# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=144 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 145 --- ## [Well there's some shocking front-page art!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-theres-some-shocking-front-page-art/378115)
**Author:** [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 31, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-theres-some-shocking-front-page-art/378115 "2006-10-31T18:05:43Z")
Linky Ok yeah, it’s clever and all but…ew, icky first thing in the morning. --- ## [Two Hoosier women clobber men with cook pots, one fatally](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-hoosier-women-clobber-men-with-cook-pots-one-fatally/377974)
**Author:** [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2006, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-hoosier-women-clobber-men-with-cook-pots-one-fatally/377974 "2006-10-30T05:51:01Z")
As Cecil said, it doesn’t happen very often. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/061006.html However, there are two stories in today’s Indianapolis Star in which women clanged on men with cookware. In one, a Noblesville… --- ## ["Rockin' Radio News" redux](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rockin-radio-news-redux/378351)
**Author:** [@Grey\_Mouser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey_Mouser)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rockin-radio-news-redux/378351 "2006-10-29T21:59:24Z")
Close, but no cigar. The A side of the Medallions’ first recording was “Buick '59,” not “Buick 69.” Todd Rhodes’s “Rocket 69” was never as big a hit as all that, which probably made ripping it off for “Buick '59” all the… --- ## [Comment on "medial 's'"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-medial-s/377874)
**Author:** [@DL-44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DL-44)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-medial-s/377874 "2006-10-29T20:08:11Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_110.html Just for clarification: the actual purpose of the scroll ‘s’ (also called the long s, latin s, or medial s) was to save space. As with the various typesetting ligatures… --- ## [Comments on Designated drunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227)
**Author:** [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-designated-drunk/377227 "2006-10-29T17:41:38Z")
I have a minor nitpick on Cecil’s column Designated drunk: Can you get intoxicated without actually drinking alcohol?. In some states (Ohio, for example) the operation of any vehicle while intoxicated is prohibited. Th… --- ## [What about ravel and unravel?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-ravel-and-unravel/377973)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-ravel-and-unravel/377973 "2006-10-29T17:00:45Z")
I wish the master had addressed those in his column. For what it’s worth, Rob --- ## [It's only $14.99](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-only-14-99/378325)
**Author:** [@bhazelwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bhazelwood)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-only-14-99/378325 "2006-10-29T13:50:04Z")
Dear Cecil, I’ve been reading your column for … I don’t even know how long…Long. Love it. I, for some reason, felt impelled to comment on your elucidation regarding the practice of pricing items ending with .99, etc. W… --- ## [Obscenities in foreign languages](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscenities-in-foreign-languages/374980)
**Author:** [@Neur0mancer\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neur0mancer_1)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscenities-in-foreign-languages/374980 "2006-10-26T12:14:30Z")
Cecil cites a few good ones in this column \[ Do other languages have obscenities like those of English? \]. I would place Russian as my favorite for cursing, especially since a) you can modify words with prefixes, suffix… --- ## [Tit for tat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tit-for-tat/377082)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 24, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tit-for-tat/377082 "2006-10-24T18:24:56Z")
This column reminded me of one of my favorite limericks, which I thought I’d share: There was a young woman named Pat Who bore triplets named Rat, Bat, and Tat. They were fun in the breeding But hell in the feeding … --- ## [Roman contraceptives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-contraceptives/376338)
**Author:** [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-contraceptives/376338 "2006-10-23T21:08:16Z")
\[QUOTE=Cecil\] Demographic studies suggest that the Roman world should have had a population explosion due to a low disease rate, plentiful food, and relatively few civilian war deaths. \[/QUOTE\] I think those must have… --- ## [Who called the First Continental Congress?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-called-the-first-continental-congress/376775)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-called-the-first-continental-congress/376775 "2006-10-22T21:54:36Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcontcongress.htm Well done, indeed! I learned a lot. Ignorance fought. --- ## [Funky in Heat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funky-in-heat/376679)
**Author:** [@Frelling\_Tralk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frelling_Tralk)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funky-in-heat/376679 "2006-10-19T16:59:35Z")
Origin of Funky. In the second letter, the writer refers to “a woman in heat” - human females don’t go into heat like other female mammals. So what’s with the expression? --- ## [Justification](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justification/376348)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2006, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justification/376348 "2006-10-18T09:03:28Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_243a.html OK, wise guy, how did they do it \*before \* computers? --- ## [dunces caps](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunces-caps/376848)
**Author:** [@wiccawendy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wiccawendy)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunces-caps/376848 "2006-10-18T06:47:32Z")
The dunces cap was used by the druids. theres was made from copper two or three of them have been dug up ovver the years Best regards wiccawendy --- ## [Racehorse naming traditions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racehorse-naming-traditions/375165)
**Author:** [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racehorse-naming-traditions/375165 "2006-10-17T16:05:11Z")
Wow, by our very own EddyTeddYFreddy! The funny thing is as I was reading it I was thinking, wow, I bet ETF has a lot to say about it. Thanks, ETF, fascinating - I’d always wondered myself, since I went to the track the … --- ## [War of 1812 & A Q re Florida](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-of-1812-a-q-re-florida/376518 "2006-10-16T00:48:15Z")
Late in Cecil’s thread http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mwar1812.htm about who won the War of 1812, Cecil mentions that America had its eye on taking Florida from Spain (after the war). Yet, I believe it is Wikipedia… --- ## [Ollie ollie oxen free](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ollie-ollie-oxen-free/330224)
**Author:** [@Waymso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymso)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ollie-ollie-oxen-free/330224 "2006-10-16T00:47:23Z")
Regarding http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a900622a.html “What does Ollie Ollie Oxen Free mean?” I know this is going back a long way but I came across the archived article about the variations of the above phrase… --- ## [Why do you see pairs of shoes hanging by the laces from power lines?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-see-pairs-of-shoes-hanging-by-the-laces-from-power-lines/376404)
**Author:** [@LykaiosFreedom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LykaiosFreedom)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-see-pairs-of-shoes-hanging-by-the-laces-from-power-lines/376404 "2006-10-15T14:12:31Z")
Why do you see pairs of shoes hanging by the laces from power lines? Well, I just wanted to say, around here in this student city I live in that the students usually do it for fun when drunk. --- ## [Murder by frying pan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-by-frying-pan/375486)
**Author:** [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/murder-by-frying-pan/375486 "2006-10-15T00:24:38Z")
Just to avoid people resurrecting and posting to a Zombie thread… Cecil’s column: Guns don’t kill people, frying pans kill people: Is the frying pan the #1 domestic weapon?? was based on a thread on the Message Boards (… --- ## [Merkin madness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merkin-madness/374093)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merkin-madness/374093 "2006-10-14T03:58:04Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_232.html Two other tidbits: the Adlai Stevensonesque President played by Peter Sellers in “Dr. Strangelove” was named Merkin Muffley. And supposedly, the members of the 1700s bun… --- ## [Cecil's early column on tornadoes emitting RF energy in VHF range](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-early-column-on-tornadoes-emitting-rf-energy-in-vhf-range/374910)
**Author:** [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-early-column-on-tornadoes-emitting-rf-energy-in-vhf-range/374910 "2006-10-13T17:13:51Z")
I remember this column in the first paperback compilation, entitled, simply, “The Straight Dope”. But I can’t find it in the archive. Summary: You can detect the approach of a tornado with a TV set. Since (Cecil claim… --- ## [Head Over Heels, etc.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-over-heels-etc/375311)
**Author:** [@rcburket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rcburket)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-over-heels-etc/375311 "2006-10-13T13:20:37Z")
I have always heard that “head over heels” referred to tumbling crazily, as it makes little sense as a description of a static scene. But it raises the specter of two other phrases, one of which Cecil mentions and one o… --- ## [Armenian Genocide - now a crime to deny it in France.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/armenian-genocide-now-a-crime-to-deny-it-in-france/376173)
**Author:** [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/armenian-genocide-now-a-crime-to-deny-it-in-france/376173 "2006-10-13T02:06:47Z")
Column ref. Was there genocide in early 20th century Armenia? The French have just passed a law making it an offence to deny the Armenian genocide… raising the ire of the Turks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/… --- ## [Origin of "The opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-opera-aint-over-til-the-fat-lady-sings/376079)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-opera-aint-over-til-the-fat-lady-sings/376079 "2006-10-12T13:03:16Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_243b.html There was a TV show… was it “St. Elsewhere”? In the series finale, a rotund female opera singer in full Wagnerian breastplate was being treated for severe laryngitis, a… --- ## [On the origins of Hip](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origins-of-hip/375988)
**Author:** [@Viking\_Biochemist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viking_Biochemist)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 11, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origins-of-hip/375988 "2006-10-11T14:08:56Z")
On the origin of the hip/hipness/hippie terminology: Sorry I don’t have the reference with me at the moment, some friend has run off with my copy of the book - Bill Bryson, in Made in America, has a chapter on the contr… --- ## [Comment on very old thread about the progosticating horses hooves....](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-very-old-thread-about-the-progosticating-horses-hooves/375876)
**Author:** [@sukemike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sukemike)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 11, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-very-old-thread-about-the-progosticating-horses-hooves/375876 "2006-10-11T14:06:47Z")
This is in reference to a very old thread, found at this location http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_074.html and relating to the supposed information fortold by the position of the horses hooves on equestrian mon… --- ## ["Rock, Paper, Scissors"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891)
**Author:** [@Aline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aline)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-paper-scissors/374891 "2006-10-08T21:24:09Z")
you guys said: “One of the most humorous variations comes from Indonesia and involves an elephant, a person, and an ant. The elephant can crush the person, the person can crush the ant, but how can the ant win against t… --- ## [Ecnalubma](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ecnalubma/375378)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ecnalubma/375378 "2006-10-08T17:51:20Z")
This explanation for the backwards-spelt “AMBULANCE” has caused the scales to fall from my eyes. Until I thought to see what I might be able to read in my rearview, I had no idea what that garishly painted boxy vehicle … --- ## [Glenn Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-miller/61498)
**Author:** [@warinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warinner)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 3, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-miller/61498 "2006-10-03T12:19:05Z")
Regarding John Corrado’s staff report on the disappearance of Glenn Miller, you can view the original missing aircraft report for Miller, John Morgan and Norman Baessell here (see page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5 a… --- ## [Poor Cecil, the Reader has sold you out!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-cecil-the-reader-has-sold-you-out/374701)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-cecil-the-reader-has-sold-you-out/374701 "2006-10-02T14:51:18Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060929.html The current ad in your most recent column is for–alas!–a chiropractic college that has also started teaching acupuncture, herbal medicine, and many of the other crackpotic… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=143) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=145)