Heymatt: I was recently given some lovely lace handkerchiefs from my grandmother. Several of them have a gold sticker on them that proclaims "Genuine Irish Lace Made In China." How can it be "Genuine Irish …
July 21, 2005
Straight from the Hip
Archived articles
Genuine Chinese Irish Lace
Birth complications
Heymatt: If an American on vacation in another country gives birth, is the kid automatically a US citizen? Is the kid also a citizen of the birth country? Also, will the newborn require a passport …
July 7, 2005
No itchy deer
Dear Mr. Alice: We just came back from a very green vacation. Tramped through woods and fields and we all got poison ivy and were pretty miserable. But we also saw lots of animals around …
July 7, 2005
Lawn bottles strike again
Mr. Alice: I walk my dogs., A lot. Which takes me around a lot of different neighborhoods. On my walks I see, o occasion (not particularly commonly, but enough to make me wonder WTF??) a …
June 30, 2005
Nobody cared what time it was before 1850
Heymatt: In today's world we have an atomic clock in Ft. Collins, Colorado, that keeps time within 14 millionths of a second of the earth's rotation, and we have clocks and watches that receive a …
June 30, 2005
Quicksand nostalgia
Hey Matt: What's the deal with quicksand? As a child I saw movies where people died in the stuff. Cartoon characters sank in it. Yet in all my years of reading the newspaper and hearing …
June 23, 2005
Crosswalk capers
Matt: Would you please clarify the "Pedestrian has the right of way" rule before I kill somebody? If I get to an intersection in my car and a pedestrian is waiting, I let the pedestrian …
June 9, 2005
Name that state
Hey Matt! Why are the states named as they are, i.e., Ohio, Texas, Utah, and so on? Where did these names come from? Why didn't they get simple names like Bob or George? -- Darth …
June 9, 2005
It's not logical being green
Matthew: Why does every escalator in the world have those green lights in the works under the steps at the bottom and the top? And why always the same shade of green? -- Steve, the …
June 9, 2005
The half life of gum
Matthew: While chucking my spent chewing gum into a major retailer's landscaping, I got to wondering. Are there any insects or animals that make use of it? For food or nest building or what? What …
June 2, 2005
The Mean-16
Hello: What does the "M" in M-16 stand for? -- Mira Fae Sobson, UCLA Remember, Mira, we're dealing here with the U.S. Army. Mostly a no-frills, no-imagination outfit that runs on codes and letters and …
June 2, 2005