A handy item for the thief who wants to do his own dental work

Open wide, me: The Daily Trojan’s crime report said that “someone stole a dental drill from a locker in the Eileen & Kenneth T. Norris Dental Science Center.”

Someone who wanted to save some money by working on his own teeth? His insurance plan must really be bad.

Could it be the uniforms? Henk Friezer of Eagle Rock saw a notice about a brand of uncomfortable softball (see photo).

Adventurous Dining Department: Today’s specials (see accompanying) include:

What sounds like a leathery dish found in a Tokyo guidebook by Lauren Uba, age 14, of Rancho Palos Verdes.

A dumpling that lights up (from David Chan of L.A.).

And a Los Alamitos restaurant that is obviously very proud of its restrooms (see photo).

Pressure from the top: “We were taught that ‘words can never hurt me,’ ” said Anita Wincelberg of Beverly Hills. Nevertheless, the police log of the local Courier carried this item: “Suspect approached victim and wife, attempted to solicit information in a foreign language. When victim walks away, suspect pulls him by the arm and taps him on head with leaflets.”

Head games (cont.): Well, I sympathize with the above victim.

More than once my head has been a target of strangers, in some cases because I have few hairs on top.

During a performance of “Cats,” one of the two-legged felines drew laughter by pawing my noggin as she ran down the aisle. At a Clippers game, a mascot also prompted merriment by rubbing my head for good luck.

And just the other day while riding in a standing-room-only bus in San Francisco, I felt a tap-tap-tapping on the skull. This time, though, my head was covered by a cap. A homeless type was telling me how much he liked my hat, which was designed to resemble a baseball. At least he didn’t try to throw my head.

We’re No. 10! (hiccup): The closest thing to an “Animal House” in Southern California?

In the Princeton Review’s latest survey of students at 366 major colleges, UC Santa Barbara was the 10th-biggest “party school” (wild West Virginia was No. 1).

UCSB scholars were also No. 11 in liquor consumption and No. 17 in marijuana use. (USC and UCLA failed to crack the top 20 in any of these categories.)

Claremont-McKenna’s bookworms were No. 20 in terms of beer consumption and, coincidentally or not, No. 12 in terms of “happy students.”

In the “Campus Is Tiny, Unsightly, or Both” category, neighboring Harvey Mudd College came in at No. 15. Luckily, the Mudders can always visit Claremont-McKenna for a more pleasing view -- or a beer.

MiscelLAny: Does it seem like kids are more out of hand than ever? Lynne Williams of Pacific Palisades saw a legal notice in the Palisadian-Post that began this way: “The following person has abandoned the use of the fictitious business name, ‘THE JOY OF PARENTING’. . . .”

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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 [email protected].