Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Straight from the Hip

Archived articles

Why do critics of fakery always single out pro wrestling?

Question: Ever wonder why critics of fakery always single out pro wrestling? Charles Bronson movies are fake. Stallone's not really Rambo. Broadway plays, cartoons, operas -- where are the critics there? If they're gonna bemoan …

July 23, 1998
If you cannot sneak up on a wild animal, why are you able to hit one with a car?

What's with road kill? You couldn't sneak up on a squirrel in the woods, but you can come barreling at him with your car and hit him. Why is he smart enough to hide in …

July 16, 1998
Will a car run on Jack Daniel's?

Dear Matt Alice: I don't know how we got on the topic, but my boyfriend thinks that if you pour a bottle of Jack Daniel's into your gas tank, your car will run. I told …

July 9, 1998
How many fights have there been on the floor of Congress?

Hey, Matt: From time to time we see on TV some pretty good fights in foreign legislatures. I started to wonder about our own distinguished lawmakers. They never seem to punch one another. How do …

July 9, 1998
What is the hierarchy of ratings by the ADA, and do the toothpaste manufacturers buy these approvals?

Matthew: I notice that on tooth-care products, the ADA has given ratings such as "Approved," "Professionally Recommended," etc. What is the hierarchy of these, and do the toothpaste manufacturers buy these approvals? Some have no …

July 2, 1998
Do any of the shadow towns in the Soviet Union still exist?

Dear Matthew: Tell me about the replicas of American towns constructed in the Soviet Union as training grounds for KGB/GRU/NKVD agents during the '50s and '60s. Do any of these shadow towns or their ruins …

July 2, 1998
Why are images upside down when you look into a spoon but not when you turn it over?

Dear Matthew AnswerMan Alice: I took out a spoon for my morning cereal. While looking at the spoon, the mirror image of my face was upside down. When I flipped the spoon over, my face …

June 25, 1998
When a train approaches, why does the engineer always blow his horn in a particular way, with two long blasts, a short, then a final long?

Yo, M(atthew) Alice: No Malice intended, but I bet you only answer the easy questions or the ones you can readily access in that big book of dopey questions you keep under your desk. Anyway, …

June 25, 1998
Did Mikey from the cereal ads really die from a pop rocks/Coca-Cola combination?

Hey, Matt: Quick question: Did Mikey (from Life cereal ads) really die because of a lethal pop rocks/Coca-Cola cocktail? --J. from the Net The famous Life commercial aired off and on for about 15 years, …

June 18, 1998
Does chlorine cause cats to become intoxicated?

Dear Matthew Alice: My daughter is on a swim team and also plays water polo. Almost every evening she comes home with her hair wet from the pool water. This drives our cat, Mickey, completely …

June 11, 1998
Why are the palm trees still tied up at the airport after 4 months?

Matthew Alice: I noticed this back in December and was startled to see it was still going on [in April]. The palm trees that were planted in ridiculously large numbers at the airport have all …

June 11, 1998

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.