Hey, Answer Girl -

Why don't the car makers put a regular mirror on the passenger side of the car, instead of the one that says, "Objects may be closer than they appear?"

- D.W. in R.S.

It's all about safety.

Objects in the passenger-side mirror - and the passenger-side mirror only, might I add - are closer than they appear because the passenger-side mirror is convex, meaning it bubbles outward a bit.

The outward bubbling makes it easier for the driver to see around the potential blind spot on that side of the car. It's called a "wide-angle" surface, because it enables the driver to see a larger portion of the passenger side of the car.

The wide-angle mirror displays more objects at a time by shrinking them. The warning is there because small objects are often associated with longer distances (things get smaller as they get farther away). In the instance of the passenger-side mirror, things get smaller even if they're pretty close.

Hey, Answer Girl -

When new members of Congress are sworn in, is it the new vice president who presides, or the old vice president?

- Pauline in Casper

As you may have noticed in the news of late, members of Congress are sworn in before the president-elect and vice president-elect. Therefore, the "old" vice president (in the most recent case, Dick Cheney) is the one to do the swearing in, since the new VP (in this case, Joe Biden) hasn't yet been sworn into office himself.

Hey, Answer Girl -

Why doesn't Casper have any dog parks?

Actually, Casper does have a dog park.

Morad Park, located near the river in west Casper (see map), is the one park in the city where dogs can roam free, without a leash.

Peter Meyers, administrative analyst for the city, suggested that all off-leash dogs be under voice control, because the park is not fenced in. If you don't have control of your dog, he or she can get away. And if the dog goes out of control and leaves the park, loose-dog ordinances apply.

"We've generally had good cooperativeness from dog owners who use Morad Park," Meyers said.

All Casper parks are dog-friendly, but in all parks except Morad, dogs must be on a leash at all times.

Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0616 or megan.lee@trib.com.

Ask Answer Girl

Answer Girl tackles questions about Casper, the universe and everything else. Submit your questions by email to megan.lee@trib.com, or call Megan Lee at 266-0616. You can also write to Answer Girl, Box 80, 170 Star Lane, Casper, WY, 82602.