Simple ‘Star Trek’ Suggestion Could Have Saved NASA Lots of Trouble

On the subject of viewers who mistake “Star Trek” for a documentary series, one fan reminded Washington of a weapon Capt. Kirk used to deflect asteroids.

“When I worked for a U.S. senator, NASA was having trouble repositioning the orbit of the Hubble telescope,” writes Lynda Schuler. “A helpful constituent called our office and wanted to know why NASA didn’t just use the tractor beam?”

(And remember--that constituent’s vote counts just as much as yours.)

Someone beam up a plumber: As for “Star Trek” viewers who thought their brains were being robbed by the show’s producers, Dr. Joseph McEvoy of San Clemente says he encountered the case of a man “who believed that threatening messages were being sent to him through the plumbing. As a result, he refused to flush the toilet. The results I will leave to your imagination.”

More far-out stuff: The TV show “The X-Files” has a never-ending series of twists and turns. Just the other night on the tube, I heard Scully say of Mulder: “impressive looking.”

The business-like Scully talking about her male partner that way?

In reality, it was Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully praising the pitching skills of Oakland pitcher Mark Mulder.

But-Who’s-Counting? Dept.: After reading a survey she received, Jill Barnes of Culver City commented: “Kids grow up so fast, don’t they? It seems like only yesterday she was 800” (see accompanying).

And Walter Boye found a restaurant that seemed excessively proud of its spinach tortilla (see accompanying). At least it charged an even amount.

The devil, you say: My roving correspondent Phil Proctor of Beverly Hills spotted a spelling error on a jacket (see photo).

No, he didn’t kid the owner about it.

Unofficial cost of living indicators: Will Mir of Woodland Hills points out you can get some “unexpected laughs from vintage movies when they quote the prices of the period.”

In “Sunset Boulevard” (1950), Mir pointed out, an actress played by Nancy Olson confides to a writer (William Holden) that she got a nose job to enhance her career prospects.

Writer: “It’s a pretty nose.”

Actress: “It should be. It cost $300.”

I’m not even sure you could have a nose hair removed for $300 today.

Mystery solved: “A woman discovered a fine yellow powder on the floor of her garage and suspected that someone had put it through a small hole in the garage door,” the Seal Beach Sun reported. Police found that her fire extinguisher had exploded.

Some offbeat shrines in “Museum Companion to Los Angeles” by Borislav Stanic:

* Punk Rock Museum (You’ve Got) Bad Taste, 3816 Sunset Blvd.: Artifacts include “the doors from Masque, the first punk club in L.A.” and the “white slip dress worn by singer Debbie Harry (of Blondie) on cover of ‘Parallel Lines’ album (note: white belt is missing!).”

* Frederick’s of Hollywood Lingerie Museum, 6608 Hollywood Blvd.: Displays frilly things worn by Marilyn Monroe and Lana Turner, as well as “Tony Curtis’ black lace bra from the classic ‘Some Like It Hot’ ” (1959).

* The Fantasy Foundation, 2495 Glendower St., L.A.: Its sci-fi collection ranges from Lon Chaney’s teeth worn in the silent film “London After Midnight” (1927) to “the only remaining model of the Martian flying machines from ‘War of the Worlds’ ” (1953). You’ll recall that those Martian machines attacked L.A., giving it quite an expensive face lift.

miscelLAny: Melanie Wilkinson adds to our list of goofy street corners with the news that PLAIMOR (Avenue) and EASMOR (Circle) intersect in Palm Springs, as do LIVMOR (Avenue) and MORSUN (Circle).

That’s all for today. There ain’t no MOR.

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, 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.