Honor Him on Non-Presidents Day

I’m sad to report that the new TV quiz shows have bungled the answers to so many questions that contestants are losing faith in their hosts. You’ll recall that during a taping of the show, “Winning Lines,” the judges initially said three actors had played Batman in the movies; after they were informed there were at least four, they threw out the question (the answer actually was six).

So it was probably only a matter of time until the following happened: During a later taping of the same show in Hollywood, the question was how many U.S. presidents had the letter X in their name. The answer: One (Richard Nixon).

But during a commercial break, a contestant declared that another president had been overlooked. Several other contestants chimed in their support. They agreed the judges had forgotten about Alexander Hamilton. But for once the judges were correct: Hamilton only rose as high as secretary of the treasury.

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ATTENTION NORWALK FANS: On a visit to romantic Barstow, Paul Schowalter of Fullerton found a mileage marker for several interesting locales (see photo).

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STILL ON THE ROAD: David Graham of Laguna Niguel came upon a bit of that Down Under humor outside a hospital in Cook, Australia (see photo).

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BAD SIGN? I’m hoping the sign Lisalee Wells of Long Beach spotted was for a film, not a flood (see photo).

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L.A. INSULT OF THE DAY: The title of the movie “Snow Day,” which is set in the Syracuse, N.Y., area, refers to the closure of schools after a snowstorm. One character says: “I heard in Los Angeles they get off for bad hair days.” (How cruel. Some of us never have hair days, period.)

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MYSTERY SOLVED: Well, it appears that author Dean Koontz was indulging in a bit of an inside joke in his new thriller, “False Memory.” I’m referring to the scene where a roofer in Newport Beach says he’s haunted by an “angel of death” who resembles Billy Crystal.

I couldn’t figure out the puzzling scenario apart from the fact that Crystal attends the games of the Clippers, who are enduring the NBA’s version of a living hell.

But John Clement of Arleta came up with the answer. He recalled that a wisecracking character played by Crystal is told in one movie, “It’s amazing. You look like a normal person but actually you are the angel of death.”

His accuser: Meg Ryan in “When Harry Met Sally . . . “ (1989).

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COLLEGE DAZE: A license plate holder spotted in Manhattan Beach by Valerie Reece speaks both of the rising cost of schools and the lowering of grammatical standards. It reads: MY KID AND MY $ MONEY $ GOES TO UCSB

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Some motorists have called law enforcement authorities about a series of mysterious billboards with one-sentence teasers, such as “On April 9th, eight Oklahoma tourists will be beaten in downtown Los Angeles.”

They’re actually ads for the L.A. Avengers’ Arena Football League opener against the Oklahoma Wranglers at the Staples Center. What did you expect from a minor league outfit?

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.