# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=182 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 183 --- ## [Discoverer of Otzi the Iceman Dies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discoverer-of-otzi-the-iceman-dies/270846)
**Author:** [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 24, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discoverer-of-otzi-the-iceman-dies/270846 "2004-10-24T02:10:45Z")
A footnote to this old column of Cecil’s. From this story on Yahoo! News: Luckily for Herr Simon’s family, his body was recovered a good deal faster than Otzi’s. --- ## [Scientology and Aliens](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-and-aliens/270614)
**Author:** [@l0cke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/l0cke)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-and-aliens/270614 "2004-10-23T03:15:36Z")
So. . .what’s the deal? I was talking to my buddy last night, and he told me that scientology has nothing to do with aliens. However. . .every other person I know makes the jump from scientology to aliens whenever we tal… --- ## [It's just pee!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-just-pee/269058)
**Author:** [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-just-pee/269058 "2004-10-23T00:43:54Z")
This is in reference to Cecil’s article headlined on the front page of the site today: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_072.html I think Cecil is being a little alarmist. There’s a fifty acre offleash dog park he… --- ## ["Pedigree collapse"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedigree-collapse/270182)
**Author:** [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedigree-collapse/270182 "2004-10-22T21:12:43Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_083b.html “Pedigree collapse” and “diamond-shaped arrays” seems like a very convoluted answer to this question. The uncomplicated answer is that couples, on average, have more tha… --- ## [Memes: Me, myself and I think.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memes-me-myself-and-i-think/267075)
**Author:** [@SatyaRaven\_sDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SatyaRaven_sDad)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memes-me-myself-and-i-think/267075 "2004-10-22T14:56:59Z")
What is a meme? and More on Memes: The Teeming Millions lose their minds Ok, good subject, for those with the capacity to hang on for the ride. There are several tangential issues that naturally segue into a “whoa d… --- ## [Re: What is the sound of one hand clapping?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-what-is-the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping/267238)
**Author:** [@RogerKni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogerKni)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-what-is-the-sound-of-one-hand-clapping/267238 "2004-10-22T11:44:32Z")
That’s a snap, daddy-o! (Now I need a smilie snapping its fingers, but there isn’t one. Whenever you need a (particular) smilie, it’s not around.) --- ## [Update on yellow traffic lights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-yellow-traffic-lights/266705)
**Author:** [@tunafish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tunafish)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-yellow-traffic-lights/266705 "2004-10-21T19:13:35Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_028a.html With the increasing prevelence of red light cameras at busy intersections in our time, there is a new disturbing trend with the length of yellow lights. Municipalities … --- ## [Getting cramps by swimming after eating: is there anything to this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-cramps-by-swimming-after-eating-is-there-anything-to-this/270412)
**Author:** [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-cramps-by-swimming-after-eating-is-there-anything-to-this/270412 "2004-10-21T18:35:42Z")
When I was a kid, my parents used to forbid us strictly from swimming within an hour after eating (sometimes they would reduce that to half an hour if it was a snack rather than a full meal). The theory behind this was … --- ## [Chocolate "Swizzles"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chocolate-swizzles/265526)
**Author:** [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chocolate-swizzles/265526 "2004-10-20T18:20:08Z")
Some years ago I worked in a chocolate factory. I got all the free chocolate I wanted, but working in a chocolate factory isn’t all edible flowers and oompa-loompas. The unnamed company was one of those fancy, schmancy c… --- ## [Why does the bowl of a spoon turn my reflection upside down?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-bowl-of-a-spoon-turn-my-reflection-upside-down/268176)
**Author:** [@Spikey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spikey)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-bowl-of-a-spoon-turn-my-reflection-upside-down/268176 "2004-10-20T11:17:35Z")
Why does the bowl of a spoon turn my reflection upside down? http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_082.html The end of this article claims;- ‘I’m told that somebody has designed a mirror that uses a complex combinat… --- ## [Who allows the pop ups?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-allows-the-pop-ups/270020)
**Author:** [@craigr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/craigr)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-allows-the-pop-ups/270020 "2004-10-19T15:01:25Z")
Dear Cecil, I visit www.whatever.com and I am blessed with popups that Goodgle doesn’t catch. Assuming I am not the victim of spyware, who puts the popup javascript into my incoming data stream? Is the owner of www.… --- ## [Baby Pigeons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-pigeons/267208)
**Author:** [@robertcosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertcosh)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-pigeons/267208 "2004-10-19T00:58:32Z")
Cecil, No squab bull, Cec., once saw a baby pigeon riding on the back of an adult. Adult pigeon, that is. It happened under a freeway overpass, a popular hangout. I could see just the head of the youngster, sticking up… --- ## [What \[i\]Does\[/i\] The Tooth Fairy Do With Those Teeth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-does-i-the-tooth-fairy-do-with-those-teeth/255981)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-does-i-the-tooth-fairy-do-with-those-teeth/255981 "2004-10-18T23:37:38Z")
Regarding this Staff Report by Dex: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtoothfairy.html One of my daughter’s books (I don’t recall the author) is a wonderfully elaborate (and wordless) saga of the Tooth Fairy. Apparen… --- ## [Pop-Ups - Other Options](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-ups-other-options/269365)
**Author:** [@PopeZaphod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeZaphod)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-ups-other-options/269365 "2004-10-18T21:11:06Z")
In What’s Up With Popup Ads? Cecil talks about two programs that block popup ads on the Windows platform: built-in blocking in IE6 under Windows XP SP2 and the Google Toolbar. There are two things I’d like to add: (1) … --- ## [Deviled foods](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deviled-foods/269397)
**Author:** [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2004, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deviled-foods/269397 "2004-10-16T12:06:50Z")
From the Deviled fods article. Cecil says that it comes from " 1786, when it was used to describe a (highly seasoned) fried or boiled dish" Then the reference he quotes claims “A name for various highly-seasoned broi… --- ## [RE: What's up with the Amazons?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-whats-up-with-the-amazons/267414)
**Author:** [@Roseworm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roseworm)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-whats-up-with-the-amazons/267414 "2004-10-16T01:07:36Z")
In the article about Amazons http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mamazon.html one bone of contention stood out: Did the Amazons (real or mythical) amputate a breast to improve their archery? To quote the article: “The… --- ## [Reflecting on spoons.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-on-spoons/268768)
**Author:** [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-on-spoons/268768 "2004-10-15T20:06:16Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_082.html Well, not exactly. What actually happens is that the image is reversed left to right and rotated 180 degrees. If you hold something with text upside down, it will appear… --- ## [The Devil you say!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-devil-you-say/268827)
**Author:** [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-devil-you-say/268827 "2004-10-15T19:14:02Z")
Underwood Devil Hijack from the first post! Could the Underwood Devil trademark have been at least partly responsible for the slightly related rumor of Satanist major food brands? Surely you all remember the Proctor an… --- ## [Devil's Food cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devils-food-cake/268819)
**Author:** [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devils-food-cake/268819 "2004-10-12T19:21:28Z")
Re the question about “devil’s food cake,” I had always assumed it was in contrast to angel food cake, but I can’t find when the latter term first came into use. Does anyone know when people started referring to sponge … --- ## [Are there negative calorie foods?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-negative-calorie-foods/244055)
**Author:** [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-negative-calorie-foods/244055 "2004-10-12T18:52:19Z")
I was under the impression that celery, among other foods, are called ‘catabolic’ for their negative calorie effects. Is this just a marketing scheme? Doing a google search for catabolic brings up catabolic.com which c… --- ## [Octane column: Meh.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octane-column-meh/268547)
**Author:** [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octane-column-meh/268547 "2004-10-12T15:49:42Z")
I’ve been a big fan of Cecil’s for more than 25 years. I’ve even had one of my questions answered. But last Friday’s column on octane was the first time in all those years that I’ve been disappointed by an SD column. No… --- ## [touch lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touch-lamp/268710)
**Author:** [@gregeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregeb)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touch-lamp/268710 "2004-10-12T11:54:38Z")
You might add to your explanation of a touch lamp. The touch lamp oscillator is like the oscillator in a radio- - tuned slightly off station. Everyone has experienced “body tuning” of a radio. Stand near a radio antenna… --- ## [Dogs and 2-Dimensional Vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-and-2-dimensional-vision/268059)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-and-2-dimensional-vision/268059 "2004-10-12T04:06:14Z")
Column about whether or not dogs can see in two dimensions. In summary: writer asks why it is that his dog is ambivalent about images of dogs in two dimensions: photographs, images on the TV, and images in the mirror (l… --- ## [buttons on men's suits](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttons-on-mens-suits/268200)
**Author:** [@austinalice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/austinalice)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 10, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buttons-on-mens-suits/268200 "2004-10-10T00:16:44Z")
…i read in one of cecil’s columns about the ‘buttons on men’s suits’…it alluded to the situation about fred the great having buttons put on the suits so the men wouldn’t wipe their faces on their sleeves…great …what i w… --- ## [hiccup cures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiccup-cures/264670)
**Author:** [@zoocrib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoocrib)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiccup-cures/264670 "2004-10-09T22:26:08Z")
I was a bartender for over 10 years. Several different bars, different people.Bikers to Bankers. I saw a lot of people with hiccups and I have heard about a lot of cures. One I was taught by an old crabby bar maid was t… --- ## [Book on Le Petomane available on Amzaon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-on-le-petomane-available-on-amzaon/268319)
**Author:** [@RogerKni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogerKni)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-on-le-petomane-available-on-amzaon/268319 "2004-10-09T13:06:28Z")
Here’s a link to the book, “Le Petomane”, on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0285630970/qid=1097291751/sr=1-1/ref=sr\_1\_1/104-5156782-3416757?v=glance&s=books#product-details The topic is one of a … --- ## [sterilizing roaches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sterilizing-roaches/265863)
**Author:** [@klaa22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klaa22)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sterilizing-roaches/265863 "2004-10-08T19:41:27Z")
Read “The Screwfly Solution” by Raccoona Sheldon aka James Tiptree,Jr. aka Alice Bradley Sheldon (her real name). It speaks opn what happens when you mess around with the reproductive functions of insects. --- ## [Chalazae-bones: a visit inside Slug's mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chalazae-bones-a-visit-inside-slugs-mind/267913)
**Author:** [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chalazae-bones-a-visit-inside-slugs-mind/267913 "2004-10-08T18:50:32Z")
Re today’s Classic column : What on God’s green earth is going on in the illustration? Is the guy trying to boil eggs outside of their shells or something? Am I missing something obvious? RR --- ## [Wearing a green willow branch and not a yellow ribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-green-willow-branch-and-not-a-yellow-ribbon/268227)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-a-green-willow-branch-and-not-a-yellow-ribbon/268227 "2004-10-08T17:41:10Z")
Some of us remember it. Steeleye Span made #5 in the UK in 1975 with it. Yeah, that was the 70s and all sorts of crap (though I happen to like it) made the Top Ten, especially over there, but it is no more forgotten th… --- ## [Why all the old columns?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-old-columns/267591)
**Author:** [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2004, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-old-columns/267591 "2004-10-07T09:47:59Z")
Why is the Straight Dope reprinting old columns? (Has something happened to Cecil? Say it isn’t so!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=181) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=183)