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Stories by Matthew Alice

Lights, Cameras on SD Roadways

Hey, Matt: So what’s with the funky lighting along the new 5/805 merge? They have cute red-and-white beanies, antennas, and really cool monkey trapezes. I’ve only seen this style of lights in one other place …

May 6, 2009
Statue of Liberty, Mushroom Popcorn

Hi, Matt Alice: I cleaned my silver necklace’s cross using a name-brand silver cleaner, but my wife says I am a stupid, ignorant, ugly male idiot because silver, as she briefs me from watching antique …

April 29, 2009
Pheromones, DTV

They say that people are attracted to one another because of pheromones that we can smell. What would happen if you took pheromones from a woman that I’m attracted to and applied them to a …

April 22, 2009
Water-Drinking, Tokyoites, Fart-Eating

Matt: I drink a lot of water and Gatorade and stuff like that. My friend tells me I can die if I drink too much water. How is this possible? I thought water was good …

April 15, 2009
Swastika Building, Kidnap, Tire Dust

Hey, Matt: Some time ago I was checking out San Diego on Google Earth. On Coronado Island, at what I am told is the Special Forces training facility, there exists a large building that has …

April 8, 2009
Foot Baths, M.A.'s Career, Foot the Bill

Hey, Matt: Last year at the Del Mar Fair, my wife and I came across a booth where the company was selling some kind of a detox/purification product. You put your tootsies in a foot …

April 1, 2009
Half Pennies, Finger Muscles, Foot the Bill

Hey, Matt: Is it true that there used to be half pennies? If so, who was the president on that coin? — Jay, via email Yeah, I guess a half penny seems sorta useless in …

Water Bees, Toes

Dear Matthew Alice: Are bees suicidal? I swim in an outdoor pool, and practically every time there is a poor bee straining to stay afloat. I offer it a lifesaver (a twig or a leaf) …

March 11, 2009
Dog Smarts, Leap Year

Dear Matthew Alice: Can my dog understand me when I talk to him? I can tell him to sit down and to lie down and he does it, so he understands me when I say …

March 4, 2009
Rocks, Cancerous Animals

Heymatt: Traveling down the freeway of life, the latest wrinkle on the road are sand and gravel trucks with a sign claiming, “Not responsible for damage to windshields.” Huh? Did the truckers’ lobby manage to …

February 25, 2009
Milk Cows, Panorama, Recycled Paper

Heymatt: What would happen if I owned some cows and I milked them every day for a while and then I stopped milking one of them? Would that cow explode or what? — Bearman, via …

February 18, 2009
Sperm, Universe, Fingerprints

Matt: Why do humans produce so much sperm if only one will fertilize an egg? And why are they in competition with each other? It would seem simpler to have fewer with less competition. — …

February 11, 2009
Fingernails, Cactus, Poppies

Heymatt: The other day I tried pulling out my thumbnail. I just yanked on it for a while but nothing happened. Nails don’t look like the stuff around them. Are they just stuck into our …

February 4, 2009
Cats 'n' Water, Rainbow Gold, Bullet Heat

Hey, Matt:My cat is obsessed with water. He’s an ex-stray I found shivering in the rain a year ago, and he’s been a housecat ever since. I turn on any tap — kitchen, bathroom — …

January 21, 2009
Dog Sense, Hair Loss

Matthew: My dog, a sweet, goofy retriever, can always tell when my husband is coming home. He heads for the garage door every night about five minutes before I hear his car. I know lots …

January 14, 2009
Slumberous Growth, Tire Treads, Pinkies

Hey, Matt: My friend read in a book somewhere that people are taller in the morning than they are at night. Is that possible? The book didn’t say why. Do you know why if it’s …

January 7, 2009
Bubbly Fish, "Old McDonald"

Dear Matt: Why does my fish blow bubbles? Sometimes it will just be hanging out and all of a sudden it will cut loose with a bubble from its mouth. How does air get in …

December 23, 2008
Tylenol, Sweat Scents, Volcano Incinerator

Dear Matthew Alice: While I was waiting for the Tylenol to kick in and stop my headache, I decided to read the ingredient list on the bottle. Active ingredients: Acetaminophen. Inactive ingredients: carnauba wax, cellulose, …

December 17, 2008
Secondhand Transplants, Foot the Bill, Triboluminescence

Mattster: Say somebody has a liver transplant and then they die a while later in an accident. Can they take out the transplanted liver and give it to someone else? What would happen if somebody …

December 10, 2008
Harbor Police, Reader Hoarding, and Animals with People Names

Hey, Matt: Last year I moved to Point Loma. I grew up in San Diego but never really hung out too much by the bay. My question is, what’s up with the Harbor Police? I …

December 3, 2008
Dying Animals, X-Walk Buttons, Phillips Head

Matt: I strolled into the kitchen yesterday and noticed that there was a fly perched on the edge of my counter, right next to the sink. I figured as I got closer to it, it …

November 19, 2008
Hand Sanitizers

Hey, Matt: I was using one of those hand sanitizers the other day and noticed on the bottle: “kills 99.9% of all germs.” What about the .1% that they don’t kill? Let’s say there are …

November 12, 2008
Eyeball Rubbing, Space Junk

Matt: I can’t figure this out. Maybe you can. When I’m at work, mostly, I seem to always be rubbing my face and eyes. I rub them pretty hard, which really messes up my makeup. …

November 5, 2008
Human Flavor, Alzheimer's & X-Rays

Hey, Matt! Last night I was reading Silence of the Lambs, and it got me wondering. When humans are cooked up, are they more like beef or pork? Not that I ever plan on finding …

October 29, 2008
Tanning Light, Beer vs. Soda, 420

Heymatt: If I replaced the fluorescent bulbs five feet above my head at work with bulbs from a tanning bed, would I give myself a nice year-round tan or a bad case of cancer? — …

Train Electrocution, Ripe Bananas

Dear Matthew Alice: What would happen if lightning hit railroad tracks? Would everybody on the train be electrocuted if lightning hit the cars? — William, via email Where do you people get these questions? We …

October 15, 2008
Cold vs. Flu, Dodder

Dear Matt: They’re already starting to advertise for old people to get flu shots this year. It’s starting to piss me off. I don’t get the flu in the winter, I have about five colds. …

October 1, 2008
No Sleep Brings Death? Tumco

Heymatt: Sometimes I don’t sleep for a couple of days. I have a friend who told me that I could die from lack of sleep. I can’t believe that, but this friend is always throwing …

September 24, 2008
Jellyfish Snacks, Greenhorns, and Vaughn

Heymatt: We took the kids to the aquarium, and that got me to thinking about what eats what in the marine environment. Little fishes are pretty much lunch for bigger fish, but they also have …

September 17, 2008
Beer Goggles, Mr. Yellow, Pea Jacket

Mr. Alice, Sir: I’ve never seen you or anybody else for that matter take on this situation. Maybe the answer is too obvious, but I don’t understand how. I like frequenting upscale bars and mingling …

Pregnant Parking, Wasps' Nests, Suggested Donations, "Arms" Hotels

Heymatt: I see that Horton Plaza has a section of parking for pregnant women. As a male, if I park there, will the cops (or mall cops) treat this the same way they would if …

August 27, 2008
Radio Contact with Airplanes, Sour Milk

Hey, Matt: Ever see big jets flying overhead, the ones leaving a white smoke trail? They fly right over our houses daily. Whee! Say, listen…I have a certain keen ol’ hand-held walkie-talkie, good for hiking, …

August 20, 2008
How Cats Became Pets

Matthew Alice: I’ve been contemplating Doris, my cat, and trying to imagine who first got the idea to try to capture and tame a wild lion or tiger or whatever into a domestic friend. I’m …

July 30, 2008
The swampy area south of the River

Hi, Mr. Matt: I can’t find anyone that knows the derivation of the name for the Formosa Slough in Point Loma. — Phil Crepeau, via email Ooh, twice wrong, Phil. First of all, you can …

July 30, 2008
How "going commando" came to be

Heymatt: Why is not wearing underwear called “going commando” style? I would think a commando would appreciate the support and reduction of chafing that briefs provide. — Chafing at the Bit in RB The elves …

July 30, 2008
Pine apples and pine cones

Matt: Why is a pineapple called a pineapple? — Nameless, via email In the Middle Ages, Europeans called pretty much all fruit and fruitlike things “apples.” The “fruit” of the pine tree (the pine cone) …

July 30, 2008
Belly Butterflies, Season Names, Gum

Heymatt: My home-office chair is missing its back, and I nearly fell out of it this morning, giving me the “butterflies.” While the vision of a tiny jar full of butterflies fluttered through my head, …

July 23, 2008
Shrunken Heads, Smoker History

Heymatt: I’ve always wondered about shrunken heads. How do they shrink the skull? That’s bone, and I can’t figure out how anybody could shrink bone. I’m not planning to do any shrinking myself. I’m just …

July 9, 2008
Diet History, Transgender Surgery

Hey, Matt: Are you skinny or fat? And if you’re fat, are you on a diet? Everybody I know is on a diet. And some of them aren’t even fat. Who was the first person …

July 2, 2008
Duck Tape, Classical Radio Station

Heymatt: This is a question about the most useful stuff in the world: duct tape. I used to call it duck tape until some friends laughed at me and said no, it’s duct tape. With …

June 25, 2008
The Albatross, Booger Edibility

Heymatt: I have read many a time that albatross spend most of their lives out over the ocean and never come ashore. Well, I guess they have to come ashore to lay their eggs. If …

June 18, 2008
Egg Orientation, Flavorless Strawberries, Human Combustion

Matt: When a hen lays an egg, which end comes out first? Settle our bet. — Fat End and Pointed End, via email Ever seen a pregnant hen? There’s an even better question. With hens …

June 11, 2008
Collagen, Helium, and Butt Boozin'

Hey, Matthew: Before I have collagen injections in my lips, I have to know where they get the collagen. Is it human? Does it come from some animal? — Lip Sink, via email Cow lips. …

June 4, 2008
Seagulls, Pigeons, Alcohol Enemas

Heymatt: How far inland can seagulls be found? Are they looking for quieter digs, or are they just lost out there? — Charlie Bingbang, inland Hey, Matt: I’ve been feeding a motley group of pigeons …

May 21, 2008
Bangs, Piggy Banks, Flies

Dear Matt: When I was a little girl, my mother always cut my hair in bangs, straight across my forehead. I was looking at some old pictures lately and suddenly wondered why that hairstyle is …

May 7, 2008
Gravity, Sexless

Matthew Alice: In school we were talking about how the earth spins around like a top. The teacher said that is what makes days and nights when we can’t see the sun anymore. But my …

April 30, 2008
Getting drunk on Red Bull and vodka

Heymatt: My friend drinks Red Bull and vodka. He says he doesn’t get drunk that way. How does that happen?— Norma, via email Well, it doesn’t happen. He just thinks it happens. Energy drinks don’t …

Was Obama’s Kenyan grandfather involved in the slave trade?

Matt: How many Kenyans were involved in the slave trade? Did this include Obama’s Kenyan grandfather?— Irv J., via email Yikes! The political debate takes a new and nasty turn. Well, at least it’s our …

April 23, 2008
String Cheese, Obama's Grandpa, Booze & Caffeine

Matt: We are all familiar with the two major forms of mozzarella cheese, the larger amorphous blob we grate and use on pizza and the finger-sized string cheese portions we play with as we eat …

April 23, 2008
Perps, X-rayed Sandwiches, and Equatorial Toilets

Heymatt:When I watch all my crime shows on TV, I’ve always wondered about lineups. There’s a bunch of five or six guys in a row and one of them is the suspect, and the victim …

April 9, 2008

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