DEAR ABBY: I hope you won't think that this is a dumb question. My mother serves fish all the time and tells us that fish is brain food. I told her that it isn't true -- it's only a myth. I have asked everyone in our family and they say that Mother is right, but I still think she's wrong. Tell me, Abby, is eating a lot of fish going to make a person smarter? -- A KID IN ROSWELL, GA.
DEAR KID: First of all, there are no "dumb" questions -- only people who remain ignorant because they haven't the courage to ask questions.
It is not true that fish is "brain food." According to The Dictionary of Misinformation by Tom Burnam: "Perhaps the myth that fish is 'good for the brain' arose from the fact that the nerve tissue which forms a part of the brain is rich in phosphorus, and fish do provide phosphorus-containing compounds. But so do meat, poultry, eggs and milk."
I know of no food that will make people smarter. Fatter, yes. Smarter, no.