Matthew Alice: Pizza and beer riding on this one. Is a mailbox the property of Uncle Sam, or does it just have to conform to certain standards? Also, is it illegal to put notes, samples, …
July 8, 1999
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
Who owns the mailbox, and is it illegal to put things in other people's mailboxes?
Why are there lights facing the wrong way on Ash Street?
Dear Matthew Alice: I walk to work via Ash Street, downtown and recently I noticed that there are single red lights pointing the opposite direction to the flow of traffic. They are mounted on the …
July 8, 1999
Why do car alarms go off on Mt. Soledad?
To: Matmail: I enjoy cruising up to Mt. Soledad to watch the tourists freak out when their car alarms sound after they've enjoyed the view and come back to their vehicles. I know to disengage …
July 8, 1999
Has the red in traffic signals changed?
Matmail: I've noticed lately that something is different with the red lights used in our street signals. Instead of a nice uniform glow (like the yellow and green), the red seems to emit its light …
July 1, 1999
What would happen if two Y chromosomes were fused?
Dear Matt: What would happen if two Y chromosomes were fused together? If XX is female, and XY is male, what would YY be? -- SB at college You'd think that a YY baby would …
June 24, 1999
Why, when, and how did they use rabbits for pregnancy tests?
Mattaboy! My wife and I found out recently that she is pregnant, which brought to mind that old phrase, "The rabbit done died." This got me thinking about that wacky scientific/medical practice of using rabbits …
June 24, 1999
How is parking money tracked at Qualcomm Stadium?
Dear Matt: When I took my guests from Chicago to a Padres game, they were amazed at the "honor system" in the parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium. Just hand your money to someone who crams …
June 17, 1999
What is the fastest time up Cowles Mountain?
Dear Matt: Here's a question I'd like to know. What's the fastest time on foot to the top of Cowles Mountain? I started hiking up this mountain a few months ago, and one man, aged …
June 17, 1999
Why do girls throw like girls and boys like boys?
Matt: I've been watching a lot of kids play baseball this summer, and I've been wondering why most girls throw like girls, while very few boys do. Are girls' arm muscles different? Does it have …
June 17, 1999
Are chickadees and "tits" of the same species?
Dear Matthew Alice: A friend from Scotland told me of the coal tits that frequented her back yard. The bird book reveals that Europe abounds in tits: blue tits, marsh tits, great tits, willow tits, …
June 10, 1999
Why does my telephone pick up other poeple's phone calls?
DMA: How is it possible that I can pick up my phone and feed into someone's living room/office? This has happened several times, sometimes without even dialing, sometimes after dialing only the prefix, sometimes after …
June 10, 1999