# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=159 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 160 --- ## [Washday blues](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washday-blues/336187)
**Author:** [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washday-blues/336187 "2005-12-18T17:54:23Z")
In the recent column about laundry Cecil implies that European laundry workers have triple the usual rate of a particular eye cancer due to contaminates in the laundry. It is also possible that they might be getting thi… --- ## [Australian Phenomenon!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-phenomenon/335387)
**Author:** [@Gemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gemma)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-phenomenon/335387 "2005-12-18T17:44:29Z")
Hello everyone… I have especially joined your fasinating website to share some crucial information in the ‘‘one shoe by the side of the road’’ phenomenon. Many of my friends and I have spent many curious sunday afterno… --- ## ["Ninja Death Touch"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ninja-death-touch/332601)
**Author:** [@Naifu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naifu)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ninja-death-touch/332601 "2005-12-17T20:26:35Z")
Dear Cecil: Is there such a thing as the “touch of death” in martial arts? Can I walk up to someone, pinch them in a certain spot, and kill them instantly? I’ve heard people swear such a thing exists, but I find it extr… --- ## [coin-op pool tables](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coin-op-pool-tables/333335)
**Author:** [@tkobrutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tkobrutus)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coin-op-pool-tables/333335 "2005-12-16T15:57:48Z")
In your explanation of how coin-op pool tables return the cue ball after a scratch, you made some glaring errors. While it is true that most tables use a magnetic system to do this, the magnet is in the table, not the ba… --- ## [Circumcision provides protection against HIV](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circumcision-provides-protection-against-hiv/335888)
**Author:** [@pvandenbrink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pvandenbrink)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circumcision-provides-protection-against-hiv/335888 "2005-12-16T14:03:12Z")
Hi Cecil I hope you will take note of the recent scientific studies demonstrating the exact effectiveness of Circumcisions in preventing the contracting of HIV through Hetrosexual Sexual Intercourse. The people were ran… --- ## [itch. Ick](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/itch-ick/335853)
**Author:** [@drkala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drkala)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/itch-ick/335853 "2005-12-16T13:57:47Z")
Uh oh, Cecil, you missed the point here. We had a major outbreak of scabies in the public school in the small town I lived in in “sunrise county” Maine. The outbreakwas eventually tracked to the single laundromat in th… --- ## [Why does so much ancient Greek art feature males with small genitalia?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-so-much-ancient-greek-art-feature-males-with-small-genitalia/334926)
**Author:** [@Zog\_10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zog_10)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-so-much-ancient-greek-art-feature-males-with-small-genitalia/334926 "2005-12-16T13:54:57Z")
From the master I just felt compelled to share that some friends of mine went to Greece for their honeymoon. They sent me back a postcard from the temple of Priapus (from which we derive the condition of Priapism ), wh… --- ## [How are dances written down and passed along](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-dances-written-down-and-passed-along/335842)
**Author:** [@Dancing\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancing_Fool)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-dances-written-down-and-passed-along/335842 "2005-12-16T01:42:11Z")
In How are dances written down and passed along? Cecil talked about Labanotation. This is used for ballet, modern, and other dance forms, and is so complicated because it tries to cover every possiblity and body positio… --- ## [Is it a deadly sin to refreeze food?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-deadly-sin-to-refreeze-food/335656)
**Author:** [@JCanoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCanoy)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-a-deadly-sin-to-refreeze-food/335656 "2005-12-15T14:08:13Z")
I maintain, and am still looking for contrary evidence, that food can be eaten and will provide a level of nutrition as long as it is cooked adequately to kill organisms (bacteria). I would agree that improper freezing,… --- ## [honky](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honky/335613)
**Author:** [@robertp163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertp163)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honky/335613 "2005-12-15T04:12:58Z")
dear cecil: i read the origin of the term honky…http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_257b.html i had a friend from allentown, pa tell me that the term came from the white boys from allentown driving over to pottstow… --- ## [Gaaa! just stop it!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568)
**Author:** [@simian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simian)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaaa-just-stop-it/335568 "2005-12-14T19:55:20Z")
Ok, I need to point out Tasmania is a state OF Australia, not an independent country (as it is referred to)! And not like Hawaii was once independent! Well it kinda was once, when it was Van Demons land… but we’re gettin… --- ## [honky](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honky/335612)
**Author:** [@robertp163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertp163)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honky/335612 "2005-12-14T18:21:00Z")
dear cecil: i read the origin of the term honky… i had a friend from allentown, pa tell me that the term came from the white boys from allentown driving over to pottstown, pa to visit the cat houses in the black neighbo… --- ## [05-Aug-2005 How do you have lucid dreams?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/05-aug-2005-how-do-you-have-lucid-dreams/335522)
**Author:** [@clayton\_jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_jones)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/05-aug-2005-how-do-you-have-lucid-dreams/335522 "2005-12-14T14:31:49Z")
05-Aug-2005 How do you have lucid dreams? This little bit of info may help people have lucid dreams. I tried to quit smoking once… okay, 17 times… during one of those many occasions, i used a nicotine patch. I read th… --- ## [Gargling or just gurgling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gargling-or-just-gurgling/335503)
**Author:** [@pamkeane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pamkeane)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gargling-or-just-gurgling/335503 "2005-12-13T23:01:45Z")
Dear Cecil, I have been using warm salted water to gargle with to help soothe my sore throat. I have been curious to know why the pitch changes when adding the salt (Kosher) to warm water from the tap. I did a search … --- ## [Electrical plugs with holes in the prongs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-plugs-with-holes-in-the-prongs/335288)
**Author:** [@Robin\_Bather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robin_Bather)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-plugs-with-holes-in-the-prongs/335288 "2005-12-13T20:04:16Z")
I live in Mexico and although it is dangerous and forbidden by all electrical standards, it is very common to see workmen hook a bared wire through each of the holes in the prongs and then wrap electrical tape around the… --- ## [What happens during cremation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-during-cremation/335247)
**Author:** [@simian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simian)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 12, 2005, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-during-cremation/335247 "2005-12-12T12:45:13Z")
In regards to the article What happens during cremation?, I was told after my Grandmothers cremation that what generally happens is that 2+ bodies are burnt at the same time, and not to mention anything about this to a c… --- ## [Alexandria library](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexandria-library/334012)
**Author:** [@lamidave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lamidave)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2005, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alexandria-library/334012 "2005-12-10T11:56:09Z")
A somewhat different account can be found in the book The Vanished Library by Luciano Canfora. This book is much more than just an account of the library and its disappearance. --- ## [coprophagia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia/333339)
**Author:** [@tkobrutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tkobrutus)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia/333339 "2005-12-09T19:53:05Z")
Until reading this archived tidbit, I was blissfully unaware that such a practice existed, let alone had a name. However, since you brought it up, I feel your list of such practices is incomplete without mentioning this … --- ## [The Money Pit - what's new?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-money-pit-whats-new/333418)
**Author:** [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-money-pit-whats-new/333418 "2005-12-09T19:35:51Z")
Cecil’s column about the Oak Island treasure on the main page today (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_441.html) is twenty years old. He indicated that as late as 1985, treasure hunters were still searching the is… --- ## [A small update to a Straight Dope Classic on Bee Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-update-to-a-straight-dope-classic-on-bee-flight/333621)
**Author:** [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-small-update-to-a-straight-dope-classic-on-bee-flight/333621 "2005-12-09T14:27:18Z")
Is it aerodynamically impossible for bumblebees to fly? A small but pertinent portion of Longstanding Puzzle of Honeybee Flight Solved at Last Jim --- ## [More on Marooned](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-marooned/334219)
**Author:** [@Soccerboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soccerboy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-marooned/334219 "2005-12-05T19:51:42Z")
So, there are two islands named ‘Mas a Tierra’ - one off the coast of Chile and the other off the Caribbean coast of Central America? --- ## [Why do people say...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say/334103)
**Author:** [@Shiggity\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiggity_S)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2005, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say/334103 "2005-12-05T12:39:21Z")
SDSTAFF Veg: I’m not sure why this wouldn’t be appropriate to respond to a question. In neither case would the person responding know whether the speaker had anything else to say. --- ## [Marooned](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marooned/333783)
**Author:** [@Frank\_Panqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_Panqua)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marooned/333783 "2005-12-04T03:25:32Z")
Cecil, Couldn’t you consider Ernest H. Shackleton for your column on being shipwrecked? Granted, he wasn’t on a tropical island, but he sort of fits the bill. Thanks. --- ## [XXX on booze and porn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-on-booze-and-porn/333818)
**Author:** [@Taft\_Kiser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taft_Kiser)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-on-booze-and-porn/333818 "2005-12-04T01:47:14Z")
Gee, I was hoping you guys could give me the facts, because I have this personal theory… Amsterdam used to sell lots and lots of booze (before they discovered porn) and many bottles were made bearing the Amsterdam coat … --- ## [What's up with "broadcast power"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-broadcast-power/329640)
**Author:** [@Optimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optimist)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-broadcast-power/329640 "2005-12-02T20:53:28Z")
TAKE THREE: I think Tesla has the credibility here with over 1000 Patents to his name, not Cecil ! Isn’t the title on this forum “Fighting Ignorance”? The entire Global electrical system is based on principles Tesla i… --- ## [Spanish Gold](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-gold/333631)
**Author:** [@Bob\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_G)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-gold/333631 "2005-12-02T17:31:05Z")
Regarding the ‘Spanish Gold’ thread, Ralph F., posted… “The Spaniards bought it. Today the treasury of Spain is safe in the hands of the Russians. I cannot prove this but I believe it. --Ralph F., Washington, D.C.” Cec… --- ## [Re: Castaways/uninhabited islands](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-castaways-uninhabited-islands/333728)
**Author:** [@irish52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irish52)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-castaways-uninhabited-islands/333728 "2005-12-02T16:27:45Z")
Here’s the link: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/051202.html In the final part of the answer, Cecil completely skips over part of the question I was looking forward to reading. " Does the South Pacific have a lot … --- ## [Moon affecting behavior](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-affecting-behavior/332261)
**Author:** [@firespinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firespinner)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-affecting-behavior/332261 "2005-11-29T15:43:46Z")
Just commenting on one of Cecil’s old articles. He is wrong (a rarity but it does occur). He seems to conclude that the moon’s effect on human behaviour is a myth but it is not. In Britain in the late 70’s (I think 1978)… --- ## [Mercury in fillings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-in-fillings/331979)
**Author:** [@zaphod9977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zaphod9977)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercury-in-fillings/331979 "2005-11-28T03:57:06Z")
Regarding the article about mercury in fillings, I used to work for a company that sold some mercury analyzers made by a British company called PS Analytical. I mostly sold the instrument that determined mercury concent… --- ## [Why do clocks use IIII instead of IV?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-clocks-use-iiii-instead-of-iv/332838)
**Author:** [@michaeljsouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/michaeljsouth)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-clocks-use-iiii-instead-of-iv/332838 "2005-11-28T03:29:43Z")
Hi, some random speculation for you regarding the question of why clocks with roman numerals use IIII instead of IV, while they use IX and not VIIII in the case of nine. http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_153 One… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=158) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=160)