Dear Matt: Name the five most outrageous popular misconceptions that we Americans hold as self-evident truths. -- Mark Schimming, Oceanside Umm, well, there are people buried in concrete in Hoover Dam. That's a start. And …
October 2, 2003
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
Five stupid things people believe
Shed some light on glow-in-the-dark
Heymatt: Why is it when I open the little paper package that Breathe Right strips come in they give off a bright fluorescent light? They are packaged similarly to the kind of adhesive bandage that …
September 18, 2003
Chair man of the plank
Heymatt: One of my family members is running for a school board seat. Why is such a group called a "board"? Is it political? Social? -- PWaggen, the net No, it's furniture. The board in …
September 18, 2003
A sticky question, a grain of truth
Greetings Matt Honey. What's up with it? Nearly every container of it I've bought over the years has turned into a crystallized, difficult-to-use mess. Why does the sugar tend to crystallize out of solution? My …
September 18, 2003
Wireless wonderland
Matt: I bought one of those wireless doorbells for my home a few days ago. A neighbor three houses down apparently bought one too, and whenever someone rings their doorbell, mine rings. Last week a …
September 13, 2003
What the H!?!?
Hello, Matt: My H disappeared off the trunk lid of my '93 Honda Civic coupe. All that's left are two small holes and some black rubber seal where my beloved H used to reside. Was …
September 11, 2003
A recall revenge plot
Heymatt: If Gray Davis is recalled and Cruz Bustamante wins the election, could Bustamante appoint Gray Davis as Lt. Governor? Then could Bustamante resign and make Gray Davis governor again? Wouldn't that be a nice …
September 11, 2003
The independent nation of California
Yo Matt! What does it take for a state to secede from the US of A? I've been told that there is no constitutional requirement for a state not to secede, and it seems to …
September 11, 2003
Pink Flamingos
Dear M.A.: I recently heard that flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp as their main diet. But shrimp are only pink after they're cooked. Who cooks shrimp for flamingos? Sounds sketchy to me. -- …
September 4, 2003
Let's walkie and talkie.
Heymatt: Walkie-talkies have a range of up to five miles, but cordless phones have a range of only up to about 100 yards. Why can't those geniuses at the big electronics companies figure out how …
September 4, 2003
If I'm standing on the moon, can I shoot a guy on Pluto?
Earthling: I was wondering why they don't use normal handguns in space movies instead of fancy ray guns. Would a handgun fire in a vacuum? If you fired it on the moon, say, would the …
September 4, 2003