Kinky the stowaway? Thereby hangs a tail

There’s always a spoil-sport in the crowd. The other day I wrote what I thought was a feel-good item about a stowaway kitty that rode on the ladder rack of a truck for 20 terrifying miles on the 91 Freeway. Luckily, the driver was alerted by another motorist and saved the animal, named Kinky.

So what does one reader ask? How did the animal get that name? Did it have something to do with the feline’s personal life?

If you must know, she’s Kinky because she has a kink in her tail, OK? She’s a very well-behaved cat. Next thing you know, the paparazzi will be staking out the owner’s front lawn.

Somewhat on the subject

In a La Brea-area market, James Grant saw a sign that seemed to refer to a cat that wasn’t as lucky as Kinky (see photo).

Actually, this is

almost kinky

In a Santa Barbara shop, Lawrence Wallin noticed a sign with a double meaning (see photo).

Do you have to hold up your hand?

Charlotte Fournier of Laguna Woods chanced upon a restaurant where you have to get permission from the bartender to perform certain functions (see photo).

Easier said than done

Linda Shannon of Tujunga relayed a boat notice that might, at first glance, alarm those without scuba diving training (see photo). Actually, as you may have guessed, there was just a T missing from the last word.

And now for the weather

After the onslaught of the Santa Anas, I heard a customer in a Long Beach bagel shop ask a friend:

“Did you drive over or blow over?”

Food fight!

I was disturbed to read that the New York Times is questioning whether fortune cookies were invented in L.A. My understanding was that they had been created here in 1918 by David Jung, a Chinese immigrant and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Co. Sure, San Francisco puts in a claim too, but San Francisco can’t stand being second to L.A. in anything.

The New York Times, however, cited the work of a history student who found a book of Japanese tales that referred to “written fortune crackers.” And the book was written in 1878.

Ah, well, if fortune cookies should have a “Made in Japan” label, L.A. can still lay claim to a few other culinary inventions, including:

The Cobb Salad (named after Brown Derby owner Robert Cobb).

The cheeseburger (the brainstorm of a chef named, no kidding, Lionel Sternberger; he worked in Pasadena in the 1920s).

The chili size (a burger on an open-face bun topped with chili, which was introduced around the same time by Tommy De Forest at his sophisticated Lincoln Heights eatery, Ptomaine Tommy’s).

The Orange Julius (named for Julius Freed in 1926). And, if you want something stronger than an Orange Julius:

The Moscow Mule (Cock ‘n’ Bull restaurant, 1940s). Of course, I guess you can’t be completely certain of any claims made by a place called Cock ‘n’ Bull.

miscelLAny:

I read on one website that fortune cookies didn’t appear in China until the 1990s -- and were introduced as “Genuine American Fortune Cookies.”

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com