"We had to wade across the river. More and more of my friends dropped out. From the 1st grade to the 12th grade, more than 1000 dropouts. Till, in the end, I was the only one still going."
September 26, 1996
Thursday, September 26
The Silk Route Ends in San Diego
Men's vs. women's toilet seats
Dear Matthew Alice: The following has been puzzling me for some time now. I have asked numerous friends, and none of them have been able to supply a reasonable response. Why do commercial restroom toilets …
September 26, 1996
Derivation of honeymoon, cockpit, knock on wood, building
Hello, Matthew Alice, most gracious knower of all things far and wide: I heard that the word “honeymoon” has its origins in ancient Icelandic culture. Mead (wine made from honey) was the customary drink for …
September 26, 1996
Thursday, September 19
One thousand Cucapa, Kiliwa, Kumeyaay, Paipai survivors left in Baja
He says the Mexican bureaucracy is overwhelmed by the Indians who have migrated to the border area from mainland Mexico; they now outnumber the Baja Indians by at least 40 to 1.
September 19, 1996
Duncan Shepherd Replies to His Critics
Among people who know me just well enough to speak to, and not well enough to care whether we ever speak again, the most frequently and I suspect ghoulishly asked question over the years has …
September 19, 1996
Scout ants and food gatherers have low energy requirements
Dear Matt Alice: How far can an ant go on one fuel-up? No, really. I need to know because my son is convinced that ants eat on the way to the job. But I say …
September 19, 1996
Steeplechase — popular with the East Coast fox-hunting set
Dear Matthew Alice: While the rest of the world considers the Olympics a done deal, I’m still trying to figure out why the hurdlers landed in a small, slant-bottomed pool of water at some of …
September 19, 1996
The origin of G-string
Dear Matt: My boyfriend asked me a question the other day I simply did not know the answer to. Where did the word G-string come from? He thinks it’s because when you see a chick …
September 19, 1996
The tough female school bus drivers of Fallbrook
When Sherry —the sort of woman who could play Mary in a live Nativity scene — decided to become a bus driver so her husband wouldn’t have to work such long hours, her father was horrified. “Oh, Sherry, no!"
September 19, 1996
Thursday, September 12
San Diego commute – by bicycle, trolley, car pool, van pool, Coaster, and alone in car
The first curious thing about commuting by car is that in some ways it is the exact opposite of travel in general. When we travel we do so with our eyes and ears open, asking …
September 12, 1996
Coal mining at Torrey Pines and Point Loma
Dear Matmail: The highest man-made point in the county [mentioned in an answer several weeks ago] is at the top of Hot Springs Mountain, but it is the creaky, abandoned fire tower, not the radio …
September 12, 1996
Mirror images only reversed horizontally, not vertically
Dear Matthew Alice: This sounds like a dumb question until somebody tries to explain it and finds out it isn’t so simple. Why do we perceive an image in a mirror as reversed horizontally, but …
September 12, 1996
Thursday, September 5
Utopia and bloodshed in revolutionary Tijuana
A few decades ago, during the era when my friend Henry and I devoted many hours to exploring Tijuana, we found a saloon that I later learned was around the corner and up a block …
September 5, 1996
What the turn of the century does for leap year
Know All, See All Matt: I have two friends who differ about leap year in the year 2000. One friend says February 29 does not occur on a century mark, while the other friend argues …
September 5, 1996
The many meanings of "run"
Matt, you really smart guy: I’m curious about the term “hit and run,” as in a car accident where someone leaves the crime scene. Is this an old term? Cars don’t exactly “run,” do they? …
September 5, 1996
Why white sugar is not considered vegetarian
Dear Straight from the Hip: Recently I was in a natural food store and I noticed that they did not sell white sugar. I was informed that “white sugar is filtered through bone, and as …
September 5, 1996