# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=175 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 176 --- ## [Hitler's family](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitlers-family/289607)
**Author:** [@Doctorduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctorduck)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitlers-family/289607 "2005-02-26T21:26:58Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050211.html What Cecil doesn’t mention is whether the Hitler family kept the name. It must have been pretty hard living in Long Island with that name. --- ## [Straussians](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straussians/291855)
**Author:** [@jmonroe64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmonroe64)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straussians/291855 "2005-02-26T17:38:19Z")
To de-bunk a few ideas put forward about Straussians: Anti-democratic? How many philosophers gave anything but qualified support to democracy? Strauss has a lot of company here. Many agree that it is the best possible… --- ## [Water down a plug hole](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-down-a-plug-hole/288444)
**Author:** [@kensey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kensey)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-down-a-plug-hole/288444 "2005-02-26T15:31:16Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_161 I looked up the web to see why water goes down a plug hole clockwise in the southern hemisphere and find it to be a myth. Fair enough. The questioin then is, why does the wat… --- ## [Cinematic Sedative Injections](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-sedative-injections/290727)
**Author:** [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinematic-sedative-injections/290727 "2005-02-24T22:13:39Z")
The link to the article: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050218.html Seems to be missing from the home page. Have we not been feeding the hamsters? They might be eating links out of desperation. --- ## [Coke Dope](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-dope/291206)
**Author:** [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2005, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-dope/291206 "2005-02-24T13:20:48Z")
link Has there been any more research on this? It’s been almost 20 years. Does it matter if it’s cold? How long do you have before Coke is no longer effective as a means of birth control? Hurry! Time is of the essence… --- ## [New info on 555 numbers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-info-on-555-numbers/291449)
**Author:** [@watsondog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watsondog)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-info-on-555-numbers/291449 "2005-02-24T04:35:41Z")
This is in relation to this article: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_374a.html Apparently, the North American Numbering Plan Association have been offering 555 numbers to private individuals for over 10 years n… --- ## [rolling rock beer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-beer/291501)
**Author:** [@idiot\_sa2268](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/idiot_sa2268)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-rock-beer/291501 "2005-02-23T21:22:58Z")
i was of the understanding that the rolling rock brewery was won by a long -shot horse #33 !!! --- ## [Well, like my salty nuts!!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-like-my-salty-nuts/291402)
**Author:** [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-like-my-salty-nuts/291402 "2005-02-22T23:16:25Z")
Maybe it’s me but… If you couldn’t figure out how they salt peanuts without taking them out of their shell, then you probably never seen boiled peanuts. :dubious: :rolleyes: :smack: --- ## [Peanuts Not Groundnuts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-not-groundnuts/290775)
**Author:** [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-not-groundnuts/290775 "2005-02-21T23:39:39Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpeanuts.html I thought we all knew, especially Una, that peanuts are legumes and not groundnuts, or any kind of nut, unless “groundnut” has a special meaning. --- ## [Laser like sound waves](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-like-sound-waves/291129)
**Author:** [@Zuyq4def](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zuyq4def)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-like-sound-waves/291129 "2005-02-21T05:11:05Z")
In “Why isn’t there an audio equivalent of the laser?” (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_114.html ), the technology mentioned on the following websites isn’t mentioned: http://www.atcsd.com/tl\_hss.html http://ww… --- ## [Cecil a UFO debunker?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-a-ufo-debunker/271694)
**Author:** [@north](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/north)\ **Replies:** 240\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-a-ufo-debunker/271694 "2005-02-21T01:41:42Z")
I just read Cecil’s column on the Roswell incident and it occurs to me that our Cecil has a closed mind on the possibility of Extra Terrestrials visiting our planet. If he’s the “worlds smartest human” then why does he s… --- ## [Atheists](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists/282503)
**Author:** [@warrent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warrent)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists/282503 "2005-02-19T22:30:13Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_143.html You said “Absolutely everybody, including atheists, believes in life after death.” Sorry, but you’re wrong. Myself and the other atheists I know do not believe in life … --- ## [Heart and Valentines Day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-and-valentines-day/289903)
**Author:** [@wesc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wesc)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-and-valentines-day/289903 "2005-02-19T16:17:12Z")
See Cecil’s column http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_146.html noting that the valentine’s heart looks like a woman’s buttocks. Also, note the arrow piercing the heart. Ya can’t forget the male in the icon! --- ## [Hot baths, embolisms, and time travel?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-baths-embolisms-and-time-travel/290208)
**Author:** [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-baths-embolisms-and-time-travel/290208 "2005-02-17T22:03:11Z")
Referenced here Cecil says that “Ten fatalities and one near-miss had been reported in the medical literature as of 1983.” I wanted to get an idea about when this was written, so I looked at the article date: 16-Aug-197… --- ## [double chins and romance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-chins-and-romance/290190)
**Author:** [@susantoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susantoo)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-chins-and-romance/290190 "2005-02-17T19:23:26Z")
The chins are an inherited trait. Romance has nothing to do with general appearances but with individual and personal connections. Viva L’Amour! --- ## [Origin of Monopoly Tokens](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-monopoly-tokens/290327)
**Author:** [@snatchngrabster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snatchngrabster)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-monopoly-tokens/290327 "2005-02-17T13:25:56Z")
There are a few problems with the answers as given by Hasbro. Charles Darrow’s original patent drawings (dated 8-31-35) clearly show six metal tokens, seemingly identical to those packaged with early Parker Brothers gam… --- ## [Triumphs--Adams, Cecil--32 Years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triumphs-adams-cecil-32-years/287963)
**Author:** [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triumphs-adams-cecil-32-years/287963 "2005-02-17T07:20:47Z")
There is that famous line in “The Boy Inventors’ Wireless Triumph” (Richard Bonner, Hurst & Company, NY, 1912) which reads Boys, exclaimed Professor Chadwick proudly, that’s what I call a real wireless triumph! More tha… --- ## [Why do I sneeze after every orgasm?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-sneeze-after-every-orgasm/288062)
**Author:** [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-sneeze-after-every-orgasm/288062 "2005-02-17T00:02:57Z")
At least you only sneeze. I know people who fart and people who pee. :frowning: Link to column: Why do I sneeze after every orgasm? – CKDH --- ## [China? Poker? Boat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-poker-boat/287789)
**Author:** [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 16, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-poker-boat/287789 "2005-02-16T15:09:22Z")
OK, so in What’s the origin of the “slow boat to China,” we read that Frank Loesser picked up the phrase from poker players. Where did they get it from? RR --- ## [Listerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listerine/289722)
**Author:** [@jbullets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbullets)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 16, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listerine/289722 "2005-02-16T13:42:41Z")
With regard to the question of whether or not you can get drunk on Listerine: I work in a detox facility and we have one room that I have christened the “Listerine Room” due to the lingering odour. So yeah, you can get … --- ## [Cigarette Tapping- the obvious truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cigarette-tapping-the-obvious-truth/284194)
**Author:** [@MisterDoug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterDoug)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 16, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cigarette-tapping-the-obvious-truth/284194 "2005-02-16T03:06:17Z")
I was endlessly irritated after reading Cecil’s conclusion on packing cigarettes. It is REDICULOUS. Think for a second: When you tap a pack of cigarettes, what does it do? It COMPACTS the tobacco… I don’t think you n… --- ## [Why do one's loins ache after a session of nonclimactic arousal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ones-loins-ache-after-a-session-of-nonclimactic-arousal/289486)
**Author:** [@TheSeverian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeverian)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ones-loins-ache-after-a-session-of-nonclimactic-arousal/289486 "2005-02-14T22:46:30Z")
To quote “Ghost World,” one one of the best movies ever made: “Have you never heard of the miracle of masturbation?” --- ## [The whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-nine-yards/281393)
**Author:** [@Danglera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danglera)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [February 13, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-nine-yards/281393 "2005-02-13T09:12:48Z")
Concerning story about the whole nine yards Link: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_252.html … it is military in origin WWI A/C took exactly 27ft of ammunition in each wing, when the gun loaders would ask the pil… --- ## [Largest City parks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-parks/287491)
**Author:** [@mizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mizer)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 13, 2005, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-city-parks/287491 "2005-02-13T08:41:46Z")
Portland’s Forest Park is the largest forested city park in the United States. Covering 5,000 acres, it provides a hushed and peaceful environment of a varied and evolving forest ecosystem. Overlooking the Willamette Riv… --- ## [Thunder...er, Listerine!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thunder-er-listerine/289501)
**Author:** [@A10warthog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A10warthog)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thunder-er-listerine/289501 "2005-02-12T00:24:53Z")
As a schmuck in the muck in Iruq (3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th ID) many a troop found that a good buzz could be held with the Listerine from the PX. I found this out when a mortar landed nearby after dark when I was fin… --- ## [Prison populations in the USA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-populations-in-the-usa/289059)
**Author:** [@shardman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shardman)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-populations-in-the-usa/289059 "2005-02-11T23:10:45Z")
Regarding: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040206.html This question comes up time and time again and without fail, the commentators manage to ellude much of the related facts and base their opinion on one single fa… --- ## [progeria and puberty](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progeria-and-puberty/289600)
**Author:** [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progeria-and-puberty/289600 "2005-02-11T17:34:26Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050211.html “Due to a genetic defect, those with the most widely publicized form of the condition, Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, age roughly ten years physiologically for each… --- ## [Stigmata](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigmata/285865)
**Author:** [@BlueMit11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMit11)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stigmata/285865 "2005-02-11T17:27:27Z")
In response to http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_237.html : So ever-objective Cecil is already ruling out a possibility before we begin? Doesn’t sound very characteristic of ya, Cec. The reason he gives to supp… --- ## [Slush! Yum!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slush-yum/289586)
**Author:** [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slush-yum/289586 "2005-02-11T15:28:50Z")
Dex says here “In olden days, like the early 1800s, fried salt pork was a staple food aboard ships.” Perhaps aboard some ships, but the Royal Navy officially used salt beef for some meals (though it was often referred t… --- ## [Origin of Piggy Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-piggy-banks/289562)
**Author:** [@HanFuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HanFuzzy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-piggy-banks/289562 "2005-02-11T11:37:34Z")
The stated origin of “piggy banks” (etymological, from an old English word “pygg” meaning “clay”) seems plausible, but it ignores the fact that in East Asia, the pig has long been a symbol of wealth. Coins have an ancien… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=174) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=176)