# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=121 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 122 --- ## [Guns Fired in Space](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-fired-in-space/451109)
**Author:** [@Lutrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lutrian)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-fired-in-space/451109 "2008-05-30T14:30:42Z")
I saw the article on whether guns could be fired in space. However, one thing which wasn’t mentioned, is the effect of near vacuum, and the temperature extremes, on the gun’s moving parts. This is especially a problem … --- ## [Smell and intelligent design](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smell-and-intelligent-design/446592)
**Author:** [@moret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moret)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smell-and-intelligent-design/446592 "2008-05-29T03:36:34Z")
The last three paragraphs of the smell article are some of the best lines I’d quote next time someone talks about intelligent design. In good evolutionary style, they apply to this context by pure chance, and there’s the… --- ## [2012 Mayan Cycle- What was the first publicizing of this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-mayan-cycle-what-was-the-first-publicizing-of-this/450206)
**Author:** [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-mayan-cycle-what-was-the-first-publicizing-of-this/450206 "2008-05-26T15:09:36Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmayancalendar.html In the 1970’s, I read all the UFO/Ancient Mystery/Paranormal crap I could, and the first time I recall seeing the Mayan Calendar Cycle mentioned was in the book ve… --- ## [Slave labor](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slave-labor/450619)
**Author:** [@Patz888](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patz888)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slave-labor/450619 "2008-05-26T04:38:00Z")
I’m wondering if any significant number of people were saved by becoming slave laborers as opposed to being gassed in the camps. Obviously one would not then conclude that there was some virtue to this venal activity but… --- ## [Belly buton lint: I beg to differ Cecil](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-buton-lint-i-beg-to-differ-cecil/446881)
**Author:** [@noki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noki)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-buton-lint-i-beg-to-differ-cecil/446881 "2008-05-26T03:57:16Z")
For some reason I feel compelled to comment on this post from way back in 1973: "Dear Cecil: This is a 100 percent serious question, and I want the straight dope. Every night when I’m undressing for bed I stand in fron… --- ## [The "Black Irish" expanded](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-black-irish-expanded/450409)
**Author:** [@mdanolan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mdanolan)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-black-irish-expanded/450409 "2008-05-25T02:27:39Z")
The “black Irish” are those who have black hair AND blue eyes (most Spanish are not blue-eyed). The “black Irish” also have very distinct facial features. They have sharp Celtic facial features rather than what you wou… --- ## [Nazi Concentration Camp Profiteering: Commercials You Won’t See](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-concentration-camp-profiteering-commercials-you-won-t-see/450216)
**Author:** [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-concentration-camp-profiteering-commercials-you-won-t-see/450216 "2008-05-24T15:11:17Z")
From Did Krups, Braun, and Mercedes-Benz make Nazi concentration camp ovens? After reading this article during the run of BASF commercials (‘At BASF we don’t make the \[product\]…We make it \[faster, slicker, more desirab… --- ## [Am I being poisoned by my silver fillings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-being-poisoned-by-my-silver-fillings/450420)
**Author:** [@johnnywingnutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnnywingnutz)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-being-poisoned-by-my-silver-fillings/450420 "2008-05-24T12:12:37Z")
re: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_428.html Am I being poisoned by my silver fillings? I had nine fillings for 40 some-odd years and suffered no ill effects. However, after so much time, as was explained to … --- ## [Why no new canal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-canal/445317)
**Author:** [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-canal/445317 "2008-05-23T06:31:09Z")
'Cecil’s column prompts me to ask a question I’ve been wondering for sometime, “Why has no new canal been built?” Cecil wrote that a new canal would cost tens of billions of dollars. This seems within the budget of an … --- ## [Why are men supposed to wash their hands after urination? response to email](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination-response-to-email/437744)
**Author:** [@ObeytheE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ObeytheE)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-men-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination-response-to-email/437744 "2008-05-22T20:18:37Z")
I just got back to my desk after having a discussion with a co-worker and found this article about the very topic we were speaking on. I explained that I felt it necessary to wash hands despite touching the area noted… --- ## [Atlantis sinks beneath the waves](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-sinks-beneath-the-waves/449769)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-sinks-beneath-the-waves/449769 "2008-05-20T11:58:57Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_069.html Good column. J.R.R. Tolkien had his own take on the Atlantis myth in writing about the mighty island kingdom of Numenor, or Atalante: Númenor - Wikipedia Isaac Asimov a… --- ## [PLEASE FIX - Should you sign the back of your credit cards?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-fix-should-you-sign-the-back-of-your-credit-cards/448588)
**Author:** [@bsaunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bsaunder)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-fix-should-you-sign-the-back-of-your-credit-cards/448588 "2008-05-18T18:48:53Z")
There is a mailbag entry called Should you sign the back of your credit cards? http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcredit.html It is incorrect as per VISA.COM. See the following PDF for merchants: http://usa.visa.co… --- ## [Classic column re: Charles Drew, surgeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-column-re-charles-drew-surgeon/449304)
**Author:** [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-column-re-charles-drew-surgeon/449304 "2008-05-16T18:29:33Z")
Today the classic column from 1989 regarding a black surgeon caught my eye. I’m wondering why Cecil didn’t take the questioner to task for his error in asking about the man who “invented blood plasma” (my bolding). Acc… --- ## [Back to the Premiere of the 9th Symphony](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-to-the-premiere-of-the-9th-symphony/449116)
**Author:** [@Allegretto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allegretto)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 13, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-to-the-premiere-of-the-9th-symphony/449116 "2008-05-13T20:05:24Z")
In the Staff Report “Was Beethoven unable to hear the applause when the 9th Symphony premiered?” on March 28, 2006 (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbeethovendeaf.html) Alexander D. Mitchell IV wondered about the ac… --- ## [Napoleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napoleon/448681)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 11, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napoleon/448681 "2008-05-11T04:11:44Z")
Interesting column on Napoleon ( http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080509.html ), but the opening lead me to think the column would address the famous hand-in-shirt pose we see in so many paintings (and comic impersona… --- ## [Can you pay $35 to get a star named after you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-35-to-get-a-star-named-after-you/447681)
**Author:** [@ess\_tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ess_tee)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-35-to-get-a-star-named-after-you/447681 "2008-05-09T21:13:33Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_385.html So… How Would one go about really getting a start named? ess\_tee --- ## [Pot of Gold at end of rainbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-of-gold-at-end-of-rainbow/448586)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-of-gold-at-end-of-rainbow/448586 "2008-05-08T20:18:46Z")
Linky: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_060b.html Cecil pretty much focuses on chasing rainbows rather than the pot of gold. The idea seems to have become conflated with the idea of leprechauns’ pot of gold (In t… --- ## [So, what happened to the Bob Crane sex videos?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-happened-to-the-bob-crane-sex-videos/448325)
**Author:** [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-happened-to-the-bob-crane-sex-videos/448325 "2008-05-07T19:00:45Z")
The Staff Report on Bob Crane’s death talks about Bob Crane’s habit of taping his numerous sexual exploits. So, what ever became of the tapes? Have they been packaged or released? --- ## [What is the SURFACE of a cloud like?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-surface-of-a-cloud-like/448112)
**Author:** [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 6, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-surface-of-a-cloud-like/448112 "2008-05-06T20:36:18Z")
In the thread What does a cloud feel like to the touch?, Unca Cece wrote: But my question is a bit different. If one goes outside during a fog, that’s a good demonstration of what a cloud is like on its inside. I’m mor… --- ## [Roger Roger column implausible](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-roger-column-implausible/446318)
**Author:** [@rbnn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbnn)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [May 6, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-roger-column-implausible/446318 "2008-05-06T15:08:26Z")
According to staff member Robin for The Straight Dope on Feb. 27, 2007 at http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mroger.htm , "as for the use of ‘roger, roger’ in Phantom Menace, the consensus seems to be that it’s a sly re… --- ## [Weather and Arthritis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-arthritis/446861)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-arthritis/446861 "2008-05-05T04:35:02Z")
Cecil writes: \>\>On examination, we find that two studies say an increase in barometric pressure is strongly linked to an increase in pain in arthritis sufferers, while the other two say it’s strongly linked to a decreas… --- ## [A turbinate question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-turbinate-question/447714)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-turbinate-question/447714 "2008-05-05T01:39:07Z")
In the staff report How do the mechanics of smell work? Fierra did a great job explaining how the sense of smell works by odorants triggering the olfactory receptor neurons. But I have one unresolved question: what happe… --- ## [Ever see the green flash?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-the-green-flash/447460)
**Author:** [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-see-the-green-flash/447460 "2008-05-04T21:34:06Z")
I did, about 10 years in Florida on the 9th story of a building, looking west (landward). When I saw it (beautiful emerald green color) I ran in to tell my father, who was characteristically skeptical. --- ## [Vermiculite](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vermiculite/447847)
**Author:** [@Lanceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanceman)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2008, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vermiculite/447847 "2008-05-03T11:22:01Z")
Hello Uncle Cecil, Just wanted to say I love "The Straight Dope" and to add that when I was a kid my dad used to buy "Buss Bedding" for earthworms. He said that was vermiculite. Is that true and would exposure to it be … --- ## [ultra low frequency sounds](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultra-low-frequency-sounds/445926)
**Author:** [@downhillsailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/downhillsailor)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [May 1, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultra-low-frequency-sounds/445926 "2008-05-01T15:09:08Z")
I brought home a new boat awhile ago which was secured to its trailer with nylon tie-down straps. The span of strap between the gunwales vibrated with the wind at highway speeds causing the trailer and the car to hum to… --- ## [on cats and the breath of babes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-cats-and-the-breath-of-babes/447342)
**Author:** [@motherengine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motherengine)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-cats-and-the-breath-of-babes/447342 "2008-04-30T19:12:09Z")
For what it is worth, I awoke one evening this last year to find my friends cat creeping forward on my chest with her mouth very close to my own. My idea is that she was interested in my breath, though not due to any co… --- ## [Tornadoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornadoes/447411)
**Author:** [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornadoes/447411 "2008-04-30T16:40:15Z")
One thing Cecil didn’t mention in his column on tornadoes is that the humble UK seems to be a tornado hot spot. In fact I have read that it records more tornadoes per square mile than any other country (apart from maybe … --- ## [telegrams today](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telegrams-today/438501)
**Author:** [@sagehen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sagehen)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2008, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telegrams-today/438501 "2008-04-30T08:21:41Z")
Western Union is gone, but sendtelegram.com will hand-deliver telegrams around the world. But it’ll cost ya: to send to the US it’s about 50¢/word (including the address) plus a $28 surcharge. --- ## [Age of Aquarius...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-of-aquarius/446755)
**Author:** [@mwbrooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mwbrooks)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-of-aquarius/446755 "2008-04-28T23:35:17Z")
I felt a bit of a yerk when I saw When Did the Age of Aquarius Really Start linked on the SD home page today. Last night, for reasons I can’t comprehend, that dratted song started running through my head for the first ti… --- ## [Royal Navy Leftenants?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/royal-navy-leftenants/447197)
**Author:** [@kawebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kawebb)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2008, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/royal-navy-leftenants/447197 "2008-04-28T08:47:29Z")
At http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_136.html, Cecil relied on the word of a captain with the British naval staff in Washington, who said that the pronunciation “Leftenant” was correct in all branches of the Britis… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=120) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=122)