# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=164 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 165 --- ## [Hot water, cold water](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-cold-water/321828)
**Author:** [@NevilleR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NevilleR)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-cold-water/321828 "2005-09-15T21:03:40Z")
Hot water slows to a trickle after you turn it on: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_394.html The original enquirer Mike P in Dallas says this only happens with hot water. Not in my experience! Mind you , maybe … --- ## [Gas Mileage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-mileage/321637)
**Author:** [@verbinfusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbinfusion)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-mileage/321637 "2005-09-15T20:58:39Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_393.html I actually saw this exact same question answered on the Discovery Channel show, Myth Busters. They did two tests, the first determining that AC and windows up was more e… --- ## [Lol Watch This!! (Camel spiders)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lol-watch-this-camel-spiders/321035)
**Author:** [@hellfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellfire)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lol-watch-this-camel-spiders/321035 "2005-09-15T17:25:26Z")
they don’t eat flesh? ummm negative Moderator warning: the link is pretty disgusting, unless you like to watch critters eating other critters. – CKDH --- ## [Absorbine (Clasic Column)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134)
**Author:** [@ChuckB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChuckB)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134 "2005-09-15T15:13:05Z")
Comment to: How come we never hear about Absorbine Sr. see also: How did the name “absorbine” arise? I may have a hint. Absorbine and Absorbine Jr,. contain oil of wormwood. Now if wou have ever been to the French … --- ## [Who decided red means stop](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-red-means-stop/320965)
**Author:** [@KeithHarwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithHarwood)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decided-red-means-stop/320965 "2005-09-15T14:35:27Z")
The story I heard in physics class many years ago was “Red is for stop because England is foggy.” When they started night operations on the railways in England they chose red for stop. It was a fail-safe consideration, I… --- ## [Mailing went out early.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mailing-went-out-early/321763)
**Author:** [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2005, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mailing-went-out-early/321763 "2005-09-15T11:12:48Z")
Due to a technical error at Joke-A-Day, the company that handles the Straight Dope weekly mailing, the scheduled mailing was delivered 24 hours early. The new column will be made visible after midnight tonight. We apol… --- ## [Let them eat cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-them-eat-cake/319458)
**Author:** [@Happy4u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy4u)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-them-eat-cake/319458 "2005-09-15T02:11:12Z")
Straight Dope Classics “Let them Eat Cake” The original article needs upating, as the link has been neglected on straightdope but not other services on http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20021122.html “Our old pal Cecil Adams o… --- ## [Holes in the prongs of plugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-the-prongs-of-plugs/321256)
**Author:** [@maxrexx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maxrexx)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-the-prongs-of-plugs/321256 "2005-09-13T18:39:34Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_389.html For sure the UL guy is way off base. In order to use holes to improve cooling, the holes must be configured in a way that increases surface area. The formula for this is … --- ## [Washboard effect on paved roads?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-effect-on-paved-roads/318397)
**Author:** [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-effect-on-paved-roads/318397 "2005-09-13T12:19:15Z")
I read the article What causes the “washboard” effect on unpaved roads?, but here in Greece many paved roads have the washboard effect as well. These roads have almost always heavy truck traffic and the effect is more pr… --- ## [Did General Motors destroy the LA mass transit system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-general-motors-destroy-the-la-mass-transit-system/321209)
**Author:** [@wissdok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wissdok)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-general-motors-destroy-the-la-mass-transit-system/321209 "2005-09-12T05:02:13Z")
Cecil’s column Jan 10, 1986. Cecil covered the subject but left out some interesting pieces. The rapid decline of trolleys in America was started after the Federal government ordered the Electric companies in America… --- ## [Air in other orifices?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-in-other-orifices/320827)
**Author:** [@japastor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japastor)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-in-other-orifices/320827 "2005-09-09T22:06:29Z")
Re Fun with farts, Cecil addresses the issue of air being introduced into one of the major bodily orifices. There are numerous other orifices, however, to be addressed: while it’s pretty obvious what might happen if you … --- ## ["Flatus retention"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatus-retention/320565)
**Author:** [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatus-retention/320565 "2005-09-09T13:54:27Z")
linq I don’t think the taboo specified in the first paragraph necessarily prohibits all gas-passing. Would the “Boke of Curtasye” have considered training oneself to emit silent, unobstrusive farts to satisfy its admon… --- ## [Audio equivalent of the laser](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-equivalent-of-the-laser/320739)
**Author:** [@malcarr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malcarr)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-equivalent-of-the-laser/320739 "2005-09-09T01:00:57Z")
“If they can sing low enough, about thirteen octaves below middle ‘C,’” you quoted from a note from Stephen Wilson, Ph.D., of Applied Intelligent Systems in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As middle C is 262Hz (cycles per second)… --- ## [The Physics of Karate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-physics-of-karate/319822)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-physics-of-karate/319822 "2005-09-08T22:26:49Z")
Regarding this wees column on the Phsics of Karate: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050902.html We are surprised, considering how lng we have ben a member, and how many times this has come up on the Messge Boards, … --- ## [Canned laughter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canned-laughter/316692)
**Author:** [@lotsson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lotsson)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canned-laughter/316692 "2005-09-08T17:43:30Z")
Canned laughter is also for the timing. Sitcom actors can’t hear the tv viewers laugh, but they, like stage actors, still need to wait for the laughter to end before they deliver their next line. That’s one reason for ha… --- ## [Cockroaches, Cecil, & Arson](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockroaches-cecil-arson/320261)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockroaches-cecil-arson/320261 "2005-09-08T14:19:04Z")
In THIS COLUMN, Unca Cecil contemplates arson as a means of disposing of creepy-crawlys. THIS WOMAN combined Cecil’s pyromania with a stunt from an old James Bond movie to kill, not roaches, but spiders. With predictab… --- ## [Karate Breaking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karate-breaking/320060)
**Author:** [@D.MacFarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.MacFarlane)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karate-breaking/320060 "2005-09-08T04:02:12Z")
I was in Karate for over 20 years. The breaking of stone. wood , bricks and roofing tiles was only to test the developing product, that is, the strike. The same as a swordsmith would cut a bundle of straw with the new … --- ## [Karate(and other martial arts) Technique](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karate-and-other-martial-arts-technique/319756)
**Author:** [@AM\_Dagoski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AM_Dagoski)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karate-and-other-martial-arts-technique/319756 "2005-09-05T01:57:12Z")
I think Cecil’s doing pretty good with the board breaking, but there a little bit more to it than he mentions. Most hard, that is striking martial arts, have techniques that get your whole body behind the punch, putting… --- ## [Do you weigh more or less after you fart?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-weigh-more-or-less-after-you-fart/319585)
**Author:** [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-weigh-more-or-less-after-you-fart/319585 "2005-09-04T01:05:26Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_380.html I’m not at all convinced by Cecil’s answer. Hydrogen and methane may rise in air, but they still have weight. Losing gas still means you lose weight. Doesn’t it? Undig… --- ## [Karate Krap](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karate-krap/319733)
**Author:** [@leandroc76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leandroc76)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karate-krap/319733 "2005-09-03T20:00:56Z")
Replyin to This Question … Karate chopping boards is the one thing that is the most unsettling to MOST if not every other Martial Artist. It’s the fact that Chopping boards of wood on a stationary platform that befuddle… --- ## [Regarding Angus beef and beef grades](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-angus-beef-and-beef-grades/318299)
**Author:** [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2005, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-angus-beef-and-beef-grades/318299 "2005-09-02T12:46:55Z")
An excellent article from SDSAB member Una on aged beef and Angus beef. My only question is regarding the USDA grading chart; how are the maturities A thru E categorized? I would guess it’s something more than just the… --- ## [No Contest - Bricker rises to the "challenge"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-contest-bricker-rises-to-the-challenge/319240)
**Author:** [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-contest-bricker-rises-to-the-challenge/319240 "2005-09-01T23:30:22Z")
Bricker, Nice job on the No Contest plea staff report. It was clear, factual, and more importantly, concise. Congratulations, sir. Well done. --- ## [Do any animals besides humans commit suicide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-animals-besides-humans-commit-suicide/314673)
**Author:** [@juangato4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/juangato4)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-animals-besides-humans-commit-suicide/314673 "2005-09-01T20:07:50Z")
Hi, this is just a comment on SDSTAFF Doug’s answer to the question of whether there are any animals besides humans that commit suicide - there was a story on the AP newswire about sheep commiting suicide in Turkey. 1500… --- ## [Why is lisping stereotypically associated with gays?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-lisping-stereotypically-associated-with-gays/318388)
**Author:** [@souroranges](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/souroranges)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-lisping-stereotypically-associated-with-gays/318388 "2005-09-01T19:58:27Z")
What Sa-illy Cecil Said Some random comments: 1.) I have NEVER encountered a lesbian with a lisp… (or a straight girl for that manner, so what do i know?) 2.)I don’t really notice a lisp in some of my gay friends, but… --- ## [angels on heads of pins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-on-heads-of-pins/318912)
**Author:** [@danachas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danachas)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2005, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angels-on-heads-of-pins/318912 "2005-09-01T11:08:19Z")
Yes, the quote is really ‘tips of needles’, yet , has anyone really wasted time on answering the question? I can imagine thieses on this. Since angels do not exist what could the answer be? (I’m also sure that if a t… --- ## [Before Toilet Paper](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-toilet-paper/319092)
**Author:** [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/before-toilet-paper/319092 "2005-08-31T17:13:06Z")
Oh, come now, Cecil. Your article failed to mention a classic known from at least the third grade onward (that’s where I learned it): :smiley: :smiley: --- ## [The true story of Idiana Jones!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-idiana-jones/318264)
**Author:** [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-true-story-of-idiana-jones/318264 "2005-08-31T16:27:54Z")
Something has been eating at me since I read the booby-trapped tombs staff report. Like so many sushi worms, it ate at my subconcious until I couldn’t sleep or eat or get laid. (It was the report, really!) Finally, I co… --- ## [westerns and boiling water](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerns-and-boiling-water/318907)
**Author:** [@Jim\_McCrudden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_McCrudden)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerns-and-boiling-water/318907 "2005-08-29T13:48:14Z")
On the matter of boiling water cliche in movies - I saw one in an old Arthur Askey movie from England. He was disguised as a nurse and was brought in on a situation. First of all lets get some boiling water he shouted i… --- ## [pregger aphids and virgin births](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregger-aphids-and-virgin-births/318915)
**Author:** [@danachas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danachas)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregger-aphids-and-virgin-births/318915 "2005-08-28T01:13:40Z")
A member questioned for details re: the one known case of virgin birth. Yet it is not factually noted that a virgin birth in humans had/has occured. Other than a group of people who choose to BELLIEVE it happend we hav… --- ## [The Four Letter Word](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-letter-word/318919)
**Author:** [@Sandman666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandman666)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-letter-word/318919 "2005-08-28T01:11:32Z")
Dear Cecil, Apropos your assay of the four letter word, consider this piece. The word may have originated from ‘gawd-knows-which’ language, but in today’s world, like the way we know it, use it and laugh on it… On the… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=163) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=165)