The key to a good education is to always have a spare key

My niece Alex, a high school senior, had an appointment with a Yale graduate for some private SAT exam counseling. Alex went to the business and no one was there. She later found that the Ivy League tutor had locked her keys in her car and couldn’t make it. Guess Yale doesn’t offer a Spare Car Keys 101 class. Not sure SAT counseling would help, either.

Short subjects: After I mentioned the Austrian town of Au, Phil Harrott of San Pedro couldn’t resist one-upping, or one-downing me, by sharing a shot of the Norwegian town of A (see photo). Maybe the founders wanted to make sure their town was first in the world atlas index.

What a duo! Janey Milstead of Beverly Hills was amused by a classified ad concerning a cat and an unlikely companion (see accompanying).

As for the finder’s requirement that the owner “identify” the creatures, one wonders how specific the description of the elk would have to be.

Mystery solved: Milstead suspects that “Elk” was the name of a street.

New cat mystery! On a floating museum in Cleveland, Scott Wilson of Long Beach chanced upon a sign that looked as though it could refer to the aftermath of a meeting between an elk and a cat (see photo).

It was on a locker in an engine room. The tour guide, who had no idea what “Cat Parts” meant, opened the locker and discovered . . . engine parts.

No confusion here: James Eastwood spotted a gopher announcement by a crafty resident of Ontario. “Must have been a shortage in the pet stores,” Eastwood commented.

The unkindest cut: An elderly lunch-goer, ordering a sandwich at Philippe’s downtown emporium, told the counterperson, “I ate here 70 years ago.”

Referring to the 99-year-old restaurant’s original location, the man added, “It was on Aliso [Street] back then.”

“Yes,” the counterwoman said with a smile.

“You were there?” the man asked.

The counterwoman, perhaps 35 years old, responded, “No,” trying hard to keep her smile.

99 Kegs of Beer on a Wall? Philippe’s moved to its present location on North Alameda Street in 1951 to make way for the Santa Ana Freeway. The Aliso building was torn down but not before the demolition crew made an interesting discovery: a 30-gallon keg in a wall on the second floor.

Legend had it that the room was the headquarters of a bootlegger until Prohibition ended in 1932, at which time he moved to Spain, where he served milder drinks.

He opened a dairy.

Philippe’s now occupies an ancient brick building that also has some history. The numerous doorways on the second floor gave rise to speculation that a brothel once operated there. Could be. It’s in the city’s old Red Light district.

miscelLAny: John Hayes of Woodland Hills noticed that a supermarket coupon said, “Save $1. Excludes items prohibited by law.” Geez. Does that mean no market discounts enriched uranium?

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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, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.Harvey@latimes.com