Dear Matthew Alice: Are there any saints in the Bible? I don’t recall reading about Saint Abraham or Saint Lot. A Catholic friend said that Peter was the first pope and thus the first person …
April 25, 1996
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
Why the Pope picks the saints
Armadillos swallow air for buoyancy
Mr./Ms. Matthew/Alice: Perhaps you could resolve a lingering dispute between a friend and me. He insists that armadillos cross streams by holding their breath and walking along the bottom until they reach the other side. …
April 18, 1996
Many questions about Fargo
Dear Matthew Alice: In the movie Fargo, Margie’s husband, Norm, is painting in a competition for wildlife postage stamps. Is this something artists get paid for or work worth doing because of the honor of …
April 18, 1996
Golf course concessions own the golf balls
To: Matmail: The City of San Diego owns how many golf balls? — A. Pismo Clam, La Jolla Okay, I’ll bite. My answer is zero, but something tells me Senor Clam is already preparing his …
April 11, 1996
DNA — right, left, and twisted
Dear Mat: Since even a minute quantity of somebody’s blood can be analyzed to determine the person’s DNA, what happens when somebody’s entire blood has been replaced by someone else’s blood during a transfusion? — …
April 11, 1996
Pennsylvania soldiers on
Dear Matthew Alice: I lived in Pennsylvania in the 1960s. One of the things that I remember about the place is that there were underground coal fires that had been burning for years. Have they …
April 11, 1996
The story behind marischino cherries
Dear Matthew: A cocktail waitress at Milligan’s told me that a maraschino cherry will stay in your stomach for four years. Something to do with the preservatives. This seems unlikely, at best, but it raises …
April 11, 1996
Humphrey Bogart was not the Gerber baby
Last December, my wife and I successfully completed the adoption of a baby boy from an Eastern Bloc country. We have both decided that he is officially the cutest child in the entire world. In …
April 4, 1996
Western Swing — California's official dance
Matt: I just read somewhere that California has an official state dance, the Western Swing. Can this be possible? — M.J., San Diego In Sacramento, all things are possible. But right at the top, to …
April 4, 1996
Giving the finger goes back to Caligula
Mr. Alice: When and where did the displaying of one’s middle finger to another originate, AND is there an “official” or “proper” name for the gesture, AND how did it come to represent expressions of …
April 4, 1996
Surgery on yourself
Hi, Matt: From time to time you hear about people amputating their own leg or arm in an emergency. That makes me wonder, if somebody with no training can cut off a limb and survive, …
March 28, 1996