DR. WALLACE: Why are baseball caps so popular? My older brother and his friends seemingly won't go out of the house without wearing one, and they each own more than a dozen that they rotate and wear depending on what they are doing.

How did baseball caps get so popular? And did the first person to invent baseball start the sport wearing a cap anywhere near similar to today's style? — Capped Out, via email

CAPPED OUT: In some circles, Abner Doubleday is credited with inventing the sport of baseball. However, it's likely that its roots preceded him by a few decades, and there was likely a small group of founders rather than one person.

Whoever actually invented the sport likely did not start it with a cap on his head. In the mid-18th century, baseball players did seek to shield their eyes from the sun at some point, since the games were always played in the daytime. Those first hats were actually straw hats! Nowadays, most straw hats are seen at beaches and lakes and perhaps a few mountain trails, but you'll never see a straw hat on a Major League Baseball player's head.

Eventually, the hats evolved and even featured the logos or mascots of each team. This tradition is carried on today, although each baseball franchise can select whatever it wants (within reason!) to put on their baseball caps. Another important part of baseball cap history occurred in 1934 when the New Era Cap Company struck a deal with the then-Cleveland Indians to produce the first "official" major league baseball cap.

MY BIG SISTER IS HOOKED ON HOROSCOPES

DR. WALLACE: My older sister lets her daily horoscope run her life! She'll literally change her plans, cancel dates or refuse to travel on certain days all due to her "stars."

I've asked my parents about this, but they both told me that they told her long ago that her daily horoscope does not control her life in reality.

Since my sister often tries to get me to read my horoscope online when she looks up hers, I'd like to have an answer to give her about this. For the record, I never read my horoscope; I don't believe in it, and even when she reads "mine" out loud, I just tell her, "Whatever!"

Do you have a better comeback that I can give her about this topic? — I'm Tired of This, via email

I'M TIRED OF THIS: For the record, I agree with your parents and you. I pay no attention to horoscopes, and my belief is that they are only for entertainment purposes, not something to base daily life decisions upon.

As far as a comeback to give her, how about mentioning to her that there are only 12 horoscope symbols? This means that 1/12th of the population of America — and of the whole world, for that matter — have the exact same daily horoscope! Think about this intellectually. Anyone born under the same symbol, anywhere on earth, despite their geography, socioeconomic status, level of education and individual preferences and personalities get the very same cookie-cutter outlook for the day.

Framed in that context, it seems ludicrous that 28 million Americans would have the same daily horoscope, and even more so that 670 million people around the world would also find the same to be true.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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