Matt: I know this is going to be a little gross, so let me apologize in advance. Is the human body simply incapable of breaking down corn kernels? I can't even seem to chew corn …

M. Alice: While hefting candidate watermelons at the market, my wife said that the way to pick a good watermelon is to look for bee stings on them. "Bees don't sting watermelons." "Yes, they do. …

Hi, Matt: Do dogs ever get tired of barking? Is there a record for the longest consecutive bark? My neighbor's dog must hold that record. I'm sure a normal person couldn't talk that long. Even …

Hey Matthew: A friend of mine just lost eight teeth in a golfing accident with a buddy, which makes me wonder, why do people use the word "Fore!" when stroking the ball as a warning …

Dear Matthew Alice: My co-worker and I are having a friendly discussion. It's my understanding that after a person dies, their hair and nails continue to grow, at least for a short time. My co-worker …

Matt: Why does my cat bug the heck out of me when I'm on the phone-- rubbing against me, purring… -- Beth, San Diego Outside chance she'd like her own phone. But more likely she …

Dear Matthew: At what age does one qualify to be called a geezer? Most dictionaries just say "an old man." I was wondering if you could define the chronological age at which the term geezer …

Hey, Matt: If you've driven along 52 between 5 and Regents Road over the last half year, you've noticed that it is a dump. Every imaginable form of debris short of corpses decorates the shoulders. …

Mattster: Why does charcoal burn? Isn't it already burned? Or is it only mostly burned? What gives? -- B.C., O'side Charcoal is carefully cooked wood. Mankind figured out this one many centuries ago. The head-producing …

Hey Matt What's the difference between a sunroof and a moonroof on a car? -- Jay, Bay Park Grandma Alice has a message for you. "Tell him the difference is like day and night!" She's …

Heymatt: I was just opening a Kit-Kat bar, and there's a contest under the wrapper. I got the usual, "Sorry. Try again." But in the list of rules it says, "For a free game piece, …

Matthew: My question is about TANG, the space-program-induced instant drink mix from the '60s. Is TANG an acronym for something? Like I had always heard that SPAM stood for "shoulder pork and meats." -- Mitch …

M.A.: Department stores like WalMart, Target, Kmart, et al. are laid out in a fashion that seems to vaguely discriminate against male shoppers by putting the "guy stuff" (automotive, hardware, sporting goods) at the rear …

Oh Explainer of All Things Mysterious: You know that famous scene in The Seven Year Itch where Marilyn Monroe stands on the subway vent and enjoys the warm air blowing up her dress? Well, she's …

Matt: I have hundreds of channels on my TV. The only one missing is Channel 1. Has there ever been a Channel 1? If so, what happened to it? -- Leslie, Rancho Bernardo Poor old …

Dear Matt: Well, it appears Girl Scout cookie season has finally come to an end. How many calories did the Girl Scouts unleash on America this year? -- Craving Cookies in Ocean Beach You realize, …

Heymatt: As my husband and I drove down several San Diego freeways recently, we noticed that there were tufts of orange cotton-candy-like fluffy stuff growing on the bushes along the freeway. What is it? -- …

Dear Matthew: Why is a dime smaller than a penny? A penny, nickel, quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar are each progressively larger. The dime is out of sequence! This is definitely driving me nuts! …

Mat A: How do they get those little Ms on M&M candies? Disenfranchised elves working for Mars, Inc. at minimum wage? Or some esoteric new-fangled tenth generation computer gizmo? Or perhaps just some mundane mechanical …

Dear Matthew Alice: While contemplating the universe in the tub the other day, I suddenly wondered why my fingers and toes get all wrinkly when I contemplate the universe in the tub. -- Pruno, in …

Dear Uncle Matthew and Aunt Alice: We all know that our garden variety of snails leave a slimy trail on leaves when they move around. Buy why, when they traverse a cement sidewalk, is the …

Matt: When pigeons eat birdseed off the sidewalk, do they bang their beaks on the concrete? — Mission Valley Ken Peck. Ouch! Peck. Ouch! That's kinda how a pigeon's day goes. Well, not that bad, …

Hey, Matt: There are crime-solving reality shows that use actors in the recreations who look a lot like the real criminals. Have you heard any stories in which those actors were spotted on the street …

G'day Matt: I was hoping you could confirm a suspicion I've got that the culinary elite are trying to dupe us or that there is a serious case of the Emperor's New Apron going on. …

Hey: Settle an argument with my friend. He says cramming for an exam doesn’t work. I say staying up all night studying and going right into the exam makes the information fresh in my brain …

Hey Matt: After watching a few serious downpours earlier this year and noticing long lines of ants along my driveway when it was dry, I wondered how they don’t drown during a big rain storm. …

Matt: Why do they call it the clap? Personally, I wouldn’t clap if I found out I had it…yikes! -- Gretchen, La Jolla Let’s hear it for the French! They gave us the clap. The …

Hi Matt: Dinos got really, really huge. What was their life span anyway, on average...say, for a full-grown T. rex? They must have lived a long time to grow as gigantic as they did. -- …

Mattster: What does the handwriting on the wall say? Who wrote it? What wall is it on? Is it in pencil, crayon, spray paint? Why should I care what it says? -- Pardon Me, San …

Hi Matt: There used to be a picture booth in the arcade inside Mission Valley mall-- one of the good, old-fashioned ones that printed a vertical column of four successive shots. My little sister and …

Dear Matt: What's the deal with this knack we humans have for hearing a song, especially a really annoying one, and then going around with it playing in our heads all day? And why does …

Hey Matt: I was in a new mid-rise office building in Mission Valley the other day and noticed a button on the elevator marked "earthquake." So if I felt an earthquake I should push the …

Dear Matt: Now that we baby boomers are rapidly turning gray and seeing the other side of 50, I got to wondering. Who are the first and last of the boomer generation to have been …

Hey, Matt! Rumor has it that if you put Visine in somebody's drink it will give them major cramps and Montezuma's Revenge for about 24 hours. George might want to slip some in Saddam's drink. …

Dear Matt: Why does the "hair of the dog" theory work for hangovers, and where did the expression come from: -- Dog-bit Don, El Paso, TX Howdy, stranger. Physicians speculate that a hangover is just …

Dear Matthew: In the movie Magnolia, it rains frogs near the end. At first I thought this was preposterous. Then I fond out that this actually happens. How does it rain frogs? -- Mrs. Ingrum, …

Hey Matt!! My seniors have two important questions. How many times can you recycle paper, and is there dirt in Antartica, or is it all ice? -- Linsey Kitchens, Grossmont High School Hey Linsey!! Can't …

Hey Matt: I'm from Maine, and every good Mainer knows live lobsters are a bluey, greeny, purplish color. Why do lobsters turn red when you boil them? -- Mystified Mainer, the net The red pigment …

Hey Matt: What's the difference between a couch and a sofa? -- Jay, Bay Park Oh, maybe a hundred bucks. Actually, to Pa Alice they're pretty much the same thing, since he can easily fall …

Heymatt: Was Communion wine affected by the Prohibition? -- Ike, downtown Yes. Prohibition made it extremely popular, since it was one of the few forms of alcohol not banned by the 18th Amendment. Between 1923 …

Hey, Matthew: I've been a long-time fan of your work, particularly the literary devoice of the Elves and Grandma. Here's my two-part question. Why is a baker's dozen actually 13? I'm guessing something along the …

Dear Matt: I read somewhere that a good piece of fruit smells like it should. A peach should smell peachy, for example. The other day I was browsing the produce aisles in Henry's, sniffing the …

Heymatt: Boys Town, Chicago; the Castro, San Francisco; Greenwich Village, New York; Hillcrest, San Diego. How did these communities become Shangri-Las for the Fa La Las, in other words, GLBT? I would like to start …

Heymatt: I am male, over 50 years old. I know who my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were. That's easy. What I don't know is whether any of the actual cells, molecules, or tiny atoms of …

Hey, Matt: My new Thomas Guide, page 1227, identifies the ocean just off Scripps as "Scripps Institution submerged land area (private)." Can Scripps actually own the ocean bottom? If I dove there, could I sue …

Hey: Which of the following expels air from the body fastest, hardest: sneeze, cough, or fart? What would happen if you did all three at the same time? -- Dave from Arkansas Another big thinker …

Hey Matt Man: When I'm out working in my wood shop, there are certain materials that need special handling. Things like glycerol ester of wood rosin just seem to scream out "avoid breathing fumes," "wear …

Matt: Are humans the only living creature that commits suicide? -- Morbid Mark, the net Intent. Can animals form intent in their feral little brains? Sit down and say, hey, man, this grubbing for food …

Hey, Matt: Some of us guys were discussing gasoline stations where we see backhoes digging up old leaking tanks and the contaminated dirt loaded into a truck. Our question is, just where does that dirt …

Dear Matthew Alice: I've heard that toothpaste should not be ingested or it can cause fever, nausea, vomiting and even death. There's even a warning on most toothpaste tubes. Is this like lab rats...you'd have …