In 1668 the Marquis de Montespan was seen approaching Versailles in a coach draped in black silk with a pair of stag’s horns wobbling on top. The Marquis no doubt chose stag’s horns because they …
August 10, 2000
Go Abroad!
Goat
Is it true that limestone from the great pyramids of Egypt was used to build high-rise buildings in Cairo?
Dear Matt: The wife and I saw The Mummy the other night. It brought back a fact I learned sometime in my life that I wonder is true. Is it true that limestone from the …
July 6, 2000
Is it true that ancient Egyptians circumcised slaves?
Dear Matt: I have read that ancient Egyptians circumcised slaves. Moses kept the practice to remind Hebrews of that episode. I have also read that Egyptian rulers practiced the same rite. Are you knowledgeable if …
May 11, 2000
Why aren't there any Vietnamese names in the Obituary column of the UT?
Matmail: Why is it there are never any Vietnamese names in the obituary column printed in the San Diego Union? -- Mort Schwartz, Clairemont According to the local Union of Pan Asian Communities, to find …
September 30, 1999
Do French maids really dress like French maids?
Dear Matthew: Do French maids really dress like French maids? -- Tony Falde, San Diego Well, yeah, Tony. They tried dressing like deep-sea divers, but it was tough doing floors and windows. In fact, that's …
July 15, 1999
Navy SEAL Harry Constance accuses Charles Watson of cowardice during Tet offensive
August, 1997. It is a sunny Saturday on Coronado's Orange Avenue. Bay Books is having a ball. Half a dozen ex-Navy SEALs sit at tables inside, each autographing the book he has written about his …
February 18, 1999
During World War II, were Germans rounded up by Ecuadorian governments and sent to concentration camps in Texas?
Matmail: On vacation in Ecuador, I met an 80-year-old man who claims that during World War II, he and his German parents were rounded up by the Ecuadorian government at the request of the U.S. …
November 29, 1998
Evangelical chaplains sue U.S. Navy for discriminating against them
This is the joke among the Navy's evangelical chaplains. "Question: What do you have to do to get promoted in the U.S. Navy? "Answer: If you're a Roman Catholic, you've got to be able to …
November 5, 1998
Escondido's Thai Buddhist monk, Winai Amaro
He's been accused of pretty much everything that could destroy a religious leader: financial misdealing, heresy, lying, insubordination, sexual sin. Angry mobs have burnt chili and salt in a ritual effort to curse his name. …
February 26, 1998
Why don't the French like Americans?
Matthew Alice: Why don't the French-- or is it just their government-- like us Americans? Or is it just our government they don't like? Re: Several fugitive extraditions refused; murder, rape. Also prohibitions on use …
February 19, 1998
Darryl Young roots out SEAL impostors
When is a SEAL not a SEAL? Too often, says Darryl Young, an ex-SEAL who trained in Coronado. Young heard of so many many SEAL impostors that he helped form a group called the "U.S. …
November 26, 1997
They went from MCRD to Vietnam – Khe Sanh, Con Thien, Dewey Canyon – and finally San Diego
A lot of them — the kids, I mean — went to boot camp, came out of boot camp, got on an airplane to Vietnam, and went straight to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). One such …
November 6, 1997
San Diego Cambodians speak about Pol Pot
"He should be killed! We want him dead!" says Mr. Sokha, in the Trieu Chau restaurant. "Don't bother with a trial. Three million people died because of him. We want to know he's gone."
July 24, 1997
Thai authorities want to deport Phra Yantra from monastery north of Escondido
Thai authorities say they aren't giving up on trying to deport Phra Yantra, the controversial Buddhist monk who now lives in his own monastery north of Escondido. Two weeks ago, a U.S. judge granted Yantra …
July 10, 1997