Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com.

A multiple-choice quiz for Prudie's readers:

1) Prudie was brain-dead for a short period of time.

2) Her computer was in need of a feng shui adjustment.

3) Honesty is overrated.

In the column posted June 15, Prudie ... well, imprudently, made some statements that elicited as much mail as the unfortunate handicapped toilet controversy. Let's just say that a lot of bandwidth was taken up with readers voicing their displeasure, and many made valid points. The first pothole Prudie stepped into was about the young man on the subway whose disarranged toupee brought forth raucous laughter. Prudie not only didn't rebuke the young lady who wrote that it was rude to laugh, but also Prudie admitted to laughing herself. To compound the error, Prudie then suggested the young woman invite the chap for coffee and advise him to ditch the rug.

Right on the heels of these gaffs Prudie commented that a woman in a bad marriage was handed a lucky break by fate when the husband suddenly died. This is the sort of thing that people may think, but ought not say. Prudie apologizes for her momentary insensitivity, and as penance will let you see some snippets of the mail.

Prudence,

As a man who proudly wears a hairpiece, your advice to the lady who saw a man's out-of-place toupee was totally wrong. To laugh at this is cruel. Also, telling her to try and talk him into taking it off and looking bald is utterly none of her business. Why don't you stop wearing makeup? Why do you wear nylons? What is the practical use of jewelry? It all boils down to the fact that it is easy to tell someone what to do when you obviously have no idea what that person is feeling.

—K.H.