# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=149 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 150 --- ## [Marajuana and Brain Cancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marajuana-and-brain-cancer/362369)
**Author:** [@Zippo342](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zippo342)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 27, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marajuana-and-brain-cancer/362369 "2006-06-27T18:06:52Z")
My father died in April of 2000. He had been diagnosed with one lung cancer and two brain cancers. Upon and even before his death when doctors took samplings of his brain cancers, it was said that there was unusual con… --- ## [27th Amendment errata](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/27th-amendment-errata/361561)
**Author:** [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 27, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/27th-amendment-errata/361561 "2006-06-27T14:00:04Z")
What’s up with the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Two corrections to the report (I’m still waiting for someone to take pity and change the report–I don’t have access): Should be 1978–not 1877 as one reader h… --- ## [Not vinegar exactly.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-vinegar-exactly/361884)
**Author:** [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 26, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-vinegar-exactly/361884 "2006-06-26T14:31:33Z")
The title of this thread was originally: What, exactly, is an ‘active’ ingredient? Then, I decided it wasn’t worth asking… until I read this And, FWIW, the text of the post as I left it on the hard drive: Reading Ce… --- ## [digital tampons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-tampons/359854)
**Author:** [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2006, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digital-tampons/359854 "2006-06-25T03:15:59Z")
ok, so according to the latest staff report (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtampons.html), European women like to shove cotton up their holes manually, while Americans prefer to shove plastic, and let the cotton be… --- ## [Panhandling: Don't alcoholics have a greater tolerance for alcohol?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panhandling-dont-alcoholics-have-a-greater-tolerance-for-alcohol/361853)
**Author:** [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panhandling-dont-alcoholics-have-a-greater-tolerance-for-alcohol/361853 "2006-06-25T02:31:21Z")
Good job on getting a handle on a difficult topic, Gfactor: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbegprofit.html But I’m curious about the comments by public health researcher Louise Stark that you included in your piec… --- ## [Why was spinach once considered the ultimate vegetable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-spinach-once-considered-the-ultimate-vegetable/358878)
**Author:** [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-spinach-once-considered-the-ultimate-vegetable/358878 "2006-06-24T04:57:41Z")
Well, we know the answer to that, but what I want to know is this: What IS the ultimate vegetable, nutrient-wise? --- ## [Map projections and National Geographic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/map-projections-and-national-geographic/361917)
**Author:** [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/map-projections-and-national-geographic/361917 "2006-06-23T22:03:16Z")
In Cecil’s recently published classic column, Is Mercator projection on maps a plot to reduce importance of Africa, S. America?, Cecil mentions that the National Geographic Society recently (the column being published in… --- ## [Did a French vaudeville star once specialize in trained flatulence?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-a-french-vaudeville-star-once-specialize-in-trained-flatulence/361740)
**Author:** [@B.Nyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Nyce)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-a-french-vaudeville-star-once-specialize-in-trained-flatulence/361740 "2006-06-22T17:20:09Z")
Speaking of Mel Brooks, his film Blazing Saddles not only contains the single-most significant flatulence scene in cinematic history, but he also pays direct homage to the master by naming the daft governor “Le Petomane”… --- ## [Mercator projection](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercator-projection/361579)
**Author:** [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 21, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercator-projection/361579 "2006-06-21T16:40:39Z")
Contrary to what Cecil says in this column, the Equator is frequently placed two-thirds down the page on Mercator maps. However, he’s still right; the distortion isn’t because of this. The placement of the Equator is sim… --- ## [The Sound of One Hand Clapping-Revisited](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping-revisited/360387)
**Author:** [@pudgala2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudgala2)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping-revisited/360387 "2006-06-20T21:33:42Z")
After coming across Cecil’s comments on The Sound of One Hand Clapping I decided to reopen a thread on it because I found his comments insufficient. Significant events are often altered and morph into ritualized expressi… --- ## [Going aloft with balloons and a lawnchair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-aloft-with-balloons-and-a-lawnchair/361298)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-aloft-with-balloons-and-a-lawnchair/361298 "2006-06-20T14:40:32Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_131.html This was fictionalized in the movie Danny Deckchair three years ago… anyone see it? The preview made it seem pretty light-hearted (no helium pun intended), as I remember… --- ## [strobe lights and seizures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strobe-lights-and-seizures/361322)
**Author:** [@fula\_sass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fula_sass)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strobe-lights-and-seizures/361322 "2006-06-19T19:13:44Z")
I can tell you that the reason strobe lights can cause seizures is because the parts of the brain used to process the information is unable to do it fast enough therefore cuasing a person prone to seizures and sometimes … --- ## [longest, slowest wavelengths?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-slowest-wavelengths/359998)
**Author:** [@tofergregg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofergregg)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-slowest-wavelengths/359998 "2006-06-19T17:24:56Z")
In regard to Why are red lights used in darkened control rooms and other low-light situations?, I have to nitpick because I’m not sure what Hawk meant: “Red light, for those interested in the physics of these things, ha… --- ## [SDStaff wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdstaff-wrong/360658)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdstaff-wrong/360658 "2006-06-18T20:13:45Z")
Has any staff report ever gotten the answer wrong? I mean totally booted the question asked, not just gotten a few details wrong or been found wrong by later research. I know of three instances where Cecil has been wron… --- ## [Hitlers one testicle and WWII](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitlers-one-testicle-and-wwii/361052)
**Author:** [@editor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/editor)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitlers-one-testicle-and-wwii/361052 "2006-06-17T23:16:15Z")
You were commenting on hitlers one Testicle; having one ball probably had less to do with his virulent state of mind than the fact that he had syphilis. Something he picked up in 1908 when his roommate left town and he h… --- ## [Does a refrigerator cool more efficiently when full?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-refrigerator-cool-more-efficiently-when-full/360908)
**Author:** [@RiledRifler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiledRifler)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2006, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-refrigerator-cool-more-efficiently-when-full/360908 "2006-06-17T08:38:25Z")
Does a refrigerator cool more efficiently when full? So, when the door is opened, more cool air is lost in an empty fridge than a full fridge. I don’t believe it. Why would anyone be opening the door on an empty fridg… --- ## [Legally dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-dead/360562)
**Author:** [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-dead/360562 "2006-06-15T04:15:22Z")
Boy, they sure have you working overtime lately Gfactor. Just wanted to say nice job on the staff report today. --- ## [Interstate Highway Numbers - AASHO](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interstate-highway-numbers-aasho/360678)
**Author:** [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interstate-highway-numbers-aasho/360678 "2006-06-14T18:23:16Z")
In the Straight Dope Classic on interstate highway route numbers Cecil mentions: . . . which was devised by the American Association of State Highway Officials (and I’ll bet that’s an acronym you don’t hear pronounced t… --- ## [No Interstates in Alaska?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-interstates-in-alaska/359736)
**Author:** [@JustAnotherGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAnotherGeek)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-interstates-in-alaska/359736 "2006-06-14T17:06:35Z")
From today’s Classic: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_129.html from 1988. I think it’s time for an update. Are there any Alaskan Dopers (or Dopers in general) who can tell me if it is still true that “Alaska, d… --- ## [Toxic Cat Poop](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxic-cat-poop/341917)
**Author:** [@Jeanettemsg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeanettemsg)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxic-cat-poop/341917 "2006-06-14T16:39:50Z")
Your article on the parasitic cat poop, I assume, is safe to assume does not apply to pampered, disease-checked housecats? --- ## [Does 0.9999… equal 1?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-0-9999-equal-1/360483)
**Author:** [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2006, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-0-9999-equal-1/360483 "2006-06-13T11:19:55Z")
I seem to remember that the proof of some basic property of rational numbers depends on whether 0.9999… (infinitely repeating decimal) is considered equal to 1 or is considered less than 1. I’m thinking that the propert… --- ## [podunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/podunk/360478)
**Author:** [@volkell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/volkell)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2006, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/podunk/360478 "2006-06-13T03:15:54Z")
mapquest lists the following podunks in the u.s.: 6 Results for podunk, US Podunk, CT, US New Haven County Podunk, MI, US Barry County Podunk, MI, US Gladwin County Podunk, MI, US Washtenaw County Podunk, NY, U… --- ## [who got to the SOUTH Pole first](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-got-to-the-south-pole-first/360166)
**Author:** [@chris\_mitson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chris_mitson)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-got-to-the-south-pole-first/360166 "2006-06-12T20:07:52Z")
Apropos of the North Pole controversy and your comments about navigators on the Roald Amundsen South Pole expedition: A few years ago I read a serious book (titled, I think, The Race to the South Pole) which speculated … --- ## [Podunk.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/podunk/360428)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/podunk/360428 "2006-06-12T18:49:10Z")
Podunk…revealed!! Here is the site for East Brookfield. There is no mention of Podunk. I do greatly fear that Podunk has gone to Valhalla. --- ## [Street shoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/street-shoes/359472)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/street-shoes/359472 "2006-06-12T04:50:35Z")
And why is it always the left shoe? http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_124b.html When I was in EMT training I learned that shoes, or often only one shoe, is removed by emergency personnel when attending to an inju… --- ## [The egg came first!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-egg-came-first/358611)
**Author:** [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-egg-came-first/358611 "2006-06-12T04:19:02Z")
Finally, the question as to whether the chicken or the egg came first has been answered. It was the egg. \[QUOTE=Big fancy philosopher of science\] Professor David Papineau, an expert in the philosophy of science at Kin… --- ## [Who Reached The North Pole First?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-reached-the-north-pole-first/360060)
**Author:** [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-reached-the-north-pole-first/360060 "2006-06-12T04:15:32Z")
Cecil’s Column It’s worth noting that one ‘serious’ attack on Peary came in 1989, when the Washington Post printed ‘newly unsealed’ observations that showed Peary more than 100 miles from the North Pole. The article mad… --- ## ["Black Irish"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-irish/360277)
**Author:** [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 11, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-irish/360277 "2006-06-11T04:29:14Z")
I don’t see a date on this article, but a discussion came up on the origins of the phrase “Black Irish” discussed in this article last night in a group of my friends. Looks like there might be more information here: : t… --- ## [Where I come from, ants smell like grape jelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-i-come-from-ants-smell-like-grape-jelly/356833)
**Author:** [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 10, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-i-come-from-ants-smell-like-grape-jelly/356833 "2006-06-10T17:50:35Z")
What accounts for the smell of crushed ants? Carpenter ants in Northern California, to be specific. Camponotus laevigatus, I believe. When we were kids, my neighbor, Jake, found it quite entertaining to periodically r… --- ## [Podunk Article](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/podunk-article/360183)
**Author:** [@wannahug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wannahug)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 10, 2006, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/podunk-article/360183 "2006-06-10T12:06:49Z")
Dear Cecil, How ironic the article in this email regarding a town called “Podunk” - I was born in a little town called Wadena, Iowa and every since I was a little girl, my parents always referred to Wadena as “Podunk” - … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=148) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=150)