DEAR SUN SPOTS: Can you please tell me where I can find the 10-foot painted lighthouses are that were around Portland for the lighthouses on parade back in 2003? I know they were going to be auctioned off. — Katie, Auburn goofylover72@gmail.com

ANSWER: Sun Spots found a reference to those lighthouses and the auctions in the November 2002 (http://tinyurl.com/cd5vm3d) and December 2003 issue of Lighthouse Digest online (http://tinyurl.com/bre2pg4).

The plan was to display the lighthouses for the summer and then auction them off to raise money for charity. The online stories explain the event in detail.

In the November issue it said that Lighthouse Digest planned to purchase one of the lighthouses. You could contact them (Lighthouse Digest, FogHorn Publishing, P.O. Box 250, East Machias, ME 04630, 259-2121) and see if they still have it.

Sun Spots doesn’t know where the others went. If they were purchased privately, the sponsors of the event (Hannaford among them) would not be inclined to release that information — even if they still have it. Plus, there is no way of knowing if the original purchasers still have them 10 years later.

You didn’t say why you wanted to know, but if you just wanted to see photos of the lighthouses, Lighthouse Digest is your best bet. The story said that the print edition of their online story had many more photos. Also, if you wanted to find one, advertising in that publication might net results.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: In reading the hospital list in the Dec. 8 editorial I wondered where Maine Medical Center in Portland and Stephens Memorial in Norway are on the list.

On the curiosity side, I’m wondering if there is a “polite” way to eat corn on the cob. Up and down the ear or round and round it? Keep up the good work. Thank you. — No Name via email

ANSWER: That editorial (http://tinyurl.com/cfx4wzz) was based on a news release sent out by the Leapfrog Group, which administers the annual survey. It provided a list of the top hospitals in three categories, but did not rank all 1,206 in order. The editorial named only those that had the very highest ranking.

Note that the results are based on a voluntary survey, not personal inspections.

If you want to check out the results for other hospitals, you can do so at https://leapfroghospitalsurvey.org/view-survey-results/

As for eating corn on the cob, Sun Spots doubts that there is a “right” way, but at www.wikihow.com/Eat-Corn-on-the-Cob, there is a lengthy explanation about the proper way to eat corn. It includes this paragraph:

“The key to neat and efficient corn on the cob eating is to use your teeth to pry the kernels whole into your mouth without actually biting into them. (Once they are in your mouth you chew and swallow them normally.) To pry them loose, you will need to have space above or below a row of kernels so that it can be pried loose. Unfortunately, the only easy way to clear the initial space you need (all you need is one row) is to take a normal bite, or, better yet, several bites clear along the cob from one end to another. Then you can pick your teeth clean, because the rest of the process is completely free of any risk of fibers getting stuck between them.”

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The Mechanic Falls Historical Society has all of the yearbooks from Mechanic Falls High School except the last graduating year, which was 1968. We have quite a few people in researching family members and wanting information on the high school. If anyone has a yearbook from that year or any other memorabilia from the town of Mechanic Falls, we would be pleased to add it to our growing collections. Thank you. — Eriks Petersons, 345-3134, nepesons@myfairpoint.net

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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