# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=129 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 130 --- ## [toxic lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxic-lady/424990)
**Author:** [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxic-lady/424990 "2007-11-03T17:29:36Z")
órganic chemist here: Just commenting in the resurrected classic. I dont know any way to convert DMSO to dimethyl sulfate - the chemistry just doesnt exist,so the first explanation is almost certainly wrong --- ## [Hatfields and McCoys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hatfields-and-mccoys/425019)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hatfields-and-mccoys/425019 "2007-11-03T17:13:11Z")
The How did the Hatfield-McCoy feud end, anyway? staff report piqued my interest in the feud and unfortunately led me to wikipedia. \[QUOTE=wiki\] In June 1880, Staton was killed by two McCoy brothers, Sam and Paris, who… --- ## [Ouija Boards](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouija-boards/424312)
**Author:** [@sptfyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sptfyr)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ouija-boards/424312 "2007-11-02T20:53:19Z")
So does anyone believe Ouija Boards are truly evil? My little brother, his GF, another buddy, and I have been messing around with one, and it’s been doing very bad stuff to us…we think it’s evil. Does anyone else agree? --- ## [Long John Silver](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-john-silver/422643)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2007, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-john-silver/422643 "2007-11-02T03:06:58Z")
When my mother, the daughter of immigrants to New York City, turned 18 years old, she and her best friend Vera grabbed the first train they could find to Hollywood, California. There they both got jobs for Warner Brothe… --- ## [Can I use diesel fuel instead of regular gas??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-diesel-fuel-instead-of-regular-gas/424894)
**Author:** [@Fallman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fallman)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-diesel-fuel-instead-of-regular-gas/424894 "2007-11-01T17:31:15Z")
Wow all is all i have to say about that article?? Im not sure how long the person that wrote it spent in a mechanics shop but obviously he didnt pick up much common sense while he was there. He did manage to get a f… --- ## [Orthodox Jewish Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-sabbath/404572)
**Author:** [@chaim\_salenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaim_salenger)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orthodox-jewish-sabbath/404572 "2007-10-30T20:52:46Z")
Overall a pretty good synopsis but you left out a vital aspect of how we (orthodox Jews) celebrate the sabbath. There are 3 meals–not just meals–but really banquets–with several courses. Besides the great food, and the s… --- ## [accupuncture experience](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accupuncture-experience/424515)
**Author:** [@andrewwerner55978](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewwerner55978)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accupuncture-experience/424515 "2007-10-30T16:10:48Z")
I realize accupuncture is probably does not have any merit. However I tried acupuncture and during treatment I noticed my body start to rock back and forth and the treatment caused me to have to urinate very badly. In fa… --- ## [Sawed Off Shotguns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sawed-off-shotguns/423351)
**Author:** [@looppr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/looppr)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2007, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sawed-off-shotguns/423351 "2007-10-30T11:17:46Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msawedoff.html in reference to this article I would like to point out that while shortening the length of a shotgun does make it easier to conceal there is another more interesting rea… --- ## [Snow White](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-white/424168)
**Author:** [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-white/424168 "2007-10-30T04:12:28Z")
The Master left out one early change in the Grimm version of Schneewittchen; in the first edition, Snow White’s father has only one wife. --- ## [Jolly Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jolly-rogers/422469)
**Author:** [@Bobby\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobby_B)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jolly-rogers/422469 "2007-10-30T01:44:38Z")
Jolly rogers, Jolly boats, Black and Red flags What I was told by my father who knew everything was that Jolly was French for “young” and was used in naval-speak to mean “previous” and/or “small”. And Roger comes from F… --- ## [Cecil says Jeopardous not a -dous word??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-says-jeopardous-not-a-dous-word/424422)
**Author:** [@Paul\_Chi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_Chi)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-says-jeopardous-not-a-dous-word/424422 "2007-10-29T20:03:34Z")
COLUMN: What are the four common English words ending in “-dous”? COLUMN LINK: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_236.html Jeopardous is not a fifth -dous word according to Cecil? Not as common as hazardous certa… --- ## [Re: Alzheimers and Aluminum](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-alzheimers-and-aluminum/424412)
**Author:** [@jrmayhem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrmayhem)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-alzheimers-and-aluminum/424412 "2007-10-29T04:37:53Z")
I’m responding to Cecil’s article on Aluminum and Alzheimers, which can be found at: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a971219.html It was last updated in 1997, and I was wondering if there has been any progress tow… --- ## [trilateral commision](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trilateral-commision/424180)
**Author:** [@Absolute\_Jackass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute_Jackass)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trilateral-commision/424180 "2007-10-28T16:02:56Z")
Cecil, I’m not gonna subscribe 'cause I think you’re part of the problem. Do you really believe that the trilateral commision is only the “offspring”? Check this, Bilderburg, CFR, and all of these other groups of “eli… --- ## [What's the story on the curse of Macbeth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-on-the-curse-of-macbeth/422476)
**Author:** [@SMullen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SMullen)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-on-the-curse-of-macbeth/422476 "2007-10-26T18:32:30Z")
Just wondering if the curse of Macbeth applied to Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood”? This is a fascinating subject! --- ## [Scoring a Ball game](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scoring-a-ball-game/424037)
**Author:** [@BklynNY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BklynNY)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scoring-a-ball-game/424037 "2007-10-26T17:22:30Z")
I must take exception with the inaccurate information posted. A called third strike is denoted by a straight K. A swinging third strike is indicated by a backwards K. The backwards K symbolizes the position a batter woul… --- ## [For Glen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-glen/423748)
**Author:** [@KClarkson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KClarkson)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-glen/423748 "2007-10-25T21:06:24Z")
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2244829320070222 That’s all I have to say… --- ## [the 7 story types](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-7-story-types/422505)
**Author:** [@refinnej1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refinnej1982)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 24, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-7-story-types/422505 "2007-10-24T03:05:20Z")
to the posting on whether there are only seven types of story plots I wanted to refer the questioner and author to an informative article from the washinton post article called once upon a time a review by dennis dutton,… --- ## [Nitpick on Underwear](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-on-underwear/423170)
**Author:** [@spinster3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinster3)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-on-underwear/423170 "2007-10-23T16:02:25Z")
I was reading http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041217.html and was wondering just when Cecil Adams thinks people started wearing linen underclothing? In the apparently linear timeline he presents, it appears that he t… --- ## [Colds, flu's and what not](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colds-flus-and-what-not/423430)
**Author:** [@Beatmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beatmore)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colds-flus-and-what-not/423430 "2007-10-23T14:45:53Z")
In reply to: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_104.html It seems that in this discussion something obvious was left out and I’m wondering why. Birds migrate in winter-time. But people, before you make a run for y… --- ## [Harding was a Klansman](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harding-was-a-klansman/423276)
**Author:** [@southerngal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/southerngal)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harding-was-a-klansman/423276 "2007-10-21T18:54:08Z")
Klansman don’t just show up for funerals for the hell of it. Has anyone seen the photo of the Ku Klux Klan at Harding’s funeral? I have personally interviewed Stetson Kennedy and believe his first hand account of the wir… --- ## [Editing Error: "Men's" in the paternity column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-error-mens-in-the-paternity-column/423323)
**Author:** [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2007, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/editing-error-mens-in-the-paternity-column/423323 "2007-10-21T13:03:46Z")
The new column, Who’s your Daddy? Is it true 10-15% of children in modern society were not sired by their putative fathers? contains the following sentence: emphasis added I cannot conceive what the construction is th… --- ## [Fiestaware](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiestaware/423077)
**Author:** [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiestaware/423077 "2007-10-21T04:02:17Z")
Long time lurker, first time OP here, so please forgive me if I mess up this message somehow… In Cecil’s column on Fiestaware he states that, “The actual amount of radioactivity is extremely low–less than the normal bac… --- ## [Sawed Off Shotguns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sawed-off-shotguns/423349)
**Author:** [@looppr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/looppr)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sawed-off-shotguns/423349 "2007-10-19T23:50:48Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msawedoff.html in reference to this article I would like to point out that while shortening the length of a shotgun does make it easier to conceal there is another more interesting rea… --- ## [Head-butting and foreheads](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butting-and-foreheads/415132)
**Author:** [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butting-and-foreheads/415132 "2007-10-17T17:58:46Z")
In “Is head-butting for real?” Gfactor addresses the finer points of head-butting. It’s a very good article, but it didn’t answer something I’ve been wondering for a long time. I have a rather large and heavy head. I ten… --- ## [Vaccinations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations/422929)
**Author:** [@Lissak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissak)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccinations/422929 "2007-10-16T23:58:51Z")
Was just reading your archived item on vaccinations - and since I’m pregnant this grabbed my attention - as many things do these days. I just wondered, I know that there is a flu vaccine that comes mercury/thimerosal fre… --- ## [Dogs Walking: Cecil Didn't Know This?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-walking-cecil-didnt-know-this/422565)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-walking-cecil-didnt-know-this/422565 "2007-10-16T20:14:22Z")
In this link http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_090.html to a question on how some dogs legs move together whie other dogs alternate, Uncle Cecil admits he was SURPRISED to find out there really is an explanati… --- ## [Need link to old Column (board thread?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-link-to-old-column-board-thread/422649)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-link-to-old-column-board-thread/422649 "2007-10-14T18:23:39Z")
I’m sure there was something here about the claim that canola/rapeseed is supposedly poisonous, but I couldn’t find it. Anyone? --- ## [Calculating Pi and other numbers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-pi-and-other-numbers/422533)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-pi-and-other-numbers/422533 "2007-10-13T22:31:39Z")
Based upon this column, I wondered: Do mathematicians spend time calculating numbers other than pi to an absurd number of digits? Is there something special about pi that wouldn’t apply to the square root of 2? --- ## [Pacing and Trotting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacing-and-trotting/422383)
**Author:** [@rcburket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rcburket)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacing-and-trotting/422383 "2007-10-13T18:22:43Z")
The column doesn’t quite answer the question, although it casts a great deal of light on it. Is it the case, then, that a given dog does both, at different times, in the manner that horses have different gaits that they… --- ## [Buried Pirate Treasure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buried-pirate-treasure/421622)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buried-pirate-treasure/421622 "2007-10-13T05:08:38Z")
Original here: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/071005.html A good article, as ever. I’m just surprised that Cecil mentions Treasure Island as the work instrumental in planting the concept of Pirate Treasure with a … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=128) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=130)