# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=132 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 133 --- ## [President John Tyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-john-tyler/415134)
**Author:** [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 16, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-john-tyler/415134 "2007-08-16T05:11:57Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_024.html I can believe that there was controversey over Tyler’s status when he assumed the duties of the President, I can’t believe that a hundred and sixty years later there is s… --- ## [Acupuncture](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture/414764)
**Author:** [@helloimhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/helloimhere)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture/414764 "2007-08-10T22:05:57Z")
15 years ago, most doctors shunned massage as having any medical benefit. Now, there is a ton of scientific research and doctors prescribe massages for all types of conditions and ailments. I believe our Western way of… --- ## [Male seahorses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-seahorses/414801)
**Author:** [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-seahorses/414801 "2007-08-10T04:45:05Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mseahorsesex.htm In this article, it is stated that genders are discernable depending on which one lays the egg. Are there characteristics that all eggs share that all sperm do not, … --- ## [Challenger Explosion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenger-explosion/412402)
**Author:** [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenger-explosion/412402 "2007-08-09T17:48:22Z")
Did the shuttle go up when it exploded? article From the article: Emphasís Mine This is the image I had in my mind. The shuttle is coming toward the planet on a controlled course through the outer atmosphere, it exp… --- ## [A 13 sided shape (naming your polygons)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-13-sided-shape-naming-your-polygons/413443)
**Author:** [@JamesEB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesEB)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-13-sided-shape-naming-your-polygons/413443 "2007-08-09T07:13:28Z")
I was thumbing through the archive, and found someone asking for the name of a 13 sided shape . Though this article is from Sep. 88’, 7 months after I was born, I wanted to shed more light. I saw the “freelance” attempt… --- ## [Mileage test results](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mileage-test-results/414756)
**Author:** [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mileage-test-results/414756 "2007-08-07T17:22:50Z")
This is in response to these threads: Do I really need premium gas? (VW Passat car question) Premium Gas Gas in Diesel Engines And Una’s Staff report from 2004, and this Car Talk column from this past spring. I have… --- ## [nitrogen in tires error!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitrogen-in-tires-error/414235)
**Author:** [@PSYCHOputz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSYCHOputz)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitrogen-in-tires-error/414235 "2007-08-07T13:44:11Z")
In your article from 16-Feb-2007 you state that “As for moisture, changes in humidity affect tire performance two ways. First, the density of humid air fluctuates more with temperature than that of dry air, so removing h… --- ## [What's REALLY contradictory to saving lives AND saving gas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-really-contradictory-to-saving-lives-and-saving-gas/412291)
**Author:** [@sherrribeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sherrribeth)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 6, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-really-contradictory-to-saving-lives-and-saving-gas/412291 "2007-08-06T04:57:54Z")
Cecil made a lot of good points in his reply on auto efficiency standards and car safety, but in his conclusion “saving lives and saving gas to an extent are contradictory goals” he dodges the real point. We could effec… --- ## [Have a \*Happy\* Day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-happy-day/413754)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-happy-day/413754 "2007-08-04T04:18:43Z")
Cecil’s column: Who invented the smiley face? The slogan going with the smiley face is always quoted as “Have a happy day” in the column. I don’t remember that, although I was in high school when the fad started. But la… --- ## [Methane hydrate column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methane-hydrate-column/413944)
**Author:** [@dobermanmacleod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dobermanmacleod)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2007, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methane-hydrate-column/413944 "2007-08-03T21:43:55Z")
In the article “It’s a gas” on the website slweekly.com ( http://www.slweekly.com/editorial/2007/straight\_2007-08-02.cfm ), Cecil wrote about oceanic methane hydrate deposits, but he neglected to fully cite the estimated… --- ## [MICR Pronunciation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/micr-pronunciation/412767)
**Author:** [@AaronGNP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronGNP)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/micr-pronunciation/412767 "2007-08-01T14:56:28Z")
Just wanted to point out a slight correction on the pronunciation stated in the article. I have spent nearly a decade working for one of the largest banks in the US, and everyone I’ve ever come into contact with has pro… --- ## [Lactic acid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lactic-acid/413371)
**Author:** [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lactic-acid/413371 "2007-08-01T01:23:57Z")
Concerning the recent mailbag article Does massage work by getting rid of toxins? This puts to rest the idea that lactic acid causes the delayed-onset muscle soreness, but it still left me wondering whether lactic acid … --- ## [Dex's column on drinking seawater](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexs-column-on-drinking-seawater/413708)
**Author:** [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dexs-column-on-drinking-seawater/413708 "2007-07-31T03:48:21Z")
Linky-poo. I watched the Discovery Channel last night and they had a show about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. In a nutshell, they were on a secret mission to deliver parts for the bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima… --- ## [Smiley article](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smiley-article/413701)
**Author:** [@alan0000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alan0000)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smiley-article/413701 "2007-07-30T23:35:40Z")
I realize this isn’t a professional comedic outfit, but every other line in that article was like sitting through a Carrot Top routine. :rolleyes: --- ## [Salt Symposium](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-symposium/413390)
**Author:** [@Skott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skott)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-symposium/413390 "2007-07-30T22:32:46Z")
Is sea salt better for you than regular salt? Why does salt enhance the flavor of almost all food? Why add salt to water for boiling pasta? For some strange reason, I thought that the purpose of adding salt to water des… --- ## [Placenta Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placenta-soup/412467)
**Author:** [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 26, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/placenta-soup/412467 "2007-07-26T15:57:38Z")
There’s a woman who wants her placenta back in the news. I guess the whole placenta ingesting thing continues to sweep the nation, having gotten as far as Vegas. Of course, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Kenghis… --- ## [Metric System in US - comments](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metric-system-in-us-comments/410360)
**Author:** [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metric-system-in-us-comments/410360 "2007-07-25T19:15:57Z")
In his column on US metric conversion, Uncle Cecil says that we may be slowly sneaking up on adoption. I feel compelled to report that there is some backsliding as well. For some years, CalTrans (California’s Departmen… --- ## [Nobel sperm and Mr. Pink???](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024)
**Author:** [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobel-sperm-and-mr-pink/413024 "2007-07-25T15:25:17Z")
So we have a report on Nobel prize winners (and others) donating sperm to try to produce more intelligent children – which can be seen here – and how does the author chose to start it? A long and totally irrelevant quot… --- ## [Did Mass. Have the Legal Authority to Pardon Witches?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mass-have-the-legal-authority-to-pardon-witches/408820)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mass-have-the-legal-authority-to-pardon-witches/408820 "2007-07-25T13:21:20Z")
Concerning Cecil’s Salem column, I have just one question: Did Massachusetts have the authority to pardon the alleged witches in 2001? My reasons for suspecting they didn’t are twofold: (1) They would be deciding on a re… --- ## [regarding jake brake article](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-jake-brake-article/412923)
**Author:** [@kindrdsol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kindrdsol)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-jake-brake-article/412923 "2007-07-24T21:47:19Z")
we have a sign in kissimmee fl along a local road my sister and travel frequently that states no jake brakes , to which my sis asks the question ‘what is a jake brake ?’ course with my curiosity i look online to find out… --- ## [Giant bugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-bugs/412404)
**Author:** [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-bugs/412404 "2007-07-24T15:57:30Z")
Obligatory link Doug, I’m a little puzzled by why arthropods can be larger in water than on land. Your column says that it takes less muscle power to lift a limb underwater - how so? Water is heavier than air. The bouya… --- ## [B.F. Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-f-skinner/412589)
**Author:** [@Edneufl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edneufl)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 23, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-f-skinner/412589 "2007-07-23T23:02:51Z")
Your comment (8-15-2003)concerning B.F. Skinner that “His insistence that internal mental states and processes didn’t exist because they couldn’t be measured was simplistic” is a common misperception of the radical behav… --- ## [Cash value: 1/20th of a cent - Really?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cash-value-1-20th-of-a-cent-really/412500)
**Author:** [@I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_Ron_Burgundy)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 23, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cash-value-1-20th-of-a-cent-really/412500 "2007-07-23T16:55:24Z")
I got a 10% off coupon for a major chain store with my change of address forms. On the back, in the fine print, it says Cash Value: 1/20th of a cent. I found the SD column about this, and found out why they bothered pri… --- ## [But who WERE the Trojans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-who-were-the-trojans/412765)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/but-who-were-the-trojans/412765 "2007-07-22T22:04:19Z")
Cecil’s 7/20/07 column, Was there a real Trojan war as depicted in the Iliad? Is “Agamemnon’s death mask” real? leaves a major question unanswered and, indeed, unmentioned: Who were the Trojans? Culturally, I mean. Di… --- ## [superman..murder or suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-murder-or-suicide/412638)
**Author:** [@teej67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teej67)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-murder-or-suicide/412638 "2007-07-22T00:36:01Z")
could it have been a case that his soon to be wife was having a last fling with mr. bliss? why was he in bed while his fiancee was with another man downstairs, and carol not with her husband but another man “partying” a… --- ## [Long Leaf Pine Trees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-leaf-pine-trees/412659)
**Author:** [@Anstruther](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anstruther)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-leaf-pine-trees/412659 "2007-07-21T14:54:20Z")
In the southeast US long leaf pine trees have also adapted to frequent fires. The bark is fire resistant and they keep all their needles/branches high above ground, smothering everything that tries to compete with them … --- ## [Bank Branches Are Increasing Right Now](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-branches-are-increasing-right-now/412166)
**Author:** [@kevkevnyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevkevnyc)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-branches-are-increasing-right-now/412166 "2007-07-20T13:02:58Z")
Regarding http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmultiplyingbanks.htm Why are banks opening so many branch offices? In replying to Andy Ville’s question about the increase in bank branches, Gfactor explained that the incr… --- ## [Multiple Personality Disorder](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-personality-disorder/412020)
**Author:** [@belle-diamond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belle-diamond)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-personality-disorder/412020 "2007-07-19T15:02:24Z")
Does multiple personality disorder really exist? Wow… you have some really… uhmmm… informed(?) opinions for a writer. I am a Christian and attend an Independent Fundamental Baptistchurch; it doesn’t get much more conse… --- ## [CAFE Standards deaths](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cafe-standards-deaths/411649)
**Author:** [@n1xp1x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/n1xp1x)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cafe-standards-deaths/411649 "2007-07-18T14:41:29Z")
And if we add the lives lost in wars over oil, the environmental problems caused by burning more fuel and the effects of climate change, do the death stats still say driving honking big fuel guzzlers is less life-threate… --- ## [nine Eskimo words for snow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nine-eskimo-words-for-snow/340770)
**Author:** [@flojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flojo)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nine-eskimo-words-for-snow/340770 "2007-07-17T04:11:35Z")
I Once read a novel (author I don’t recall) “Simella’s Sense of Snow” ( which was made into a movie) In which the setting was I believe Greenland. In It the author stated that the Eskimo has more then 300 words to des… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=131) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=133)