# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=102 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 103 --- ## [Police questioning: defining extrinsic misrepresentation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-questioning-defining-extrinsic-misrepresentation/505026)
**Author:** [@u06535](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/u06535)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-questioning-defining-extrinsic-misrepresentation/505026 "2009-08-10T16:14:28Z")
Hi, I just read your piece on police being able to lie during questioning suspects. In the piece you write that extrinsic misrepresentation can be considered coercive and can be invalidated in court. You list “Promises … --- ## [Stealing Song titles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stealing-song-titles/504783)
**Author:** [@cazzolina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cazzolina)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stealing-song-titles/504783 "2009-08-09T20:20:57Z")
I think “No Reply” would have been the appropriate response --- ## [SAA and Air France 447 Jet Crash.....](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saa-and-air-france-447-jet-crash/505771)
**Author:** [@GayIthacan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GayIthacan)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saa-and-air-france-447-jet-crash/505771 "2009-08-08T23:50:20Z")
I hate to be a stickler, but: The jet was only on the westernmost edge of the SAA during the early part of the flight - and negotiated this region successfully… The jet was completely outside the SAA (and had been … --- ## [When Will California Sink Into The Pacific?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-california-sink-into-the-pacific/505682)
**Author:** [@Santa\_Cruz\_n](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santa_Cruz_n)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-california-sink-into-the-pacific/505682 "2009-08-07T22:48:55Z")
Dear Cecil, You realize, of course, that those of us who live West of the San Andreas Fault are all wondering when the rest of the United States will break off and sink in the Atlantic, making that entire East edge of C… --- ## [Jesus H. Christ & the Immaculate Conception](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-h-christ-the-immaculate-conception/490197)
**Author:** [@deKypia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deKypia)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-h-christ-the-immaculate-conception/490197 "2009-08-07T21:05:00Z")
Cecil, Re: Your (jocular) suggestion that “haploid” might have been the origin of the phrase “Jesus H. Christ”: Actually, in Roman Catholic theology the term “Immaculate Conception” refers to the conception of the Virg… --- ## [Charged particles hitting the retina?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charged-particles-hitting-the-retina/505624)
**Author:** [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charged-particles-hitting-the-retina/505624 "2009-08-07T16:03:11Z")
Our Perfect Master spoke of charges hitting the retinaand causing them to “fire” off the rods or cones in the retina, which low earth orbiting astronauts see as flashes of light. But I recall the astronauts that went to… --- ## [If I had super strength, could I squeeze coal into diamonds?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-had-super-strength-could-i-squeeze-coal-into-diamonds/504121 "2009-08-07T14:03:19Z")
I don’t think the temperature requirement is a problem. Superman could presumably exert white dwarf-level pressure upon the carbon sample. If nothing else simply compressing the sample that much would provide the neces… --- ## [Why does the moon appear bigger near the horizon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-moon-appear-bigger-near-the-horizon/495860)
**Author:** [@catalert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catalert)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-moon-appear-bigger-near-the-horizon/495860 "2009-08-07T01:40:00Z")
I just read one of your old columns, Why does the moon appear bigger near the horizon? Even though the effect may be an optical illusion, the “prove it to yourself” test you gave isn’t entirely accurate. You suggested me… --- ## [Comment: Why were the continents once piled in a big clump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-why-were-the-continents-once-piled-in-a-big-clump/504890)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 6, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-why-were-the-continents-once-piled-in-a-big-clump/504890 "2009-08-06T20:26:28Z")
Cecil sez: “The chief engine of plate tectonics, as this process is called, is the seafloor. At the midocean ridges, molten rock pushes up from below, causing the floor to expand laterally.” My understanding is that pla… --- ## [U.S. draft evaders in Canada](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-draft-evaders-in-canada/503127)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 6, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-draft-evaders-in-canada/503127 "2009-08-06T20:17:11Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/130/could-u-s-draft-evaders-be-extradited-from-canada-now This column is definitely due for updating. Although we no longer have an active draft (just registration), an estimate… --- ## [Is the draft forbidden by the 13th Amendment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-draft-forbidden-by-the-13th-amendment/504432)
**Author:** [@dougf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougf)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 5, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-draft-forbidden-by-the-13th-amendment/504432 "2009-08-05T20:26:58Z")
A slight correction on clause 15 of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. The article permits Congress “\[t\]o provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel … --- ## [Photographing people in public](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photographing-people-in-public/505163)
**Author:** [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 5, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photographing-people-in-public/505163 "2009-08-05T06:20:30Z")
We were told about 1960 or so that the Navajo did not like being photographed in public because it messed with their eternal spirit. Being a born skeptic I rather suspected they wanted to sell photographs. In any event i… --- ## [Used dentures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/used-dentures/505301)
**Author:** [@gigi1007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi1007)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/used-dentures/505301 "2009-08-04T16:05:36Z")
I used search eng. ask: used dentures wanted. Picked up on" Japan group turning used dentures into gold mine for charity". Very interesting article,must read. --- ## [The National Guard in Vietnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-guard-in-vietnam/503338)
**Author:** [@Bruce\_McGuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_McGuffin)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-national-guard-in-vietnam/503338 "2009-07-31T19:22:42Z")
So I read this in a book, but it was a long time ago and I don’t remember the name or author. The book was about US military policy post-Vietnam. Honestly, I never finished the book, but this was in an early chapter. You… --- ## [Profiting from Government Programs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-government-programs/504405)
**Author:** [@Counselor1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Counselor1)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profiting-from-government-programs/504405 "2009-07-31T17:40:14Z")
Illuminating answer on how ketchup got labeled a vegetable. One can see that labeling the fries a vegetable is at least tangentially relevant to some party benefiting in corporate bankruptcy. I’m interested in seeing if … --- ## [Spiders](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiders/504413)
**Author:** [@A.K.Lima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.K.Lima)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiders/504413 "2009-07-31T02:43:06Z")
This maybe too little nine years too late, but here it goes. I read a 2000 column entitled “Can spiders carry rocks?” and the reasoning behind them not being able to seemed sound. However, I know there is at least one ty… --- ## [Piece of Elvis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-elvis/504794)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piece-of-elvis/504794 "2009-07-30T18:09:42Z")
Promted by this column. Years ago at the Los Angeles Film Expo (I think the year Das Boot and Knight Riders were released – I saw them there) there was a short film that was played before the feature. A promoter was pr… --- ## [George Harrison "My Sweet Lord"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-harrison-my-sweet-lord/503412)
**Author:** [@dankravetz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dankravetz)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-harrison-my-sweet-lord/503412 "2009-07-30T15:06:53Z")
The entry states falsely that George Harrison was “convicted” of plagiarizing an earlier song “He’s So Fine,” when he composed “My Sweet Lord.” The case was a civil matter, not a criminal matter. Harrison was found liabl… --- ## [grape-nuts -\> coca-cola](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grape-nuts-coca-cola/504653)
**Author:** [@pansapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pansapiens)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grape-nuts-coca-cola/504653 "2009-07-30T02:37:37Z")
Re. How can Grape-Nuts cereal contain no grapes or nuts? - The Straight Dope Looking at the back of a coke bottle, I note that it does not contain either coca beans or kola nuts (or any derivatives of these) these days … --- ## [Cecil messed up!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-messed-up/504272)
**Author:** [@zackblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zackblack)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-messed-up/504272 "2009-07-29T18:55:11Z")
In this (how much money is there) article Cecil says: But in this (Who owns the federal reserve) article Cecil says: So which is it? --- ## [1983 able archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1983-able-archer/504434)
**Author:** [@ecmraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecmraven)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1983-able-archer/504434 "2009-07-28T00:47:49Z")
I was stationed at Ramstein W.Ge. during the exercise Able Archer and was ECM inspector and was rather intimately involved with what was happening. The Soviet Union issued Germany an ultimatum about their desire for an … --- ## [Y2K](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y2k/503330)
**Author:** [@Madman2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madman2001)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [July 26, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/y2k/503330 "2009-07-26T23:35:23Z")
Cecil: You seem remarkably and uncharacteristically reluctant to say that the Y2K money was wasted. You seem to follow the line of thinking that “well, it was better to be safe rather than sorry”. This approach, howe… --- ## [Broadcast power](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadcast-power/504131)
**Author:** [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadcast-power/504131 "2009-07-25T03:33:38Z")
column by Cecil. \*A system that can deliver power to devices without the need for wires has been shown off at a hi-tech conference.Eric Giler, chief executive of US firm Witricity, showed mobile phones and televisions c… --- ## [Cow tipping](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/503521)
**Author:** [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 23, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-tipping/503521 "2009-07-23T04:53:36Z")
I looked for an old thread on this but my thread search failed. I was recently (July 16) making a video recording of a country/western musical performance (Sean Patrick McGraw) at a tiny little bar, and he says that, wh… --- ## [Comments: How do you make a loaded dice? - References](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-how-do-you-make-a-loaded-dice-references/502709)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2009, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-how-do-you-make-a-loaded-dice-references/502709 "2009-07-22T08:47:59Z")
Great job Ian - thanks! Other works inspired by The Big Con include the movie The Sting and the TV show (and later movie) Mission Impossible. The Big Book of Hoaxes has an informative chapter on scams. Snake Oil by Ji… --- ## [What bras do](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291)
**Author:** [@magpye100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magpye100)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291 "2009-07-19T19:48:07Z")
Mostly, they provide a culturally bound (no pun!) sexually attractive shape. They also can prevent the nipples from being visible through outerwear, for those of a more modest turn. As to preventing sagging, only while … --- ## [Felo-de-se](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felo-de-se/502467)
**Author:** [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felo-de-se/502467 "2009-07-19T17:34:22Z")
I read today’s classic column - http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/127/what-is-a-felo-de-se. When I was a law student, they explained to me why suicide was made a crime, and it’s not so stupid than it appears. It … --- ## [Avoiding the draft in Canada](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-draft-in-canada/503126)
**Author:** [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-the-draft-in-canada/503126 "2009-07-15T19:50:56Z")
Actually, there’s no longer “landed immigrant” status in Canada; it’s called “permanent resident” status, same as in the U.S. --- ## [anesthetics that Paralyze](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anesthetics-that-paralyze/502658)
**Author:** [@HKaptain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HKaptain)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anesthetics-that-paralyze/502658 "2009-07-15T14:15:28Z")
Fyi on a story about anesthetic during surgery: two yrs ago, i reported to Cedars-Sinai Hospital for heart transplant surgery. during the patient prep procedure, the Aneshetist (gas doctor) gave me a pill to relax me a… --- ## [who owns the federal reserve...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/502646)
**Author:** [@jbock220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbock220)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/502646 "2009-07-13T16:25:22Z")
“All I can suggest is that if you don’t like it, you visit Russia or Argentina or any number of other Fedless countries whose money was rendered worthless by hyperinflation” Please explain… “Central Bank of Argentina -… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=101) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=103)