# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=112 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 113 --- ## [Captain Bligh](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-bligh/474533)
**Author:** [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-bligh/474533 "2009-01-04T03:37:34Z")
Link: Was Captain Bligh really the jerk he’s been made out to be? An interesting column. A slight nitpick though. The column states: Bligh was the Governor of New South Wales, not Australia. --- ## [satellite traffic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satellite-traffic/479264)
**Author:** [@M\_in\_NY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M_in_NY)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satellite-traffic/479264 "2009-01-03T18:33:12Z")
\*n responding to the Dec 26 question about the possibility of satellite collision, it was stated that: "If two of them collide, they’re both going to be moving at a good clip, so the net impact speed of a glancing blow … --- ## [Cecil's hypothesis is unlikely.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-hypothesis-is-unlikely/479619)
**Author:** [@Favrefan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Favrefan)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-hypothesis-is-unlikely/479619 "2009-01-03T02:16:23Z")
People DO get killed by bullets shot up. Cecil assumed that the gun would be shot straight up so that the bullet would come to a complete stop, then fall back down. Unless someone is using a level to line up the gun barr… --- ## [when the little feet appear in the brain...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-little-feet-appear-in-the-brain/478041)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-little-feet-appear-in-the-brain/478041 "2009-01-02T15:37:59Z")
In an old column, Cecil responded with an “ewwww” to this question: Do Some Tumors Contain the Beginnings of a Baby? News article on a recent example of the phenomenon: Tumour in newborn’s brain contained foot. All to… --- ## [North Pole Sunset](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-pole-sunset/479021)
**Author:** [@mrwp819300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrwp819300)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-pole-sunset/479021 "2009-01-01T23:58:46Z")
"Subject: Amazing Photo A scene you will probably never get to see in person. This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point. An amazing photo and not one easily duplicated. Comments: To para… --- ## [Column Re Marijuana Cultivation -- How Is This Kosher?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/column-re-marijuana-cultivation-how-is-this-kosher/477585)
**Author:** [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/column-re-marijuana-cultivation-how-is-this-kosher/477585 "2009-01-01T02:43:13Z")
As I understand the TOS, it’s not okay for any of us to seek advice regarding illegal activities. And I agree with that. Other than “because he’s the boss,” then, why would it be okay for the proprietor to be posting t… --- ## [Why are there so many names for Germany, AKA Deutschland, Allemagne, etc.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-names-for-germany-aka-deutschland-allemagne-etc/479280)
**Author:** [@alcansyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alcansyn)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 31, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-names-for-germany-aka-deutschland-allemagne-etc/479280 "2008-12-31T22:25:50Z")
FONT=“Century Gothic”\]\[/FONT\] Hello Mr. Cecil, Thank you so much for your forum about the many different ways in which different countries address Germany. I was really interested in this subject and now I feel more re… --- ## [Ice Cream and Salt](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-cream-and-salt/479290)
**Author:** [@emoore3061](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emoore3061)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 31, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-cream-and-salt/479290 "2008-12-31T15:20:24Z")
In your response to how salted ice can freeze ice cream, I feel it is misleading to say that "the water temperature drops. . . " Is the ice not as cold as it is ever going to get when you put it in the ice cream maker? … --- ## [Tchaikovsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tchaikovsky/478442)
**Author:** [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2008, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tchaikovsky/478442 "2008-12-30T13:27:06Z")
Excellent and fascinating column, Dex. My heart goes out across the centuries to poor Tchaikovsky, not only for the tragedy of his death, but for the suffering of his life. Stories such as his make me wish for an afterli… --- ## [We get nostalgic for Victorian Christmases. What did Victorians get nostalgic for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-get-nostalgic-for-victorian-christmases-what-did-victorians-get-nostalgic-for/478323)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-get-nostalgic-for-victorian-christmases-what-did-victorians-get-nostalgic-for/478323 "2008-12-30T07:40:02Z")
We get nostalgic for Victorian Christmases. What did Victorians get nostalgic for? I quote from the column: Cecil is quite wrong. A nostalgia for a past age runs through Western literature like a thread, right from th… --- ## [Nicotine and plants](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine-and-plants/477409)
**Author:** [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine-and-plants/477409 "2008-12-28T19:57:43Z")
I read an Agatha Cristie book where the victim was killed with nicotine. I couldn’t figure out why someone would have a box of nicotine around the house until finally in the book it was mentioned that the gardener used i… --- ## [Man does not eat by bread alone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-does-not-eat-by-bread-alone/476204)
**Author:** [@schindler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schindler)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2008, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-does-not-eat-by-bread-alone/476204 "2008-12-28T10:17:22Z")
I was reading that Cecil column, and I wondered if the importance of water was being understated. Doesn’t digestion of carbohydrates involve hydrolysis? as such, doesn’t it have a dehydrating effect on your body? You sai… --- ## [Timeshare Santa](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-santa/478931)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-santa/478931 "2008-12-28T05:38:56Z")
\[url=“Is there a Santa Claus? - The Straight Dope”\] Gotta agree with the boss. However, years ago, I figured out how Santa manages it–he’s TIME-SHARE! It explains why he’s there in your living room while continuing to… --- ## [Why do we celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-christmas-on-dec-25/478719)
**Author:** [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-celebrate-christmas-on-dec-25/478719 "2008-12-27T23:45:53Z")
This refers to the column There is a pretty thorough discussion of this question in the Catholic Encyclopedia Basically it comes to the same conclusion as Cecil, that "the most tenable hypothesis, Christ’s birthday w… --- ## [Is there a Santa Claus?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-santa-claus/478642)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 25, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-santa-claus/478642 "2008-12-25T21:39:07Z")
Link to Cecil’s column: Is there a Santa Claus? I recall in\* Miracle on 34th Street\* they put Kris Kringle up on trial for false pretenses and at the last moment the US Postal Service wheeled in bags of mail addressed t… --- ## [Are there really "lost cosmonauts" stranded in space?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-lost-cosmonauts-stranded-in-space/478523)
**Author:** [@Aodaliya\_Ren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aodaliya_Ren)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 24, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-lost-cosmonauts-stranded-in-space/478523 "2008-12-24T13:58:07Z")
I’m an ethnic Russian living in Australia (hence the nickname) for way too long now. A couple of months ago one local TV channel screened a documentary on the Italian brothers and their “achievements”. Of course, the fa… --- ## [Was pink originally the color for boys and blue for girls?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-pink-originally-the-color-for-boys-and-blue-for-girls/478321)
**Author:** [@eorionus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eorionus)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-pink-originally-the-color-for-boys-and-blue-for-girls/478321 "2008-12-22T22:15:52Z")
Blue = blue jeans? Boys usually wore pants and blue jeans were common around the turn of the 20th century so could this be why blue was for boys? --- ## [Do Lightning rods really work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lightning-rods-really-work/478310)
**Author:** [@zooeyhall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zooeyhall)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lightning-rods-really-work/478310 "2008-12-22T15:10:06Z")
Sir: I read with interest your various articles that address the question: do lightning rods really protect? I live on a farm in Nebraska. We can have some severe thunderstorms out here, and with the isolated buildin… --- ## [Cecil is wrong about where Jesus is mentioned!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-is-wrong-about-where-jesus-is-mentioned/475173)
**Author:** [@Tabatha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabatha)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2008, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-is-wrong-about-where-jesus-is-mentioned/475173 "2008-12-22T06:42:54Z")
I’m afraid I have to correct Cecil’s comments about various mentions of Jesus. Firstly, it is simply not true that Jesus is mentioned in the Talmud. The first is a fleeting reference to a man named ‘Yeshu’ - this was a … --- ## [how to kill roachs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-roachs/478007)
**Author:** [@pmooney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmooney)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-roachs/478007 "2008-12-20T01:20:38Z")
You can also mix sugar with Boric acid the sugar draws the roachs to the boric acid. --- ## [Pink for girls, blue for boys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-for-girls-blue-for-boys/477883)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-for-girls-blue-for-boys/477883 "2008-12-19T23:27:20Z")
In today’s column: Was pink originally the color for boys and blue for girls? - The Straight Dope Cecil says, “Sure, my favorite color is blue. But it’s entirely possible I say that because I was always told I should.” B… --- ## [Paintings: Blue Boy and Pinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paintings-blue-boy-and-pinkie/477960)
**Author:** [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paintings-blue-boy-and-pinkie/477960 "2008-12-19T23:18:50Z")
I should think that a discussion of pink for girls, blue for boys should have a sentence or two on the famous 18c(?) paintings, often shown together, called Blue Boy and Pinkie. --- ## [If I hadn't killed 52 flies as a child, how many descendants would they have had by n](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-hadnt-killed-52-flies-as-a-child-how-many-descendants-would-they-have-had-by-n/477895)
**Author:** [@gjohnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gjohnson)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-hadnt-killed-52-flies-as-a-child-how-many-descendants-would-they-have-had-by-n/477895 "2008-12-19T13:13:07Z")
I did not try to do you math but the Milky Way is about 30 kiloparsecs across. --- ## [Are car keys unique? Not from my (limited) experience.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-car-keys-unique-not-from-my-limited-experience/477767)
**Author:** [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2008, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-car-keys-unique-not-from-my-limited-experience/477767 "2008-12-19T06:03:47Z")
Jill ( Are car keys unique? Can you unlock someone else’s car with your key? - The Straight Dope )seems to think it’s unlikely your keys will unlock or start someone else’s car. I beg to differ. I once saw a friend, fo… --- ## [Best way to kill cockroaches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-kill-cockroaches/477841)
**Author:** [@seraphale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seraphale)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-kill-cockroaches/477841 "2008-12-19T01:43:58Z")
Three words: Bengal Roach Spray. http://www.bengal.com/ Forget everything you think you know about the war on roaches. My neighbor gave me some of this stuff and let me tell you, you spray a line around your baseboards … --- ## [What our laws and rules show (or decided) about when life begins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-our-laws-and-rules-show-or-decided-about-when-life-begins/477530)
**Author:** [@KingBeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KingBeeGee)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-our-laws-and-rules-show-or-decided-about-when-life-begins/477530 "2008-12-18T19:32:41Z")
Ok, a woman is impregnated in say May of 2005. The baby is born 9 months later in February 2006. The woman cannot claim the child as a “child” on her 2005 federal taxes as a dependent. So long before Roe v. Wade the law … --- ## [Cockroach article](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockroach-article/476602)
**Author:** [@ArmenE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArmenE)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockroach-article/476602 "2008-12-17T23:46:21Z")
Re: Where are all these damn cockroaches coming from? - The Straight Dope Cecil says: Is there some reason that whoever brought in the eggs could not have brought them in a near-hatched state? --- ## [Where are all these damn cockroaches coming from?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-these-damn-cockroaches-coming-from/477009)
**Author:** [@gordon451](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gordon451)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2008, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-these-damn-cockroaches-coming-from/477009 "2008-12-17T07:31:29Z")
Dear Cecil - in your column Where are all these damn cockroaches coming from? (January 24, 1975) you state that: Ermmmm… :dubious: No they don’t. Here in Perth, West Oz, the buggers simply fly in. From big distances… --- ## [Potatoes & Milk - Been there, done that](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-milk-been-there-done-that/475864)
**Author:** [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potatoes-milk-been-there-done-that/475864 "2008-12-16T22:29:32Z")
When I first separated from my husband, I left everything behind but a few dollars, my clothes, my computer, and my car. I moved out of state to a place where I didn’t know anyone or have any resources to speak, and as … --- ## [metamorphosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metamorphosis/475867)
**Author:** [@cmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmoose)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metamorphosis/475867 "2008-12-16T21:34:41Z")
The article on insects morphing from one environment to another does not seem to state explicitly why two environments. It appears to me that one is favorable for the growth stage and the second for reproduction and di… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=111) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=113)