# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=109 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 110 --- ## [Blood in Bongo-Players Urine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-bongo-players-urine/487696)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [March 10, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-bongo-players-urine/487696 "2009-03-10T13:09:15Z")
Amazing column, about something I’ve never heard of, and would have thought ludicrously impossible. And more fuel for my Inner Hypochondriac. Thanks a Lot. --- ## [Disney Erotica Column Needs Correction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-erotica-column-needs-correction/488784)
**Author:** [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 9, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-erotica-column-needs-correction/488784 "2009-03-09T02:05:45Z")
In the course of a quite different discussion in the Pit, Skip Magic had occasion to reference this column, about the persistent uran legend that Disney artists included subliminal erotic images. So of course I had to g… --- ## [Humans with tails.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-with-tails/488619)
**Author:** [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humans-with-tails/488619 "2009-03-07T02:25:44Z")
To elaborate upon cecil’s reply to a query right here, I can testify that some humans can indeed have a tail. I may have mentioned in another thread that an old gf of mine had a small tail, maybe 1/2 inch long just above… --- ## [Can one person sing two notes at the same time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295)
**Author:** [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295 "2009-03-07T00:44:12Z")
Yup. I’ve heard it done by Tibetan Monks, brought to town by Mrs de Menil some years ago. They set up a tent on the grounds of the Rothko Chapel & amazed everybody with two evenings of chanting–with growling undertones… --- ## [What Exactly Is Ear Sex?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-ear-sex/487121)
**Author:** [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-ear-sex/487121 "2009-03-06T23:43:17Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/53/what-exactly-is-ear-sex Is THAT what the kids are calling it these days? I thought that was “phone sex”. Ear sex reminds me of the Family Guy episode where literal ear sex (a… --- ## [Does a woman retain traces of her male partner after giving birth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-woman-retain-traces-of-her-male-partner-after-giving-birth/487515)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-woman-retain-traces-of-her-male-partner-after-giving-birth/487515 "2009-03-06T19:20:16Z")
Okay, the question is odd. But Cecil just dismisses the example given that prompted the questioner to ask in the first case, i.e. the woman who contracted stud service for her pedigreed bitch and the dog delivered monge… --- ## [Am Amurikans dumbererer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-amurikans-dumbererer/486715)
**Author:** [@swiggy57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swiggy57)\ **Replies:** 120\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-amurikans-dumbererer/486715 "2009-03-06T17:37:55Z")
From today’s email, some comments were made about Americans intelligence and our view of the world. One of the items pointed out was that, while most Europeans speak two or more languages, the average American usually … --- ## [Are Americans Dumber Than Europeans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-dumber-than-europeans/487873)
**Author:** [@hdude711](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hdude711)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2009, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-dumber-than-europeans/487873 "2009-03-04T10:56:51Z")
\*Besides, we apparently don’t really need to know much about the rest of the world. According to Baylor University polling, 55 percent of Americans believe they have an advantage that surely outweighs any intellectual de… --- ## [The Butler (Okay, valet) really DID Do It!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-butler-okay-valet-really-did-do-it/487207)
**Author:** [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-butler-okay-valet-really-did-do-it/487207 "2009-03-02T04:23:27Z")
The question has come up, on several occasions: are there any mystery stories in which the butler really IS the culprit? I managed to remember one in which the butler did it. Okay, okay, he’s really a rich man’s VALET i… --- ## [Jealousy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealousy/486745)
**Author:** [@Trad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trad)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealousy/486745 "2009-03-02T03:42:35Z")
I believe many Americans are ignorant of Euopeans Language, and Culture not because we are smug and arrogant. It is obvious that we get enough entertainment here in the US. We don’t desire to be like the Euopeans. I thin… --- ## [powerball jackpot -- lump sum vs payments](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerball-jackpot-lump-sum-vs-payments/487423)
**Author:** [@tglidden001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tglidden001)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerball-jackpot-lump-sum-vs-payments/487423 "2009-03-02T00:42:12Z")
I am looking for a little fact check on this article http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2149/if-i-win-the-lottery-should-i-ask-for-a-lump-sum-or-an-annuity prior to making any financial decisions about the powerbal… --- ## [Becoming a eunuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-eunuch/485663)
**Author:** [@psythe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psythe)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-a-eunuch/485663 "2009-03-01T19:41:18Z")
For more, see: I believe that there is a huge industry for eunuch prostitutes in India, where the necessary operation is likewise cheap and quick (they don’t even bother to anaethetise you, and remove your penis into t… --- ## [Transfer of memory in flatworms (planarians) and Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transfer-of-memory-in-flatworms-planarians-and-rats/486166)
**Author:** [@agolub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agolub)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transfer-of-memory-in-flatworms-planarians-and-rats/486166 "2009-03-01T03:15:16Z")
The finding that when trained flatworms (planarians) are fed to untrained worms, the untrained worms behave as though they have learned the task is called memory transfer or behavior induction. It has been suggested in … --- ## [What does RKO stand for in "RKO Pictures"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rko-stand-for-in-rko-pictures/487790)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-rko-stand-for-in-rko-pictures/487790 "2009-02-28T17:23:14Z")
In his undated column on RKO Pictures, SDSAB contributor \*\*Ken \*\*says RKO Pictures ceased production in 1953, yet a production company claiming lineage to the original RKO Pictures appears to have resumed production in 1… --- ## [If ignorance were cornflakes...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ignorance-were-cornflakes/487567)
**Author:** [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ignorance-were-cornflakes/487567 "2009-02-28T12:37:13Z")
Hey, waitaminute… cornflakes are made by Kellogg, not General Mills. Does this mean that a woman does retain traces of her male partner? --- ## [What's the deal with S&M, bondage and discipline, etc.? March 12, 1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-s-m-bondage-and-discipline-etc-march-12-1982/487681)
**Author:** [@cmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmoose)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-s-m-bondage-and-discipline-etc-march-12-1982/487681 "2009-02-27T17:07:28Z")
In this report you noted the disproportional number of Baltimoreans who were so interested in sexual topics. Until recently your Straight Dope column appeared in Baltimore’s free weekly City Paper. For many years it i… --- ## [Biblical Eye Gouging](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biblical-eye-gouging/487652)
**Author:** [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biblical-eye-gouging/487652 "2009-02-27T12:46:37Z")
Column: Does PCP Turn People Into Cannibals I noticed something Cecil didn’t mention that would seem pertinent to the tale of Charles Innes. Was Innes reading \[Matthew 5:29\](Matthew - The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah … --- ## [Do smoke detectors kill people by making them climb ladders?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-smoke-detectors-kill-people-by-making-them-climb-ladders/487233)
**Author:** [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-smoke-detectors-kill-people-by-making-them-climb-ladders/487233 "2009-02-26T21:35:31Z")
I just read Cecil’s old article about the supposed dangers of radiation from smoke detectors ( Is my household smoke detector emitting radioactive rays? - The Straight Dope ). I heard once that smoke detectors save thou… --- ## [Pedant, but not on Sundays](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedant-but-not-on-sundays/486263)
**Author:** [@jimigorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimigorilla)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedant-but-not-on-sundays/486263 "2009-02-26T16:38:31Z")
I notice in this column that people who insist that a new century starts in the year …01, not the year …00 are now being called ‘pedants.’ And by somebody who obviously knows how to count, too. I expect better from Cecil… --- ## [What is the sound of one hand clapping?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping/484461)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2009, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping/484461 "2009-02-25T07:35:37Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/43/what-is-the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping This gives me the chance to share my two Zen jokes. Q: What did the man say to the Zen hotdog vendor? A: “Make me one with everythin… --- ## [Politics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politics/486696)
**Author:** [@TheNilvarg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNilvarg)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politics/486696 "2009-02-24T22:04:08Z")
Regarding the latest column from February 20th, 2009: Alright, the Straight Dope doesn’t need this inane political hogwash. I’ve been a loyal subscriber for six years, but I don’t see a reason to stick around if the co… --- ## [An old one: "We are not amused."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-one-we-are-not-amused/487031)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-one-we-are-not-amused/487031 "2009-02-24T04:51:00Z")
Came across Cecil’s answer after I read a claim on TV Tropes that it was in reference to upper crust-mocking HMS Pinafore, and that the self-deprecating reference to it in Pirates of Penzance and its ending (the pirates … --- ## [Islands must be smaller than continents?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-must-be-smaller-than-continents/477180)
**Author:** [@bookaholic\_au](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bookaholic_au)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/islands-must-be-smaller-than-continents/477180 "2009-02-23T13:59:26Z")
As an Australian I was very surprised to read this post, as Australia is classified as an island AND a continent. I think Mr Webster needs to update his definition. --- ## [Pigs and penises](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs-and-penises/486447)
**Author:** [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs-and-penises/486447 "2009-02-23T00:30:25Z")
I just wanted to say that the current classic column now up, the one about corkscrew shaped penises on pigs, from 1984, is the first Straight Dope I ever read. It was in a paper in Chicago, on the university of Chicago … --- ## [Another definition of Honky](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-definition-of-honky/486973)
**Author:** [@gbcps12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gbcps12)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-definition-of-honky/486973 "2009-02-22T22:51:02Z")
I have seen the definition of the word honky and was wondering if anyone ever heard this definition. Someone thought the high pitched sound of white Anglos when they spoke sounded like a goose honking. Hence the birth of… --- ## ["Witches claimed to have had intercourse with the devil in this way"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witches-claimed-to-have-had-intercourse-with-the-devil-in-this-way/486557)
**Author:** [@martialis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martialis)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/witches-claimed-to-have-had-intercourse-with-the-devil-in-this-way/486557 "2009-02-20T17:59:39Z")
Which witches? column --- ## [So, \*has\* an entire population migrated, land left its country behind to vanish?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-an-entire-population-migrated-land-left-its-country-behind-to-vanish/483325)
**Author:** [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-an-entire-population-migrated-land-left-its-country-behind-to-vanish/483325 "2009-02-20T17:26:57Z")
In his classic column titled How do I go about starting my own country?, Cecil states that on of the requirements of a country is a permanent population. In other words, if the entire population of a country were to exit… --- ## [Neurally adapted head-bobbing pigeons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neurally-adapted-head-bobbing-pigeons/485106)
**Author:** [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neurally-adapted-head-bobbing-pigeons/485106 "2009-02-19T07:56:39Z")
Regarding Why do pigeons bob their heads? In another thread, someone mentioned neural adaptation as the reason our eyes bounce around a lot, appear to jitter. Our brains compensate for this and give us a steady, clear … --- ## [Calories in Semen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calories-in-semen/485542)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calories-in-semen/485542 "2009-02-18T12:21:36Z")
From the article, Lynn W. said: We do? We all do? What I want to know is, who goes around tasting raw egg white, and why? --- ## [Would I be a killjoy to explain the Wonders of Houdini?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-be-a-killjoy-to-explain-the-wonders-of-houdini/483187)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-be-a-killjoy-to-explain-the-wonders-of-houdini/483187 "2009-02-17T01:26:03Z")
He usually (always) had a confederate. No other reason is needed. It’s not like he was MAGICAL, or anything. Sorry if I ruined your fun, but take the time to figure out how you would do the “tricks” and you coul… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=108) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=110)