# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=184 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 185 --- ## [mustard gas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas/264056)
**Author:** [@A\_C\_Cage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_C_Cage)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustard-gas/264056 "2004-09-15T20:14:53Z")
Regarding the issue of mustard agents, it was not mentioned about the skin blistering effects of the agent. Blisters the size of golf balls have been known to be an attribute of exposure to these agents. I used to work… --- ## [sweetbreads](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweetbreads/263896)
**Author:** [@loismustdie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loismustdie)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweetbreads/263896 "2004-09-13T00:02:34Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_055a.html Actually, regarding the name sweetbreads, they are named such because the thymus gland really does taste like Sweet Bread… granted, mushy sweet bread, but still yummy if… --- ## [Cider v juice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cider-v-juice/260698)
**Author:** [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cider-v-juice/260698 "2004-09-11T20:50:30Z")
Uncle Cecil’s cider column has me in a stew, has given me the pip and has shaken me to the core … OK, enough of that. When Americans say “cider”, do they mean something completely different to the nectar we Brits call b… --- ## [Graham's diet: Fat or no?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grahams-diet-fat-or-no/263667)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grahams-diet-fat-or-no/263667 "2004-09-10T14:33:24Z")
In Cecil’s column on Graham crackers, we have the quote But in the next sentence, So, was fat allowed, or not, in Graham’s diet? --- ## [Salt and pepper answer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-pepper-answer/263789)
**Author:** [@SaintPhlip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaintPhlip)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-pepper-answer/263789 "2004-09-10T14:01:56Z")
The column I’m responding to is located at: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_051.html The part I’m responding to is specificly: “But it was only in the late Middle Ages that pepper got really hot, so to speak. A… --- ## [Nutra-sweet drinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutra-sweet-drinks/262195)
**Author:** [@beatyruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beatyruth)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutra-sweet-drinks/262195 "2004-09-10T02:40:33Z")
Okay, so what was the brand X cola tested ungainst diet coke in your recent column on 8/27/04? I know I’m not the only person who’s bothered physically by the effects of nutra-sweet. Unfortunately i like the taste of die… --- ## [How can the Chinese use computers, since their language contains so many characters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-the-chinese-use-computers-since-their-language-contains-so-many-characters/262891)
**Author:** [@lajekahr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lajekahr)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-the-chinese-use-computers-since-their-language-contains-so-many-characters/262891 "2004-09-09T04:04:49Z")
This is a response to: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_177.html “This is just Chinese we’re talking about. Japanese, now . . . they say Japanese is really complicated. Sad to say, we do not have space to discus… --- ## [Does garlic repel mosquitoes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-garlic-repel-mosquitoes/263090)
**Author:** [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-garlic-repel-mosquitoes/263090 "2004-09-08T12:53:58Z")
Garlic is said to repel other bloodsuckers… (vampires), so perhaps the suburban myth that garlic repels mosquitoes is a distortion of this fairy tale! --- ## [Does Garlic repel mosquitoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-garlic-repel-mosquitoes/263480)
**Author:** [@Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenback)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-garlic-repel-mosquitoes/263480 "2004-09-08T00:56:09Z")
Reading Doug’s reply to mosquito repellents got me thinking about what little I actually know about DEET. Doug explained roughly how it works but what is it really? Also, So is it toxic or not? “No evidence” but “be … --- ## [Alan Freed & Payola](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alan-freed-payola/262401)
**Author:** [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alan-freed-payola/262401 "2004-09-07T01:39:48Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpayola.html I recall that, a few years back, when Paul Simon was being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he said he owed everything to Alan Freed, who told him in 1957, “Gi… --- ## [Is a diamond's price a true measure of its value?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-diamonds-price-a-true-measure-of-its-value/262937)
**Author:** [@Qur\_Tharkasdottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qur_Tharkasdottir)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-diamonds-price-a-true-measure-of-its-value/262937 "2004-09-06T01:34:20Z")
Working myself in the gemstones business, I can confirm that this is absolutely correct. Is a diamond’s price a true measure of its value? --- ## [Menopause and life expectancy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menopause-and-life-expectancy/128821)
**Author:** [@dogcone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogcone)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menopause-and-life-expectancy/128821 "2004-09-06T00:44:11Z")
The menopause column raised an issue I’ve long wondered about but haven’t seen it directly addressed. Cecil said: “Average age at menopause today is 51; average life expectancy in 1900 had only reached 47. In other word… --- ## [Re: How far will ants wander in search of food?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-how-far-will-ants-wander-in-search-of-food/260769)
**Author:** [@Sanchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanchos)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-how-far-will-ants-wander-in-search-of-food/260769 "2004-09-05T17:09:09Z")
Allright Doug, in the article you mention that an ant will release a chemical trail to naivgate the other ants to food. What chemical is this, and where can I get it. I have some neihbors that I don’t like. :wink: --- ## [Play your cards right and I'll invite you over for a plateful](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-your-cards-right-and-ill-invite-you-over-for-a-plateful/262988)
**Author:** [@anitanita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anitanita)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-your-cards-right-and-ill-invite-you-over-for-a-plateful/262988 "2004-09-04T15:42:30Z")
Love getting a good dose of The Straight Dope each week! In this weeks question about salt and pepper, Cecil , you said your spaghetti sauce would heal the sick and raise the dead. Instead of inviting us all over, how … --- ## [Cecil- Dont fudge Franklin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-dont-fudge-franklin/261231)
**Author:** [@david\_bossert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/david_bossert)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-dont-fudge-franklin/261231 "2004-09-03T16:09:32Z")
Hey Cecil- boy did you screwup your spin on Franklin. First, no one ever claimed that Poor Richards Almanac contained groundbreaking philosophy. Its impact was financial and cultural: it was the second largest selling b… --- ## [The Shocking Truth about Australian phones ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-truth-about-australian-phones/262040)
**Author:** [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-truth-about-australian-phones/262040 "2004-09-02T16:23:05Z")
In this column Unca Cec makes the claim that “in the early 1980s, 60 to 80 Australians were injured by lightning each year while on the phone, a rate roughly 45 times higher than the comparable rate in the U.S. At the ti… --- ## [Citing sources, for once!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citing-sources-for-once/261880)
**Author:** [@coilycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coilycat)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citing-sources-for-once/261880 "2004-08-31T19:39:19Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpayola.html \[FONT=Century Gothic\]This is the first time I have found any source citations anywhere in this whole enterprise. Many times, I really want to cite SD, but it’s hard to b… --- ## [Some Pig Latin from 1907](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-pig-latin-from-1907/262314)
**Author:** [@alexx\_panix.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexx_panix.com)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-pig-latin-from-1907/262314 "2004-08-31T19:22:54Z")
Well, the “modern” form of pig latin (or something very close to it) clearly dates back to at least 1907. Here’s some dialogue (well, monologue) from a 1907 comic strip (I don’t ave an exact date, but its early in the 1… --- ## [Exploding Cannonballs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-cannonballs/262373)
**Author:** [@matthew\_brent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matthew_brent)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-cannonballs/262373 "2004-08-31T12:18:57Z")
In cecil’s article, http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040423.html he writes “cannonballs hitting ships would have thrown up splinters and dust but no smoke” I was under the impression that we are dealing with the con… --- ## [the chicken or the egg?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-chicken-or-the-egg/260946)
**Author:** [@tapu264](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu264)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-chicken-or-the-egg/260946 "2004-08-30T15:28:38Z")
Cecil yous a smart man, you got some straight dope. you answered the question that dope made me think of. peace --- ## [In Ricky Nelson's "Garden Party," who is Mr. Hughes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-ricky-nelsons-garden-party-who-is-mr-hughes/258819)
**Author:** [@PDGTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PDGTL)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2004, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-ricky-nelsons-garden-party-who-is-mr-hughes/258819 "2004-08-30T11:38:48Z")
“Wearing his disguise” is more obscure, but presumably had something to do with Harrison’s habit of traveling incognito. Actually this may have more to do with the movie “help”. In the movie the is a part where the beat… --- ## [About the coin mutilation deal...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928)
**Author:** [@Vectorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vectorboy)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928 "2004-08-29T15:36:17Z")
Link here Why is it, if mutilation of currency is illegal, that there are machines, such as the ones at Six Flags in Houston, that take $0.51 (two quarters and a penny), and spit out a lengthened, oval-shaped and slight… --- ## [What's up with the dates on the Brandy column? 1976 or 1988?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-dates-on-the-brandy-column-1976-or-1988/261622)
**Author:** [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-dates-on-the-brandy-column-1976-or-1988/261622 "2004-08-28T22:18:39Z")
Do Wisconsites account for 75% of U.S. brandy consumption? 21-May-1976 --- ## [The Rite of Spring](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rite-of-spring/260875)
**Author:** [@nancyflute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nancyflute)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rite-of-spring/260875 "2004-08-28T21:42:34Z")
I just read Cecil’s excellent column, Did avant-garde arts events of a century ago really inspire riots? http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mriots.html I met and talked with Igor Stravinsky in his latter years, and he… --- ## [Re: Why do singers use vibrato?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-do-singers-use-vibrato/240678)
**Author:** [@ReaverPryde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReaverPryde)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-do-singers-use-vibrato/240678 "2004-08-28T15:30:45Z")
In Cecil’s answer to the question “Why do singers use vibrato?”, he says that vibrato is added into a singer’s sound for effect, and that good singers can sing without it. I study classical voice at the University of Wa… --- ## [ants travel HOW far?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants-travel-how-far/261244)
**Author:** [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 27, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants-travel-how-far/261244 "2004-08-27T22:16:45Z")
In this report Doug seems to forget what I thought was the point of the question, “How far will ants wander in search of food? or just how far away can an ant nest be located from a food source?” I appreciate the respo… --- ## [Origin of Oreos](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-oreos/260367)
**Author:** [@JmsWinburn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JmsWinburn)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 27, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-oreos/260367 "2004-08-27T14:09:29Z")
In http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980508.html Cecil proposes several possible origins for the name of the Oreo cookie: For the record, the main theories are: (1) Oreo was euphonious and easy to pronounce. (2) Ore… --- ## [Cures for BTS (Burny Throat Syndrome).](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cures-for-bts-burny-throat-syndrome/261585)
**Author:** [@muchu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muchu)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 26, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cures-for-bts-burny-throat-syndrome/261585 "2004-08-26T13:00:48Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_346.html I find a hot drink works best. Green Tea ? --- ## [Foot Binding](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-binding/261267)
**Author:** [@RoseHelen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoseHelen)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-binding/261267 "2004-08-25T19:57:32Z")
Hello, I was just reading the column on the practice of binding feet in dynastical chinese culture. I have read extensively on this subject in my research of chinese history, and beyond the attraction of seeing women wi… --- ## [Superego Laucuae (Pathological Liars column)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superego-laucuae-pathological-liars-column/258434)
**Author:** [@Bozvotros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozvotros)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superego-laucuae-pathological-liars-column/258434 "2004-08-25T00:07:50Z")
Cec, you are right about lacunae being fun to say. As you know doubt know but did not say, superego lacunae refers to one having a superego (more commonly known as a conscience) which is full of holes. These holes allo… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=183) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=185)