[Too frantic to write a salutation]: Don’t even ask how this came up. But it’s urgent! I MUST know the answer! When you open a Band-Aid in the dark, why does the glue on the …
September 18, 1997
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
The glow-in-the-dark Band-Aid packaging
How parrots stomach hot peppers
Mattster: My parrot loves hot peppers. He (she, maybe) can't get enough and doesn’t screech or sweat as he chows down on them or even when he poops. Why do parrots seem to be unaffected …
September 18, 1997
WWI was the Great War until the end of World War II
Matthew Alice: When did we start calling World War I "World War I”? Not during World War I, I assume. —A. Brooking, just passing through Well, maybe Nostradamus had a clue, but the rest of …
September 11, 1997
Why you don't hear about cancer of the butt or heart
Dear Answer Boy: What makes cancer invade certain parts of the body and not others? Is there something unique about the tissue of the breast, prostate, stomach, rectum, or liver? I guess what I need …
September 11, 1997
The only way Mountain Dew will affect your penis
Dear Almighty Matt: I’ve heard a rumor that Yellow Dye #5, which is an ingredient in Mountain Dew, causes your penis to shrink. Is this true? And I've heard that the clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger …
September 11, 1997
Why there are no stars in moon landing photos
Dear Matthew: ln July 1969, some dudes walked on the moon. My mom told me that there were indeed stars in 1969. But in each of the pictures that I've seen of the moon landing, …
September 4, 1997
How Gabriel Fahrenheit used his wife's mouth to set his thermometer
Time to grapple with the mail that drops into our “Say What?” bin. The “Matthew, You Fraud” stuff. The most immediately eye grabbing is an extended e from one Alex Censor, edited here because, well, …
September 4, 1997
How to make the most of your next break-in
Hey, Matt: If I was planning the heist of the century, what is the most expensive thing I could fit in my trunk? —Joe, via electromail Well, if you have no imagination, I guess you …
September 4, 1997
Kalmias don't grow here and they are redundant because of Laurel
Matthew: Ash Street, Beech Street, Cedar Street...Hawthorn, Ivy, Kalmia, Laurel... Uh, wait a minute. Kalmia? Redwood, Spruce, Thom, Upas.... Upas? Does a kalmia grow on Kalmia or a upas on Upas? — Tree Hugger, Uptown …
August 28, 1997
The difference between charcoal and charcoal briquettes
Matmail: Why does charcoal burn? Isn’t it already burned? Or is it only mostly burned? What gives? — Bryan Coon, San Diego Charcoal is simply carefully cooked wood. Mankind figured out this one many centuries …
August 28, 1997
How number keypads on computers differ from phone keypads
Dear Matt: I apologize if you’ve already been asked this question. Then again, who cares. You get paid for this. What a life. Anyway, a few of my associates and I were wondering why the …
August 28, 1997