I think Christmas is over at the Alice house. We're never sure until the tree comes down and we shake all the deadbeat relatives out of the branches. But the gauge shows empty on the …
December 29, 2005
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
2005 Year-End Quiz
Hamsterfest
Heymatt: My girlfriend has a hamster, which I consider to be a stupid animal. He constantly runs on his wheel. Hours and hours and hours. I watch and think, "Does he think he is actually …
December 22, 2005
Peace piece
Dear Matt: What's the origin of the peace symbol-- the circle with the "bird's foot" in it? -- Peacenick, the net England, 1958. At the request of peace activist Bertrand Russell, an artist was doodling …
December 22, 2005
Snakebit
Matt: Do species of snakes in the same family ever bite one another and die from the poison? How about between families? Maybe snakes in general don't bite each other. -- Bob and friends, North …
December 15, 2005
Good ole Rube
Heymatt: My father always mentioned Rube Goldberg whenever he heard of some odd scheme or idea. Please tell me about ol Rube. Is he fact or fiction? -- JRG, Spring Valley Old Rube is actual …
December 15, 2005
Light my fire
Hello: The subject came up in a casual conversation. Is there such a thing as spontaneous human combustion? -- A.V., Golden Hill Like, you'll be sitting in your lounge chair, watching the Super Bowl, and …
December 15, 2005
Fear of the outie
Heymatt: My sister is having a baby pretty soon and she's terrified that her child might have to go through life with an outie belly button. Is there anything she can do to make sure …
December 1, 2005
Death by mascara
M.A: No matter how tightly I close up my mascara, it always dries up before I use much of it. I suspect this is planned obsolescence. I've tried dribbling water into the little brush hole …
December 1, 2005
Snoozing ponies
Dear Matthew Alice: How come horses can sleep standing up? Why don�t they fall over? -- Kris, Central Elementary School Well, Kris, horses' legs are not built like yours and mine. The arrangement of bones …
December 1, 2005
Butt dot?
Dear M.A.: Getting personal, I have a small blue dot on my butt, and I'm told my mother and brother do as well. My mother has always said it was a "Mongolian birthmark." She says …
November 24, 2005
Concentrating monkeys
Matt: Something that I've wondered about for years is why people stick the tips of their tongues out of their mouths when they're concentrating on something. I've seen my kids do it and adults do …
November 24, 2005