a cook at the Marriot Long Wharf from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.. "This is just for a while, until I get my debts straightened out," she said.

Madanick's first night at Store 24 was Wednesday, and all went smoothly with the possible exception of selling condoms. "I blushed a little bit," she said. "I had never sold them before--it was a first experience."

"One guy was a little embarrassed too, although I think another sent his girlfriend to come get them," Madanick said.

While none of Wednesday night's employees had any dangerous or threatening experiences at the store-to relate, a former employee who stopped in for some dried fruit mix at 1:45 a.m. did remember one of his last nights at the store.

Jim, who said he worked at Store 24 "six or seven years ago" and who currently works in the area, said, "Someone walked in and said, 'Give me all your money or I'm going to blow your fucking brains out!'

"I gave him the money and offered to get him a cab. I said, 'Hey, I'm only doing this part time and I'm getting $4 an hour, so don't kill me.'"

Jim said the store is great for thieves, who "go up and down the aisles and pilfer all they want to eat."

"Watch them," he added, "they go up aisle one and eat, down aisle two and eat, then go up aisle three eating, and buy an orange and leave."

Geoffrey Worrell, a former San Francisco English teacher who has been working at Store 24 for two months, said that the store's combination of small aisles, large numbers of customers and few employees make shoplifting easy. He added that he hasn't yet caught anybody.

But the small aistes will continue to attract large numbers of customers, beacuse Store 24 remains the place to go for late night papers, late night munchies, or just a little fresh air--no place in the Square offers so much so late.

Besides, said John M. Yardley '88, "The soda machines in Winthrop House always run out.