# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=136 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 137 --- ## [How did David Copperfield vanish the Statue of Liberty?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-david-copperfield-vanish-the-statue-of-liberty/399559)
**Author:** [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-david-copperfield-vanish-the-statue-of-liberty/399559 "2007-05-09T19:07:46Z")
Original column by Melis. I just thought I’d let everyone know (in case you didn’t notice) that Ask Yahoo! basically just cited to the Dope column when asked this same question. Sort of lame, if you ask me. Not that y… --- ## [Superman Tragedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-tragedy/401384)
**Author:** [@tashua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashua)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-tragedy/401384 "2007-05-08T20:08:51Z")
George Reeve’s “death” suicide or not is a tragedy. When I saw the movie I put myself in the portrayed’s shoes. It seems like Toni Mannix was in love with George, but he may have been looking for a more fulfilling rela… --- ## [Calculating pi and the size of the universe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-pi-and-the-size-of-the-universe/402582)
**Author:** [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-pi-and-the-size-of-the-universe/402582 "2007-05-08T15:10:04Z")
The subject is addressed here:- http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_357.html At the end, a physicist opines that only 35 decimal places of pi are necessary to calculate the circumference of the known universe to th… --- ## [Why do wet things look darn near transparent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-wet-things-look-darn-near-transparent/402578)
**Author:** [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-wet-things-look-darn-near-transparent/402578 "2007-05-08T15:05:11Z")
Before I forget, here’s the link to Why do wet things look darker than dry things? http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_356a.html This is not about that. My question is “Why do wet garments sometimes look darn near … --- ## [Call Cecil at TAylor 8-0350](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-cecil-at-taylor-8-0350/402797)
**Author:** [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-cecil-at-taylor-8-0350/402797 "2007-05-07T20:40:35Z")
Bricker’s new Staff Report reminded me of a neat website I discovered a few years ago. It’s a bit unwieldy, but you can find the original name of almost any old telephone exchange there (or add it, if you know one that i… --- ## [\]If you lit a match in zero gravity, would it smother in its own smoke?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lit-a-match-in-zero-gravity-would-it-smother-in-its-own-smoke/402735)
**Author:** [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-lit-a-match-in-zero-gravity-would-it-smother-in-its-own-smoke/402735 "2007-05-07T19:33:16Z")
If you lit a match in zero gravity, would it smother in its own smoke? In this article Cecil says: Uh… it’s not obvious to me. “leaving the front door open?” Since he says “front” door, I assume he’s not talking ab… --- ## [Fire IS Alive!!!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-is-alive/400499)
**Author:** [@flySpyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flySpyGuy)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-is-alive/400499 "2007-05-07T16:51:39Z")
“Life reverses local entropy. Popularized by Isaac Asimov. In lay terms, life reverses the default trend toward ever-greater disorganization. Yeah, I know: Asimov must never have had children. Still, this one’s got a cer… --- ## [How come archaeological ruins are always underground?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-archaeological-ruins-are-always-underground/401333)
**Author:** [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 6, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-archaeological-ruins-are-always-underground/401333 "2007-05-06T04:40:57Z")
With regard to This one. The obvious answer I would have given is that if they were’nt underground they’d have gone by now. So like fossils, it’s not that the best place to look for them is underground, it’s the only pl… --- ## [Nucleation Sites](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleation-sites/402637)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleation-sites/402637 "2007-05-05T23:11:36Z")
In this column, Cecil explains the function of nucleation sites in the formation of CO2 bubbles. He also mentions their imporatnace in the formation of other things, such as snowflakes. What would happen if water was b… --- ## [Re: Should You Sign The Back of Your Credit Cards?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-should-you-sign-the-back-of-your-credit-cards/399601)
**Author:** [@pmormr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmormr)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-should-you-sign-the-back-of-your-credit-cards/399601 "2007-05-05T00:19:52Z")
On http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcredit.html you state definitively that signing your credit cards is a bad idea. If anything, you should write “ASK FOR PHOTO ID” in the name field. Excuse me, but this is bullshi… --- ## [555: More complicated than it used to be](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/555-more-complicated-than-it-used-to-be/402798)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/555-more-complicated-than-it-used-to-be/402798 "2007-05-04T20:04:08Z")
In Bricker’s latest report, In the old days, why did phone numbers have names like “Circle 8745”?, he notes that, "The 555 (“KLondike”) exchange was never assigned to ordinary phone subscribers; dialing it connected you … --- ## [Why do we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-drive-on-the-parkway-and-park-on-the-driveway/402673)
**Author:** [@quantum50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quantum50)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-drive-on-the-parkway-and-park-on-the-driveway/402673 "2007-05-04T16:59:30Z")
We solved that in Akron by calling it the “devil’s strip.” --- ## [Conviction in Absentia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conviction-in-absentia/386003)
**Author:** [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conviction-in-absentia/386003 "2007-05-03T20:15:46Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mabsentia.htm Another great job Bricker. This reminds me of a favorite opinion by Jerry Buchmeyer. Devine v. Byrd, 667 F. Supp. 414; 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17932 (N.D. Tex. 1982) (… --- ## [Double jeopardy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-jeopardy/394810)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [May 2, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-jeopardy/394810 "2007-05-02T22:22:08Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mjeopardy.htm Nice staff report, Bricker! Covers the ground very well. Straightforward and clear. I seem to remember a guy in Texas a few years ago who sent a taunting letter to th… --- ## [Is the earth getting heavier or lighter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter/401952)
**Author:** [@hd\_2005](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hd_2005)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter/401952 "2007-04-30T15:35:29Z")
While reading the column “Is the earth getting heavier or lighter” \ **Author:** [@Jon\_Nelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jon_Nelson)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snow-crystals-uniform-conditions-are-not-enough/402091 "2007-04-30T00:58:35Z") Dear Cecil, About your column, How do snowflakes grow symmetrically? ( http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070427.html ) Your answer was insightful and well written, as usual, but you left out a crucial aspect of th… --- ## [Re: Why can't we use bad ozone from pollution to replenish the thinning ozone layer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-we-use-bad-ozone-from-pollution-to-replenish-the-thinning-ozone-layer/402020)
**Author:** [@western.blot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/western.blot)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-cant-we-use-bad-ozone-from-pollution-to-replenish-the-thinning-ozone-layer/402020 "2007-04-29T04:44:31Z")
Why can’t we use bad ozone from pollution to replenish the thinning ozone layer? Good article. But the chlorine released from CFCs is as the atom, and not as the famously fatal dichlorine gas as the column implies. Fo… --- ## [fluorecent lights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluorecent-lights/401803)
**Author:** [@pami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pami)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fluorecent-lights/401803 "2007-04-27T02:27:19Z")
I honestly believe that the response about the above title is “beating around the push” answer. You contradict yourself. On the article you say "there haven’t been many studies period,“so how can you honestly write tha… --- ## [Galaxies vs Constellations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/galaxies-vs-constellations/400799)
**Author:** [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/galaxies-vs-constellations/400799 "2007-04-26T18:01:19Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_350.html Uh, I think Cecil missed a few key points. All the constellations are stars that are in one galaxy, the Milky Way, in which, of course, we are located. The naked eye can … --- ## [Cecil to Economists: Drop Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-to-economists-drop-dead/399109)
**Author:** [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-to-economists-drop-dead/399109 "2007-04-26T16:42:45Z")
Anyone else surprised to hear Cecil’s dim view of the entire field of economics in the latest column? Kind of a broad indictment to doubt that economics, “contributes in any way to the betterment of humanity.” Sure, so… --- ## [Galaxies and constellations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/galaxies-and-constellations/401734)
**Author:** [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/galaxies-and-constellations/401734 "2007-04-26T14:04:30Z")
In Cecil’s pithy explanation of the difference between galaxies and constellations, I think it would have been helpful to add that all the constellations we see (with the naked eye) are WITHIN our own galaxy – relatively… --- ## [The perfect candle wax?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-candle-wax/400853)
**Author:** [@wendigo1974](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wendigo1974)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-candle-wax/400853 "2007-04-25T21:23:47Z")
Viz’et’Viz Cecils Candle Wax Answer Is there a definitive candle wax substance. In days of yore fat was used followed by tallow. Now we have petroleum based waxes to light our candle lit dinners. Is there though a be… --- ## [fuzzy objects in mirror](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuzzy-objects-in-mirror/401105)
**Author:** [@Brendan\_Mullany](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brendan_Mullany)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuzzy-objects-in-mirror/401105 "2007-04-23T14:56:16Z")
while I was learning photography in High School, I noticed that if you look through a manual focus camera into a mirror, the focal distance is TWICE the actual distance to the subject. In other words, hold the camera 6" … --- ## [Fifth Third Bank](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifth-third-bank/400350)
**Author:** [@eyethink1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eyethink1)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 22, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifth-third-bank/400350 "2007-04-22T03:05:26Z")
Just a note on the Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati answer. They actually considered calling it Third Fifth Bank, but it made the name sound a like a fraction, so Fifth Third won out. Of course, 5/3 is still a fraction; ju… --- ## [Is Slug Signorino moonlighting in the UK?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-slug-signorino-moonlighting-in-the-uk/401062)
**Author:** [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 21, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-slug-signorino-moonlighting-in-the-uk/401062 "2007-04-21T13:04:16Z")
Looking at the UK Health and Safety Executive website (for professional reasons - I’m not that pathetic), I was struck by the similarity between his style and that of the HSE’s myth busting cartoonist. Could they by any … --- ## [Alfred Nobel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-nobel/400995)
**Author:** [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 21, 2007, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alfred-nobel/400995 "2007-04-21T12:37:12Z")
Quick, before I forget! I’d heard most of that story before, but the thing that stood out for me on reading the Staff Report is that ol’ Alfy, even after he saw how his own inventions had been turned to evil uses, still… --- ## [Shockley weasled a Nobel Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockley-weasled-a-nobel-prize/399636)
**Author:** [@tomsol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomsol)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 21, 2007, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shockley-weasled-a-nobel-prize/399636 "2007-04-21T11:03:33Z")
I read an article in Physics Today some years ago about the Nobel prize given for the invention of the transistor (I’m a physicist). According to that artcie and others I’ve read, Shockley did not deserve the prize. At t… --- ## [ethnic slur "welshed."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnic-slur-welshed/400899)
**Author:** [@tmegahee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tmegahee)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [April 21, 2007, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethnic-slur-welshed/400899 "2007-04-21T02:25:44Z")
The word is “welched”, a betting term, meaning to default on payment upon losing a bet. Where did Macolme get his info? --- ## [Does formula cause infant death, disease, diabetes, obesity, and possibly stupidity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-formula-cause-infant-death-disease-diabetes-obesity-and-possibly-stupidity/399978)
**Author:** [@fly\_on\_the\_wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fly_on_the_wall)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [April 20, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-formula-cause-infant-death-disease-diabetes-obesity-and-possibly-stupidity/399978 "2007-04-20T20:03:21Z")
Regarding “Breast is Best” http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070413.html Cecil wrote: “Breast-fed babies have a lower risk of postneonatal death, higher resistance to infectious diseases, less chance of developing Ty… --- ## [Love of Country](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-of-country/400821)
**Author:** [@levelthefield99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levelthefield99)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 20, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-of-country/400821 "2007-04-20T18:58:01Z")
Country love is one thing but this is just another way to seperate people of the planet. It doesn’t matter what country you are in or have come from and it irrelavent if you love it or hate. Lines on the map and are just… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=135) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=137)