# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=142 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 143 --- ## [The Origin of Hip](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-hip/384409)
**Author:** [@Edward\_Boyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_Boyer)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-hip/384409 "2006-12-19T17:39:25Z")
The Origin of Hip ED BOYER George Robinson, approaching his 80s, was helping his wife with her boots one recent winter. For some reason, she was uncomfortable, and putting them on became a challenge. Finally, after so… --- ## [Question about siphoning](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-siphoning/365692)
**Author:** [@Street\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Street_Deep)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-siphoning/365692 "2006-12-18T14:11:18Z")
Why is Cecil pulling his punches in his otherwise admirable article “How does a siphon work” on the question of how a siphon works? Cecil is absolutely right in saying that air pressure explains the operation of a siphon… --- ## [Who can arrest the President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-can-arrest-the-president/383834)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-can-arrest-the-president/383834 "2006-12-17T19:36:53Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mprezarrest.htm A fine report on a knotty legal issue. I’d be interested to know what Justice Joseph Story wrote on the question (referred to in passing in the article). I recall th… --- ## [origin of "skosh"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-skosh/384145)
**Author:** [@strosmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strosmer)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2006, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-skosh/384145 "2006-12-17T08:13:34Z")
I got a real kick out of coming across this story in your column as I never did understand the origin of “skosh.” My father always used it, especially in regards to the TV volume, “Could you turn it up just a skosh?” H… --- ## [Why "break a leg" in the theatre?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-break-a-leg-in-the-theatre/382342)
**Author:** [@Hugh\_Macdonald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Macdonald)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2006, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-break-a-leg-in-the-theatre/382342 "2006-12-17T07:59:18Z")
With this article, I’ve heard another theory which wasn’t mentioned on in the post… This page has a number of potential sources. The second one is the one that I’ve heard before, and seems the most plausible to me: --- ## [Unca Cece's Wikipedia page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unca-ceces-wikipedia-page/382504)
**Author:** [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unca-ceces-wikipedia-page/382504 "2006-12-15T18:08:01Z")
In Have people actually survived being hit by lightning multiple times?, Unca Cece, apparently unimpressed, noted \*at least you had somebody… keeping things straight, in contrast to, say, Wikipedia, which is more the mil… --- ## ["Noah"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noah/384172)
**Author:** [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noah/384172 "2006-12-15T13:51:17Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgopherwood.htm Since “what’s a cubit” has been answered, let me just ask: “How long can you tread water?” --- ## [Do "corona discharge" devices alleviate asthma?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corona-discharge-devices-alleviate-asthma/384181)
**Author:** [@Roger\_Needham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_Needham)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corona-discharge-devices-alleviate-asthma/384181 "2006-12-14T23:01:25Z")
I read your comment with interest. I am an asthma sufferer - it’s not as bad as many in fact not at all serious. Nevertheless it is given as a chronic condition. In our bedroom my wife and I have a Hepa air filter with … --- ## [Michael, Row the Boat Ashore](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-row-the-boat-ashore/383350)
**Author:** [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-row-the-boat-ashore/383350 "2006-12-14T13:56:48Z")
Hey, Dex… Concerning your explanation for why Michael is rowing, it is my understanding that it could have been an entreaty for Michael to help the pilgrim cross the river Jordan, which is often used in Christian symbol… --- ## [Marguerite Pegged](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marguerite-pegged/382478)
**Author:** [@device](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/device)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marguerite-pegged/382478 "2006-12-14T05:10:19Z")
Hi Cécil, First thought I’d bring the French flower to your attention, irritatiing little prat that I am, but now, due to your diligence I can only add this: My mother, the quite Englishly named: Margaret Elizabeth go… --- ## [Why do they call it a "station wagon"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-call-it-a-station-wagon/383157)
**Author:** [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-call-it-a-station-wagon/383157 "2006-12-13T18:30:16Z")
Why do they call it a “station wagon”? Oh :eek: So a station wagon was a middle class version of a Limo!!!:dubious: --- ## [The Moon Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moon-illusion/383870)
**Author:** [@rbryant73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbryant73)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moon-illusion/383870 "2006-12-13T04:08:21Z")
Hello, I’m confused by your explanation of the so-called Moon Illusion: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_110.html My understanding has always been that the explanation you provide is merely one of a few theorie… --- ## [Burning Christmas wrapping paper in your fireplace](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-christmas-wrapping-paper-in-your-fireplace/383349)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-christmas-wrapping-paper-in-your-fireplace/383349 "2006-12-13T01:16:14Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/061208.html This seems a bit… overcautious to me. We’ve burned torn wrapping paper in our fireplace, as we unwrap family presents, for decades with nary a problem. Of course you don… --- ## [Burning X-Mas Trees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-x-mas-trees/383453)
**Author:** [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 12, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-x-mas-trees/383453 "2006-12-12T16:15:33Z")
In the column about burning wrapping paper, Cecil also mentioned that burning old Christmas trees is a bad idea too, giving as an example his poor uncle’s in-law’s house. But he didn’t say exactly what it was about that… --- ## [Urban Legend Becomes Fact. Baby In Microwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-becomes-fact-baby-in-microwave/382105 "2006-12-11T22:18:24Z")
Cecil’s colums. http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_213.html The ugly reality in Ohio. And complete with a sitter. The setup smells like last week’s dead fish. :dubious: --- ## [Mind your Ps and Qs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mind-your-ps-and-qs/383538)
**Author:** [@RandyP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandyP)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mind-your-ps-and-qs/383538 "2006-12-10T15:13:55Z")
Another expanation comes also from old British pubs. The phrase "mind your p’s and q’s suggested the barkeep keep an eye on his pence (pennies) and quids in the till. --- ## [Out of Sorts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sorts/383438)
**Author:** [@emagem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emagem)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/out-of-sorts/383438 "2006-12-09T23:38:31Z")
I saw this at the end of the P and Q’s column. It’s an explanation of the origin of out of sorts which I don’t think is right. Printing also gave us another expression. Individual letters were called “sorts,” and if you… --- ## [Bridey Murphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridey-murphy/383193)
**Author:** [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bridey-murphy/383193 "2006-12-08T22:42:14Z")
A little addition to the old (1985) column on Bridey Murphy, the past-life alter ego of Colorado housewife Virginia Tighe. Bridie Murphy Corkell, who lived across the street from Virginia when the latter was a child in … --- ## [How come the wheels of a moving car appear to rotate backward sometimes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-wheels-of-a-moving-car-appear-to-rotate-backward-sometimes/383409)
**Author:** [@bonkskeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonkskeeper)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-wheels-of-a-moving-car-appear-to-rotate-backward-sometimes/383409 "2006-12-08T22:06:01Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_199.html Altamont Pass in the San Francisco Bay Area is a hilly region covered in windmills. Some of the windmills have three large blades that rotate on the vertical plane, and … --- ## [Do bumblebees sting? Once or many times?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bumblebees-sting-once-or-many-times/383248)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bumblebees-sting-once-or-many-times/383248 "2006-12-08T16:07:00Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbeesting.htm Nice column. :dubious: So, do Bumblebees sting? 'Cause, you didn’t actually answer the question. You wrote about Honey Bees, Wasps, Ants…but not Bumblebees. Not if t… --- ## [Page number](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/page-number/383130)
**Author:** [@Addaone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Addaone)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 6, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/page-number/383130 "2006-12-06T22:19:08Z")
Hi, just a really quick question. What page number does The Straight Dope usually appear on in The Chicago Reader? I need to cite a Straight Dope column in a research paper. Thanks. --- ## [Police Lineups](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-lineups/381299)
**Author:** [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [December 6, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-lineups/381299 "2006-12-06T19:47:26Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mlineups.htm Now that’s a staff report. Great work, Bricker. --- ## [What is the maximum resolution of photographic film in pixels?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-maximum-resolution-of-photographic-film-in-pixels/382318)
**Author:** [@Hugh\_Macdonald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Macdonald)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 6, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-maximum-resolution-of-photographic-film-in-pixels/382318 "2006-12-06T13:22:44Z")
Just discovered Straight Dope today… I’ve been looking through the articles, and may have a few comments! On this one, I thought I could shed a little more light (as one of the people who work on the CGI in the afformen… --- ## [Wrong reasoning and/or conclusion in a column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-reasoning-and-or-conclusion-in-a-column/381165)
**Author:** [@dbind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbind)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [December 6, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-reasoning-and-or-conclusion-in-a-column/381165 "2006-12-06T04:21:49Z")
In On “Let’s Make a Deal,” you pick Door #1. Monty opens Door #2–no prize. Do you stay with Door #1 or switch to #3? there are several things that escape my limitted comprehension. However, there is one thing I’m sure of… --- ## [Moon Craters](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-craters/382476)
**Author:** [@electric-sun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/electric-sun)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 6, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-craters/382476 "2006-12-06T00:57:36Z")
This weeks Straight Dope article would be a great description of how moon craters were formed, if the field of plasma physics had never been discovered. Unfortunately for gravity astronomers, plasma physics offers a much… --- ## [The Sound of One Hand Clapping](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping/382295)
**Author:** [@Flowergirrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flowergirrl)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping/382295 "2006-12-05T18:07:17Z")
I can clap my own hand easily. I just smack my palm with my fingertips. I saw this done on The Simpsons too. I can’t believe someone else hasn’t made this comment. --- ## [Surviving lightning strokes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-lightning-strokes/382559)
**Author:** [@Vesicatory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vesicatory)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surviving-lightning-strokes/382559 "2006-12-04T21:04:39Z")
In Have people actually survived being hit by lightning multiple times, Cecil says that one of the victims experienced “a few seconds of lost time.” It sure would explain a lot if “alien abductees” had actually been stru… --- ## ["What the dickens", Mr. Adams?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-dickens-mr-adams/382703)
**Author:** [@bulusun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bulusun)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-dickens-mr-adams/382703 "2006-12-03T20:56:36Z")
You never answered the question, Mr. Adams. It comes from Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor…“I cannot tell what the dickens his name is my husband had him of.” --- ## [The Green Room](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-green-room/381969)
**Author:** [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-green-room/381969 "2006-12-01T22:19:51Z")
In Why is the waiting room for talk-show guests called the “green room”?, Cecil says and then “Bright stage lights” in 1701? Not bloody likely. Candles and oil lamps, only. --- ## [Why you should never sign the back of credit cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-you-should-never-sign-the-back-of-credit-cards/373081)
**Author:** [@JDHawke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDHawke)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2006, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-you-should-never-sign-the-back-of-credit-cards/373081 "2006-12-01T11:23:41Z")
Well, I have to say there is one reason to sign the card: Its required for the card to be considered valid. If you read the Visa Merchant Rules (available here ) on page 34 of the PDF it states that a card without a s… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=141) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=143)