creating variables on the fly (newbie question)

[Tom Keller]

I would like to create a new array for each grouping of numbers within a simple file:
The file looks like this:
item 1
0.1
0.12.
0.14
0.16
0.1

item 2
0.13
0.14.
0.1
0.15

item 3
0.04
0.03
0.05
0.04
--------------------
So I want @item1 = (0.1, 0.12, 0.14, 0.16, 0.1  @item2=(0.13, 0.14, 0.1, 0.15)  etc.
This seems so simple, but I'm stuck. 
Note the number of items and the number of values for each item are unknown.
Thanks,
Tom Keller

Thomas J. Keller, Ph.D.
Oregon Health Sciences University
MMI Core Facility
503-494-2442
kellert at ohsu.edu
http://www.ohsu.edu/core
TIMTOWTDI