The Slice: The other 49 percent were targets

One difference between men and women is that 51 percent of males can recall their all-time greatest snowball-aiming achievement.

OK, let’s move on.

“Slice answers: I can’t say I’m wild about it. But several readers said that “I’m still on the right side of the grass” is their favorite answer when asking an elderly person how he or she is doing.

“I thought this was just something people noticed on odometers: A friend looked at her checkbook and realized that the next check she wrote would be No. 10,000. She decided she wanted it to be for something special.

Is she the only person in the history of check writing to have had that thought?

“Reader query: “Does any restaurant in the Inland Northwest serve grits anymore?” — Mark Godbey, Coulee Dam.

“Slice answers: Most responding readers agreed that there has been a widespread breakdown of manners when it comes to dealing with wrong-number phone calls.

But the question reminded Peter G. Williams of something that happened when he was growing up in Cleveland in the ‘60s.

The phone rang in his home. His saleswoman mother answered. It was a wrong number. But not only was Williams’ mom nice about it, she wound up selling the caller a set of the World Book encyclopedia.

“Context sought: “I want to know the story behind the solitary black 3-inch high-heeled shoe lying in the middle of the turn lane at the intersection of Regal and 44th early Friday morning,” wrote Pam Pierson. “How did it get there? Where is the Cinderella? Does she miss it?”

Hmmm. I know it’s not especially enchanted, but the phrase “alcohol involved” comes to mind.

“So this doesn’t happen just to teachers who handled a million pieces of paper: “A few years back, I was having my fingerprints done at the police station for a job,” wrote Linda Valentine.

They weren’t having much luck getting decent impressions. “The officer turned to me and asked if I’d been typing for a living.”

Valentine replied that, yes, she had. For 40 years.

“The case for old technology: Because the on-screen info grids provided by certain cable TV systems just list block after block of “Educational programming” for certain channels, it’s easy to miss good stuff on KWSU if you don’t check the newspaper listings. I was reminded of this the other day when I realized a bit late that a “Cadfael” mini-marathon was in progress.

“Today’s Slice question: In your household, how do family members announce themselves when they arrive home?