To: Matmail: My girlfriend contends that Top Ramen is made up of multiple noodles, whereas I maintain that it consists of a single, rather lengthy noodle, which, unfortunately, always seems to break during handling. What …
December 12, 1996
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
How many noodles there are in a Top Ramen package
Mein Kampf — easier to get in Israel than Germany
Dear Mat: Was Mein Kampf ever translated to Hebrew? — Ron, the Net Yes, in part. Adolf Hitler’s 1924 autobiography cum racial hatefest and world-domination plan was in about a dozen languages by 1937. After …
December 5, 1996
How to escape a car underwater
Dear Matt: My friends and I were recently driving over the bay bridge in San Francisco. During the drive, we started thinking about how to escape a sinking car. In the movies, stunt people seem …
December 5, 1996
Dinner can affect your hearing if you’re a very poor aim with a fork
We recently heard that eating a meal can affect a person's hearing. After a person has eaten, the sense of hearing is affected, and a person cannot hear as well. Is this true? Why? — …
December 5, 1996
Luke Appling wore out pitchers hitting six, seven fouls in a row
Dear Matt: What is the record for the most consecutive foul tips in a major-league baseball game? Conceivably a batter could do this for days. I have personally seen seven or eight in a row, …
November 27, 1996
Heinz and Hunt's confirm their ketchups are vegetarian
Moldy oldie clean-up time. First, from a vegan in a quandary. I mean, who can you believe these days? Me, sweetie. Dear Matthew Alice: Being a diehard vegan, I was rather upset when I read …
November 27, 1996
Why decaf takes longer to drip
Dear Matthew Alice: We drink both regular and decaffeinated coffee. We grind them to espresso fineness. But when we make the coffee, it takes twice as long for the decaf to drip through the filter. …
November 27, 1996
Thomas Edison's breath saved in Ford museum
DO -< £ > H H I m £ r~ n m Matthew: I’ve heard from some semi-reliable friends that Edison’s breath is in a container in some museum. Does this qualify for your Famous …
November 22, 1996
The truth about baby carrots
Dear M. Matt: Are the things sold as “baby carrots” (the variety sold in plastic bags) in the grocery store really baby carrots? Or are they regular-sized, adult carrots that have been cut and shaved …
November 21, 1996
How O.J. Simpson can be sued when he is innocent
A little old biz on the docket here at the Vastly Superior Court of Last Resort, in re: the People v. O.J. and its peculiar relation to the Goldmans et al. v. O.J. — why …
November 21, 1996
Breeding in outer space
Dear Mat: Has anyone ever had sex in space? — Curious of North Park Dear Matthew Alice: When a female astronaut is in space, how does her weightless condition affect the process of menstruation, since …
November 21, 1996