# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=127 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 128 --- ## [Yankee Doodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-doodle/430485)
**Author:** [@whitebook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitebook)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yankee-doodle/430485 "2007-12-19T17:23:56Z")
The article on the song “Yankee Doodle” is very good, but a couple of names need clarifying. “Yankee” may be a version of the Dutch nickname “Janke,” meaning Johnny or Jack. “Doodle” is not mysterious; the OED traces i… --- ## [Calories & Kilocalories](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calories-kilocalories/430051)
**Author:** [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calories-kilocalories/430051 "2007-12-18T01:53:39Z")
Referring to this column. In my junior high science classes, where I first learned what a “calorie” was, I was taught that a Calorie (uppercase “C”) was equal to a kilocalorie, or a thousand calories (lowercase “c”). W… --- ## [RE:What's the deal with urinals in women's restrooms?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-whats-the-deal-with-urinals-in-womens-restrooms/430224)
**Author:** [@drew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew_1)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-whats-the-deal-with-urinals-in-womens-restrooms/430224 "2007-12-16T20:35:16Z")
While the history of the female urinal is not in question I do believe this brief synopsis does not address a growing new trend. Many hiking supply companies are now supply single use or plastic cones that provide an eas… --- ## [Mares are not horses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mares-are-not-horses/429449)
**Author:** [@equidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/equidae)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mares-are-not-horses/429449 "2007-12-14T20:12:46Z")
This comes from a pretty old thread, but brings up one of my favorite bits of trivia. In, http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_097b.html Cecil states, with regard to a gender-neutral term for cattle: “You got your … --- ## [clockwise/anti clock wise](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clockwise-anti-clock-wise/429951)
**Author:** [@warooa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warooa)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2007, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clockwise-anti-clock-wise/429951 "2007-12-14T12:32:10Z")
Okay . . . Me and my missus have twin girls. They’re fraternal, meaning they aren’t identical. Just been reading about the coriolis effect and the north/south hemisphere stuff. As it happens one of my girls - Lily, her h… --- ## [Report on Columbus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-on-columbus/428876)
**Author:** [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/report-on-columbus/428876 "2007-12-13T03:22:55Z")
Where does that “1492/ocean blue” thing about Columbus come from? And what was Columbus’s deal, anyway? Once again, Gfactor writes a very well-researched report. Impressive. And, his writing doesn’t suck. Also impres… --- ## [On Nodding & Shaking Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-nodding-shaking-head/429277)
**Author:** [@englishteacher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/englishteacher)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 12, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-nodding-shaking-head/429277 "2007-12-12T15:36:58Z")
First off, i love what you’ve done with the place. Now, as far as the gesture thing goes, you referred to Greeks using the thumbs up as an abusive gesture. having successfully been a greek myself for the past 38 years, … --- ## [Lupe Vélez staff report](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lupe-velez-staff-report/429240)
**Author:** [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 12, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lupe-velez-staff-report/429240 "2007-12-12T02:11:50Z")
Did Lupe Vélez really drown in the toilet? Nicely done Bricker. --- ## [Deck The Halls With Boston Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deck-the-halls-with-boston-charley/429582)
**Author:** [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deck-the-halls-with-boston-charley/429582 "2007-12-11T18:18:32Z")
The lyrics to Deck The Halls With Boston Charley that Cecil lists are a bit different from those on the Walt Kelly/Pogo site. They are completely different from those published in the Sunday Comics in (circa) 1963 with … --- ## [Victorian Vibrators](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/victorian-vibrators/429292)
**Author:** [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/victorian-vibrators/429292 "2007-12-10T02:00:20Z")
Did Victorian era doctors use vibrators to treat hysteric female patients with orgasm therapy? In the course of some, er, serious research, I discovered that a picture is worth a thousand words. http://www.vibratormuse… --- ## [Columbus Update](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbus-update/429337)
**Author:** [@kp585](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kp585)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbus-update/429337 "2007-12-09T13:36:29Z")
Randy Newman touched on the Columbus thing in his song “Great Nations of Europe”. “Columbus sailed for India, found Salvador instead. He shook hands with some natives, and soon they all were dead. They got TB and typhoi… --- ## [A prescription for death - is this stat right?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-prescription-for-death-is-this-stat-right/428552)
**Author:** [@JustAnotherGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAnotherGeek)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2007, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-prescription-for-death-is-this-stat-right/428552 "2007-12-09T04:06:13Z")
From Friday’s article. Either Unca Cec has to have a word with lil Ed, or there are an average of 1.4 mistakes per patient. I don’t know which one scares me more… \[ \](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/071130.html) … --- ## [America: just who was it named after?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-just-who-was-it-named-after/428761)
**Author:** [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-just-who-was-it-named-after/428761 "2007-12-08T15:01:35Z")
I’ve been reading an intriguing little book, The Book of General Ignorance. In it, it asserts that America wasn’t named after Amerigo Vespucci after all, but a Welsh merchant from Bristol named Richard Ameryk (or Amerike… --- ## [I Beg to Differ about bug repellents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-beg-to-differ-about-bug-repellents/428243)
**Author:** [@thisrobin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thisrobin)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-beg-to-differ-about-bug-repellents/428243 "2007-12-08T14:30:04Z")
http://straightdope.com/mailbag/mrepellent.html While the ever popular Frontline/Frontline Plus lines do not repel mosquitoes, other brands actually do. K9 Advantix and Biospot, for example, use permethrin as a mosquit… --- ## [What's the deal with Freemasonry?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-freemasonry/428754)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2007, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-freemasonry/428754 "2007-12-08T06:26:38Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_138.html Interesting column. Hadn’t known about the Church of England’s 1987 criticism of Freemasonry - seems a bit of an overreaction. George Washington and Harry Truman were b… --- ## [No NLP-claim from Derren Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-nlp-claim-from-derren-brown/428496)
**Author:** [@Carlheh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlheh)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 7, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-nlp-claim-from-derren-brown/428496 "2007-12-07T19:22:39Z")
In the Staff report, Derren Brown has claimed: “I now have a lot of NLPers analysing my TV work in their own terms, as well as people who say that I myself unfairly claim to be using NLP whenever I perform (the truth is… --- ## [NLP and Darren Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nlp-and-darren-brown/428154)
**Author:** [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [December 6, 2007, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nlp-and-darren-brown/428154 "2007-12-06T01:14:14Z")
http://straightdope.com/mailbag/mnlp.html I didn’t understand the whole part about NLP. Besides them not having a defintion, what are some of their beliefs? I know you’ve mentioned at least a couple, but it feels like y… --- ## [Celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrating-the-sabbath-on-sunday/428236)
**Author:** [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrating-the-sabbath-on-sunday/428236 "2007-12-05T16:53:44Z")
Regarding Cecil’s column on Christian’s celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday, I note that a letter of St. Augustine survives which touches on the question of which is the “right” day for fasting/celebration. He takes it to… --- ## [Prescription errors](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-errors/428322)
**Author:** [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2007, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-errors/428322 "2007-12-04T10:01:33Z")
Regarding today’s column … \[QUOTE=The Perfect Master\] A 2003 study reported … estimates of pharmacists’ error rate in dispensing drugs range from under 2 percent up to nearly 24 percent. Even using the lowest figure, … --- ## [Cecil on the radio](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-on-the-radio/428068)
**Author:** [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-on-the-radio/428068 "2007-12-03T20:20:45Z")
According to this column, Cecil Adams was on the radio: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_134.html Does a recording survive of Mr. Adam’s voice? Anyone recall hearing this program? Did he show up at the radio s… --- ## [Alcohol vs the Cold](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-vs-the-cold/428423)
**Author:** [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-vs-the-cold/428423 "2007-12-03T19:13:14Z")
Most colds people have are asymptomatic. The source of the symptoms of a cold is the brain itself, not the bugs. (This is why the medicines used to treat colds are neurotrophic.) It’s not out of the question that a stro… --- ## [black hole of calcutta](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009)
**Author:** [@wordcreatr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wordcreatr)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-hole-of-calcutta/428009 "2007-12-02T20:43:28Z")
I’ve read that there were also sepots, topazs, and Anglo-Indians (not considered part of the English garrison) who were imprisoned in the Black Hole–that would have raised the number above the total that your article giv… --- ## [Why do men have nipples](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-have-nipples/424401)
**Author:** [@tabreu01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tabreu01)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-have-nipples/424401 "2007-12-02T18:06:21Z")
It is well known that the fathers determine the sex of a baby as they carry both the x and y chromosome. What I don’t understand is why men have nipples. If the combination of chromosomes is evident from the time of co… --- ## [Re: Is ethanol derived from cellulose a truly viable energy source?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-is-ethanol-derived-from-cellulose-a-truly-viable-energy-source/427606)
**Author:** [@ehbush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ehbush)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-is-ethanol-derived-from-cellulose-a-truly-viable-energy-source/427606 "2007-11-30T20:27:12Z")
More interesting to me is the recent work on converting biomass to hydrogen using bacteria being conducted at Penn State Univ.: New Method Uses Bacteria to Generate Hydrogen Gas | WIRED For an article in Wired about th… --- ## [Does smoking organically grown tobacco lower the chance of lung cancer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-organically-grown-tobacco-lower-the-chance-of-lung-cancer/427074)
**Author:** [@bascule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bascule)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-organically-grown-tobacco-lower-the-chance-of-lung-cancer/427074 "2007-11-28T20:27:38Z")
Let me begin by saying that the overall quality of the Straight Dope is quite good, and I’ve often used it as a reference. However, I really took issue with this part of the article: This appears to be paraphrased fro… --- ## [question about psychics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-psychics/427915)
**Author:** [@jhsif](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhsif)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2007, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-psychics/427915 "2007-11-28T01:21:09Z")
There was a tv show on how psychics do their tricks, it went into great detail from everything to talking to the dead to seances, I think it had Judd Nelson in it but i could be wrong, I was wondering if anyone knows the… --- ## [Sound of one hand clapping ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-of-one-hand-clapping/427585)
**Author:** [@Heliotrope\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heliotrope_Jones)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2007, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-of-one-hand-clapping/427585 "2007-11-27T04:08:49Z")
RE: What is the sound of one hand clapping? Given that clapping is an activity that cannot actually be performed with one hand, it seems like the maybe the correct answer ought to be “Mu” - (as a sort of uber-shorthand… --- ## [Innumeracy at Maharishi Int'l U (go figure)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innumeracy-at-maharishi-intl-u-go-figure/427506)
**Author:** [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innumeracy-at-maharishi-intl-u-go-figure/427506 "2007-11-27T00:44:23Z")
In this classic column from today’s e-mail, I found this unintentionally amusing statement: The square root of one percent? So, in other words, ten percent, right? :rolleyes: I hope the grasp of statistics shown by … --- ## [Re: Possesion is Nine-Tenths of the Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-possesion-is-nine-tenths-of-the-law/427426)
**Author:** [@Zedfoil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zedfoil)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2007, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-possesion-is-nine-tenths-of-the-law/427426 "2007-11-24T06:28:28Z")
In law class in high school, about forty years ago, we were told possession is TWO points of the law. You claim it’s yours and you have it. --- ## [No ice cream headache?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-ice-cream-headache/426498)
**Author:** [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [November 21, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-ice-cream-headache/426498 "2007-11-21T01:51:12Z")
I was stunned by Cecil’s Ice Cream Headache Column. It’s hard to believe that 2/3 of all people do not get them. I can’t remember anyone ever saying “I don’t get those” when they’ve come up in conversation. I certainl… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=126) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=128)