Without makeup / arlamont@msn.com / November 21, 2023

CLEANING

What is the best way to clean lenses daily? At the optician they gave me some packages with a wet wipe and they sold me a “special” liquid that I have to buy again every time I run out. How do you see it, is this the best way to clean them?

A. No, what you describe is not the best or most economical way to keep your lenses clean. I advise you to follow this new routine:

Wash your hands to get rid of any dirt or germs. Rinse the lenses with warm water (not too hot or too cold).

Add a drop of mild dish soap and rub it on your lenses. Spread the soap on both sides of the lenses and all over the frame.

Rinse off the soap.

Dry everything with a lint-free or microfiber cloth.

Use a cotton swab to dig out any stuck-on dirt around the edges of the lenses where they meet the frames.

Wash your microfiber or lint-free cloth regularly. It holds oils from your hands, so if you don't wash it, it will just stain the lenses you just cleaned.

Never rub your lenses without running them under running water and, if you follow these tips, I guarantee a long life without streaks on your lenses.

INVENTED

What proper names have actually been invented?

A. While many names in the Western world are drawn from traditional European elections and religious texts, others were spawned by the minds that composed some of our most treasured works.

William Shakespeare is responsible for several, including Jessica of The merchant of Venice. Jonathan Swift brought us Vanessa from his poem Cadenus and Vanessaand Henry Wadsworth Longfellow did the same with the poem Evangeline. Partial credit goes to Johanna Spyri and JM Barrie, whose respective creations of Heidi and Wendy, from Peter Pan, gave life to independent versions of existing nicknames. And although it is an exaggeration to say that the main character of The Portrait of Dorian Gray inspired a legion of babies with the same name, Oscar Wilde at least deserves an honorable mention for introducing that nickname into the public domain.

ET YOU, BRUTE

Did Julius Caesar really say the phrase “Et tu, Brute?” when one of his allies and friends was about to kill him?

A. The truth is that these words were never said by Julius Caesar. Instead, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar says them in the play of the same name when he acknowledges that his friend Marcus Junius Brutus played a role in his murder. These days, the expression is used more humorously to condemn a friend's change of heart.

IN THEORY

Don Alfred, in theory, if you could drive a car upwards, how long would it take me to get to outer space?

A. The Earth's atmosphere is about 100 kilometers thick, and the Kármán line, which is the internationally accepted boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space, is 100 kilometers above sea level.

If you drive your car at a speed of 100 kph then it would take you an hour, without booths, without checkpoints, without sit-ins. It's like I really want to be able to take that trip.