Hey, Matt: I keep hearing what I think is a commercial in a foreign language on several of the local radio stations. It goes something like this. "Icky, socky, ramey, afamey, Baja California, Mexico." What …
May 25, 2000
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
What the heck is the female announcer saying on the Baja, California Mexico commercial?
Have you ever heard of rats chewing the wiring in a car engine?
Dear Matt A: Have you ever heard of rats chewing the wiring in a car engine? Rats are eating my car! What I'm wondering is, why are they doing it and how can I stop …
May 25, 2000
What is the meaning of "CE?"
Dear Matt: Every once in a while I run across a rather cryptic notation, this being a "CE" inscribed on a product in a rather curly, Phoenician-type script. I've seen this on everything from Vuarnet …
May 18, 2000
What is the meaning behind "simulated picture," referring to ads for television sets?
Hey, Matt: In newspaper ads for television sets I often see, in tiny print, "simulated picture" or something to that effect. Is there some obscure consumer law that requires the notation? -- Verve, the Net …
May 18, 2000
Why is it that every time I go through the airport metal detector, the buzzer goes off and I am taken aside and checked by a hand detector?
Dear Matthew Alice: Every time I go through the airport metal detector, the buzzer goes off and I am taken aside and checked by a hand detector. I am ordered to empty my pockets, which …
May 11, 2000
How many players have played major-league baseball since the beginning of time?
Dear Matt: Please help us. A die-hard baseball fan and I have a dispute to settle, and we know only you (and the elves) can help. How many players have played major-league baseball since the …
May 11, 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
Is it true that there used to be a town at the bottom of Lake Hodges?
Matthew: I like to fish Lake Hodges, and a pal told me that somewhere at the bottom of the lake there is a town that existed before they built the dam. Is this a fish …
May 4, 2000
What would be the proper way to pronounce a computer mouse plural- mice or mouses?
Heymatt: I was at Office Depot the other day and felt like a fool for asking them where there "mice" were, as in a mouse for a computer. Is there a way to pluralize this, …
May 4, 2000
Do convicts still make our license plates?
Dear Matt: Do convicts still make our license plates, or was that all a big story told to us by our mothers? -- Charlie B., San Diego I see the cars a-comin', Rollin' 'round the …
May 4, 2000
Why do digital things bounce up and down when you eat something crunchy and other things do not?
Dear Matthew Alice: Try this: Eat something crunchy (such as corn chips) while staring at a digital clock (such as on a microwave). The numbers bounce up and down! Why is this? And why don't …
April 27, 2000