Kevin Piper, age 9, of Utica, New York, for his question:

Why does a halibut have both eyes on the same side?

The halibut is shaped like a large oval tray, with his nose at one end and his fan shaped tail at the other. He spends most of his life flat on the floor of the sea, like a toy set down on the sand. His entire face is twisted around so that both eyes can look up through the water. Early in life, he started out like other fishes, with one eye on each side of his head. Later, he gave up swimming around and settled down to lie flat on the bottom.

This is when his left eye moved over his nose to join the other eye on the right side of his body. His mouth also twisted around toward the right side. His left side, resting in the sand, became milky white. His right side, facing upward, matches the darker floor of the sea. Lying on his left side, the left eye would be buried in the sand and no use to him. But with both eyes on the right side, he can watch for food in the water    and grab it with his one sided mouth.