Dear Matthew Alice: What's up with the musicians I occasionally see under the bridge over Friars Road at the end of Mission Center Road? I don't get it, are the acoustics that great there or …

HeyMatt: Is there a doomsday for analog type TVs? Seems that I read that on January 1st, 2006, that 8 to 10 million televisions will go blank due to new FCC rules and all TVs …

HeyMatt: I was thinking about restaurants and how the wait staff all have clever versions of the "Happy Birthday" song. I've heard all the talk about how copyrights won't allow them to sing it. So …

Hey Matt: Where and when did the custom of wearing ties start? When were they deemed important in social circles? What a pain in the ass they are. -- Bob, the net We traditionally blame …

Dear Matthew Alice: I read that back in the 1920s, the Jehovah's Witnesses bought a house in San Diego. Is this house still here? Do the Witnesses still own it? -- DMH, San Diego They …

Heymatt: Does anyone know the history behind the lips painted on the rock going out of Lemon Grove at Lemon Grove Avenue and High street? I'm 34 years old and always remember the lips being …

Hey Matt: What makes the loudest noise? I think it's an H bomb, but my girlfriend thinks it's a big volcano. Or is it our argument about this question? Please help! -- Andy, South Park …

Heymatt: I've always wondered how come liquor doesn't freeze in the freezer, how come? - Drunk and confused in Santee Matt: I'm only eight, but I've noticed that ice cubes have little peaks in them. …

Dear Matthew Alice: Why on earth do I get hiccups immediately after eating starchy foods? Bread, pasta, potatoes, tortilla chips... anything with lots of starch will do it! I have friends who report the same …

Matt; A brilliant school teacher in 1957 told the class something no one had ever heard. The Russian "Sputnik" was coming. It did. He also said that man is so brilliant he can change the …

Dear Matthew Alice: I think I've asked every short-order cook, waitress, chef, bus boy, whoever, for years this question, and nobody's ever been able to tell me. Why, WHY are restaurant coffee pots for decaf …

Dear Matt, I won't join a circus to find out so this task goes to you Matt, you find the answer to nearly anything we experience in day-to-day life. What propels the human cannonballs? I …

Matthew Alice: In Mission Bay sits an island with what looks like a large bowling pin on it. Another sits on the west side of I-5 north of Oceanside. I want to know what these …

Dear Matthew Alice: How did the traditions of using red lights for stop and green lights for go start? It seems pretty arbitrary to me. But I'm sure there's some weird logic behind it. And …

Matt: I just got back from a visit to Miami. When I was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean I could swear that the water there was saltier than it is off San Diego's Coast. True …

Dear Matthew Alice: Why do judges wear black robes? Do they come in different styles? What's the bill to the taxpayers so they can dress up? -- Quinn, the net Ma Alice has spent so …

Dear Matt: I was wondering. If a set of identical twins married another set of identical twins, and each couple had a child, would the two children be identical? -- Ag, the net UCSD's medical …

Heymatt: How come during rush hour the slow lanes are faster than the fast lanes? -- Y.F., the net First of all, because the fast lane is fast in name only. In a finely tuned …

Matt: Why is Canada so special? -- GZ, the net Lucky for us, Canadians seem to spend most of their free time answering survey questions. Maybe we can find some clues in statistics from public …

Heymatt: On the day of the tsunami, did the world population go up or down. I trust it didn't stay the same. -- Joel Fentin, the net Trust misplaced, Joel. The most recent total (estimated, …

Dear Matthew Alice: Can you find out where the expression "the whole nine yards" came from? -- Everyone in San Diego Things that make you go "No! Please! Leave me alone!" Somewhere in the office …

Matt: I'm quite pregnant, and my dear husband claims to be experiencing some of the same symptoms I am. Queasiness, leg and back pains, things like that. I've heard of this happening to other men. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Hey Matt: I got this email today and am wondering if it is true. Before everyone with a computer receives this, and I start hearing people in taverns repeating it, what's it worth? "In the …

Hello Matt: Can you explain the source and purpose of the mysterious, barely visible elevated "wire" that runs down the south side of El Cajon Boulevard, from 59th Street to Montezuma? It doesn't appear to …

Matt: My friend insists that if you are in an elevator and the cable breaks and you fall to the ground, you'd be killed. I still can't see why you couldn't jump up at the …

Heymatt: Yesterday when I was driving real fast I found a peanut shell that had four individual peanuts it! Crazy huh? Anyway, I tried to explain to the CHP officer why I was speeding (late …

Dear Mr. Alice: Why does the pianist have someone to turn pages of music when they perform? I'd think a cellist or trombonist would be in greater need of this help. -- FEH, San Diego …

Dear Matthew Alice: My mother had my ears pierced when I was a baby hoping I would be a life-long earring lover. As a kid I just wore little gold balls. As a teen, I …

Heymatt: What with this new election for mayor, all the TV stations are talking about so-and-so "throwing his hat in the ring." What does that have to do with running for office? -- Voter, San …

Heymatt: What is the origin of the tooth fairy? When I was a kid I thought the idea was great when I got a quarter. But now that my kids are holding me up for …

Hey Matt: While reading a copy of Mad magazine while contemplating life the other day, I quietly exclaimed, "Hmmmmm, I wonder why we sometimes have floaties and sometimes not." Fortunately, the guy in the next …

Mattster: Why does it hurt when I get a speck of dirt in my eye, but when I put my contact lenses in, I don't feel much of anything? -- Eyes T., San Diego The …

Greetings, Matt!: In the 1930s and 1940s, a popular radio program was Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. Jack's sidekick was Billy. What was Billy's last name? P.S.: Do flies dream? -- PSK, San Diego And …

Heymatt: Just one question�why the middle finger, Matt, why? -- David Sparks, New Orleans Maybe because it's the longest digit, sticks up the farthest already. But the bird is so old a gesture, there's no …

Heymatt: I've noticed that when I take a nap in the afternoon, I drool all over the place. But at night nothing. I've checked with other people, and they say the same thing, sort of. …

Heymatt: Why do chefs wear those big puffy hats? Wouldn't a hair net do better if they're trying to keep hair out of the food? -- LN, Mission Hills If form follows function, the traditional …

Mattster: Every time I go to the Laundromat, I see this sign that says the dryer works better if you put in three loads of wash instead of one. Of course I ignore the sign …

Matt: Can a Siamese twin get their connected sibling drunk? And is there such a thing as Siamese triplets? -- Just Curious, San Diego Got to say, I never considered that dilemma. One twin a …

Hey Matt: I've always wanted to fly in a hot-air balloon. But I was told by a friend of mine that when you are up in the sky, flying about, there are also spiders soaring …