Send in the earplugs: When James Boyk...

Send in the earplugs: When James Boyk of West L.A. attended a Ringling Bros. circus at the L.A. Sports Arena, he found the continuous amplified music “appallingly loud.”

So loud that he had circus personnel lend him and his family ear protectors.

Not that the circus is the only source of what Boyk calls “the last pollution frontier--noise.”

“A lot of these new hot restaurants have a noise level that’s so incredible you can’t possibly have a conversation at the table,” he said.

Boyk was so upset by his circus experience that he sent a letter to the Sports Arena, which promised in return to install sound meters that would keep the racket from becoming “excessive.”

No doubt his complaint was given credence not only because he is a concert pianist but because he teaches several classes at Caltech, including “Analytic Listening.”

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The forbidden word of carwashes: Stephen Mills of Glendale, who took our accompanying photo, says that someone seeing the Lottery sign outside a local carwash might mistakenly “wonder what sort of fabric they are using--emery cloth?”

List of the Day: Until we opened a copy of the Daily Bruin, we were unaware that the competition to capture pledges is so fierce among fraternities and sororities at UCLA that some have apparently resorted to mind control.

Among the daily Greek events designed to lure innocent first-year students during last week’s rush were these mesmerizing activities:

Tuesday, 7 p.m.: “Hypnotist” (Delta Tau Delta).

Wednesday, 8 p.m.: “World Famous Hypnotist Alexander Van Buren” (Zeta Beta Tau).

Thursday, 8 p.m.: “Hypnotist, featuring Travis Fox” (Kappa Sigma).

Thursday, 8:30 p.m.: “Hypnotist Show, ‘A Trip to Fantasy Island’ “(Triangle).

Thursday, 9 p.m.: “Hypnotist” (Sigma Alpha Mu).

Friday, 6 p.m.: “The Hypnotic Stylings of Marc Bachrach” (Theta Chi).

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Before we ride off into the sunset: Our recent mention of Huntington Library research scholar Paul Zall reminded one reader of a story Zall told during a college lecture.

As reader Kenneth Larson recalls it, the story involved a Harvard archeologist who flew out West “to decipher some crude and mysterious letters carved on a flat, upright stone next to an ancient iron ring. The letters read: TI EM ULE SH ERE.”

“After several days of examining the letters, the professor suddenly dropped his notebook and shouted: “I’ve got it! I’ve got it! It says: ‘TIE MULES HERE.’ ”

miscelLAny:

La Crescenta is Spanish for . . . well, nothing. The name was invented by Benjamin Briggs, a pioneer resident, more than a century ago. Inspired by “three-crescent shaped formations” visible from his home, he came up with “the artificial name with the Romanic touch,” according to the book “California Place Names.” It’s probably too late for La Crescenta to do anything about it, but crescent in Spanish is creciente.