Punctuation colons, quite different from the colon found on the end of your intestines, is used when giving lists, quotes, or delivering appositives. It has been said that the colon is a promise, and whatever comes after the colon is the delivering of the promise. I sometimes have a problem with colons since I can't always decide to use a colon, or just commas. Colons should never separate verbs from their objects as doing this will cause the reader much confusion. A nice little web page for several examples of colons can be found on the picture of the colon.
First I would just like to comment that I love the title you gave for this post. I have always been so confused on what the purpose a colon even gives. Now that you have explained it I might acutally try and use one in my writing sometime. The thought that a colon is like a promise really helps me remember the concept in a greater perspective.
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