# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=10 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 11 --- ## [What’s the life span of a skyscraper?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-life-span-of-a-skyscraper/808533)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-life-span-of-a-skyscraper/808533 "2018-02-17T03:52:04Z")
Interesting column. For a great illustrated book on the painstaking process of disassembling (and not just destroying) a skyscraper - the Empire State Building, no less! - see Unbuilding by David Macaulay: Amazon.com … --- ## [Could a human swing through the jungle on vines?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-human-swing-through-the-jungle-on-vines/808513)
**Author:** [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 16, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-human-swing-through-the-jungle-on-vines/808513 "2018-02-16T01:18:45Z")
The only comment I have is that North America certainly does have vines that you can swing from. As you said though, they usually have to be cut at the bottom. Frost and summer grape vines will entangle enough on higher… --- ## [Did Coca-Cola torture and kill workers in Latin America?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-coca-cola-torture-and-kill-workers-in-latin-america/808872)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-coca-cola-torture-and-kill-workers-in-latin-america/808872 "2018-02-15T14:57:23Z")
A previous thread in GQ: Does Coca Cola use paramilitary groups to kill trade unionists in Columbia? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board Deval Patrick, the Coke lawyer mentioned in Cecil’s 2005 column, l… --- ## [What happens to birds during a hurricane?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-birds-during-a-hurricane/808017)
**Author:** [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 13, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-birds-during-a-hurricane/808017 "2018-02-13T03:02:45Z")
I think that once upon a time I heard that cattle egrets were blown across the Atlantic Ocean in a storm. And that they were not known in the Americas before about 1950. Is this correct? --- ## [Synedoche](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synedoche/808524)
**Author:** [@CaymanQT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaymanQT)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synedoche/808524 "2018-02-12T22:55:22Z")
that’s the word for using Coke for soft drinks and Xerox for copiers and copies. It is using the word for part of something for the whole. Ex. How do you like my new wheels? I need a kleenex. Pay for it with your … --- ## [Is male pattern baldness inherited? Who’s to blame?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 9, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247 "2018-02-09T14:15:55Z")
Can’t find an earlier thread about this Cecil column: Is male pattern baldness inherited? Who’s to blame? - The Straight Dope Any good research since 2005 about MPB and genetics? --- ## [Does 'funky music' come from 'defunctive music'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-funky-music-come-from-defunctive-music/807517)
**Author:** [@PipFlory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PipFlory)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2018, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-funky-music-come-from-defunctive-music/807517 "2018-02-06T07:46:34Z")
In 1992, someone asked what the real meaning of funky was. And the answer was that ‘funky’ originally meant smelly, and it could have gotten itself applied to music as time went by. Maybe so, but I’m wondering if ‘funky … --- ## [Don't Use the Valsalva Technique (If You Have a Cold)!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-use-the-valsalva-technique-if-you-have-a-cold/806993)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2018, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-use-the-valsalva-technique-if-you-have-a-cold/806993 "2018-02-04T10:55:19Z")
I have a really bad cold now. And it got me to thinking about a Cecil Adams column I once read. Anyway, after doing a Google search, I guess it must have been this. Mr. Adams mentions how Dr. Valsalva recommended it fo… --- ## [Straight Dope's 45th Anniversary](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dopes-45th-anniversary/808013)
**Author:** [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dopes-45th-anniversary/808013 "2018-02-04T01:59:28Z")
Cecil’s Adam’s debut missive (archive.org link) to the teeming masses appeared on this day 45 years ago, on February 2, 1973. The traditional 45th anniversary standard promoted by marketing mavens is sapphire. Unca Cece… --- ## [Do lobsters feel pain when boiled alive](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lobsters-feel-pain-when-boiled-alive/481165)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [January 31, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lobsters-feel-pain-when-boiled-alive/481165 "2018-01-31T12:31:44Z")
A few weeks ago, when my wife and I were buying lobster, we were mulling over this very question. Though I’m no scientist and certainly no Cecil I was able to think this through a bit. My conclusion is that animals a… --- ## [Is music universal? More on Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-music-universal-more-on-messaging-extraterrestrial-intelligence/807234)
**Author:** [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-music-universal-more-on-messaging-extraterrestrial-intelligence/807234 "2018-01-28T13:41:28Z")
In reference to this column: METI: http://meti.org/mission I’m surprised Cecil didn’t mention “Earth’s Greatest Hits” – the recording attached to the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft and fired off into space in 1977. Her… --- ## [Is there a face on Mars?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-face-on-mars/807519)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-face-on-mars/807519 "2018-01-26T22:46:53Z")
No, this isn’t an attempt to argue that there is a face. David’s Staff Report does an excellent job in demolishing the ‘Martian monument’. My beef is that every single link in that column is dead and there are six of th… --- ## [Gone to the dogs.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-to-the-dogs/807320)
**Author:** [@Fenshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenshaw)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 24, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-to-the-dogs/807320 "2018-01-24T00:15:17Z")
Some Dog Fanciers still remember Olde Cornelis. His nickname was “Kees.” Perhaps he wasn’t a champion of the underdog, but he had a dog that followed him everywhere. A later revolution against the House of Orange elevate… --- ## [Red spots in eggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-spots-in-eggs/807254)
**Author:** [@grue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grue)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-spots-in-eggs/807254 "2018-01-23T02:33:34Z")
Column: Are red spots in eggs dangerous? - The Straight Dope What are the implications of blood spots on an egg’s kosher/pareve status, though? Kashrut laws are notoriously complicated and capricious in these matters. --- ## [The Blood Pressure Column.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blood-pressure-column/806468)
**Author:** [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blood-pressure-column/806468 "2018-01-22T19:55:06Z")
The latest column looks off in places. E.g., “I’d submit to you that what we’re looking at is a little more nuanced than the breathless news coverage would suggest — though you’re certainly not wrong, Pressured, to cast… --- ## [NEW! Even more related content on Straight Dope column pages!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-even-more-related-content-on-straight-dope-column-pages/806943)
**Author:** [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2018, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-even-more-related-content-on-straight-dope-column-pages/806943 "2018-01-22T07:34:08Z")
I’m putting this note here because technically it’s not About This Message Board … and this forum is really most connected to the rest of the site … Just wondering if any of you are aware of the further column links at … --- ## [Black cat syndrome](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cat-syndrome/805903)
**Author:** [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-cat-syndrome/805903 "2018-01-14T02:29:20Z")
Do black dogs experience prejudice? I do occasional fostering for a cat rescue where Black Cat Syndrome is known to be a thing. The people who run the rescue attribute it to the difficulty getting good photographs of bl… --- ## [Able Archer and The Americans](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/able-archer-and-the-americans/806439)
**Author:** [@Clothes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothes)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2018, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/able-archer-and-the-americans/806439 "2018-01-12T06:41:55Z")
Readingthis 2005 column about the time in 1983 when the Soviets got a bit antsy that Reagan might be cooking up a surprise nuclear strike, and sent out urgent orders to their spies to find out what might be going on (not… --- ## [Face on dime before FDR](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/face-on-dime-before-fdr/806352)
**Author:** [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2018, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/face-on-dime-before-fdr/806352 "2018-01-11T09:44:50Z")
To answer the question from this article “Whose face used to be on the dime?”, I’ve found this claim on Wikipeadia’s article “Mercury dime”: Where \[23\] = Burdette, Roger W. (2005). Renaissance of American Coinage, 1916… --- ## [Why does the porridge bird lay its eggs in the air?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488)
**Author:** [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [January 6, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-porridge-bird-lay-its-eggs-in-the-air/805488 "2018-01-06T23:04:19Z")
See first update, halfway down the page: Why did so many Native Americans die of European diseases but not vice versa? - The Straight Dope The answer is: To confuse the animatronic President Nixon into full failure mo… --- ## [What’s the difference between a church and a cult?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-a-church-and-a-cult/805917)
**Author:** [@yoyo3500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyo3500)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-a-church-and-a-cult/805917 "2018-01-05T15:25:14Z")
I seem to recall around the time when the Branch Davidians were not so successful in holding off the Feds a Saturday Night Live news report comparing the Branch Davidians to the Mormons. The commentator was basically ma… --- ## [Natural Disasters](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-disasters/805901)
**Author:** [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2018, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-disasters/805901 "2018-01-05T09:18:34Z")
Link to column Natural born killers: What’s the most deadly natural disaster? - The Straight Dope That’s not the full truth. The Irish potato famine was greatly worsened because of the Actions of the British government… --- ## [Lucid dreaming](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucid-dreaming/805775)
**Author:** [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucid-dreaming/805775 "2018-01-03T15:57:53Z")
I have found that you can get a significant increase of lucid dreaming by taking melatonin. ymmv. --- ## [Any Hells Angels in your area?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-hells-angels-in-your-area/805270)
**Author:** [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-hells-angels-in-your-area/805270 "2018-01-02T20:27:53Z")
This week’s new column is all about the Hells Angels: What’s the connection between outlaw bikers and ball-peen hammers? I thought the Hells Angels were mostly an anachronism, a figment of an earlier generation … where… --- ## [How did diamonds come to symbolize a wedding engagement? (Current Random Straight Dope Column)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-diamonds-come-to-symbolize-a-wedding-engagement-current-random-straight-dope-column/805528)
**Author:** [@Progress\_Hornsby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Progress_Hornsby)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-diamonds-come-to-symbolize-a-wedding-engagement-current-random-straight-dope-column/805528 "2018-01-01T23:52:20Z")
Current Random Straight Dope Column Dear Straight Dope: …How did the diamond ring come to symbolize the event of engagement? SDStaff Songbird replies: A kiss on the hand might be quite continental, as lyricist Jule S… --- ## [Contagious yawns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contagious-yawns/805603)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 31, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contagious-yawns/805603 "2017-12-31T00:23:14Z")
Link to followup column on yawning How come I found myself yawning while reading that column? I was definitely not bored. But just reading about yawning made me yawn. --- ## [martial artists defeating muggers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311)
**Author:** [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Replies:** 221\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martial-artists-defeating-muggers/500311 "2009-07-24T06:24:55Z")
Regarding today’s column: When I lived in Miami, my karate instructor at that time told us about how his wife (another student of his, and a black belt herself) had used her training to defeat a mugger. In fact, when … --- ## [What does the G in G-string stand for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-g-in-g-string-stand-for/533869)
**Author:** [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2017, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-g-in-g-string-stand-for/533869 "2017-12-30T12:19:27Z")
(from this classic, referred to in this week’s e-mail) The master concludes that a discriminating reader would dismiss the violin string explanation. It’s the one that makes the most sense to me. The term “G-string” r… --- ## [How likely is the ending of War of the Worlds?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-the-ending-of-war-of-the-worlds/804910)
**Author:** [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-the-ending-of-war-of-the-worlds/804910 "2017-12-21T23:04:52Z")
Column: How likely is the ending of War of the Worlds? A couple of observations: Viruses may tend to be species-specific, but that’s not a universal rule – for instance, rabies can infect any warm-blooded mammal. It … --- ## [Stonehenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stonehenge/804829)
**Author:** [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stonehenge/804829 "2017-12-20T03:57:28Z")
(An older thread referencing the column had been locked). Here’s the 2003 column. I’ll start us off with two comments: The Pliocene era was three to five million years ago, not 650,000. I think the Welsh bluestone (d… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=11)