Matmail: Mallomars? Where on earth do you buy Mallomars? The last box I saw, I bought; and that was at the Big Bear supermarket on Governor Drive in University City in 1981. I will drive …
December 3, 1998
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
Where on earth do you buy Mallomars
Where did Spanish fly get its name, and where did it come from?
Dear Matthew Alice: I would like to know how Spanish fly got its name and where it came from. Does Spanish fly work, or is it just one of those things everyone says works but …
December 3, 1998
What are the effect of breathing in argon?
Dear Matt: Most of us have heard the effects of breathing helium on speech-- sort of Billy Barty on speed. The explanation is that helium, being a light gas, allows more rapid vocal cord vibrations, …
December 3, 1998
Does salt content affect how fast a surfer can surf?
Dear M.A.: Tropical waves are "faster," allowing for smaller, thinner boards and more fun. Up north it's like surfing with the emergency brake stuck on. It's the salt. The spray from northern waves often smells …
November 29, 1998
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
How are objects reflected in a mirror, and how do our eyes focus on the object?
Mat: Here is one that has always bugged me. It seems logical that when I look at something in a mirror, the critical distance my eyes should have to focus is between me and the …
November 25, 1998
Why are there so many abandoned homes along the beach of Baja?
Dear Matt: We've been driving around in Baja lately and wondered how come there are so many empty shell houses, most of them with no roofs, some with rebar sticking out the top of the …
November 19, 1998
Why do people take the second or third copy off a pile of Readers?
Dear Mr. Answerer-of-All-That's-Weird: Why do people take the second or third copy off a pile of Readers? -- Crazy Cats of Clairemont I thought everybody knew. That's where all the good stuff is. The top …
November 19, 1998
How are products able to get away with a label that says 99.9% fat free when there is more than .1% fat?
To: [email protected]: There are lots of packaged foods out there with a big splash on the front saying "99% FAT FREE." On the back it says, for example, total fat 1 gram, which equals 2% …
November 19, 1998
Why is the color yellow associated with cowardice?
O Matt: Today I was watching Gunsmoke, and one cowboy called another "yellow," alluding to cowardice. Why "yellow"? Is this some sort of dis against Asians, or maybe people with liver disease? -- Jaundiced Joe …
November 19, 1998
Did Houdini contact his wife after he died?
Matthew Alice: Every year...at HALLOWEEN...media reports that the famed magician HOUDINI did not contact his wife AFTER he died. Not true!! This letter is on page 75 of Nothing So Strange -- the biography of …
November 12, 1998