# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=19 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 20 --- ## [Why are people afraid of bugs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-afraid-of-bugs/760000)
**Author:** [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-afraid-of-bugs/760000 "2016-07-22T22:15:23Z")
Why are people afraid of bugs? The recent flapdoodle over cats’ fear of cucumbers (mistaken, it would seem, for snakes) would seem to throw some weight in the “Nature” pan. --- ## [Did Canada win the War of 1812?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-win-the-war-of-1812/758866)
**Author:** [@Belisarius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belisarius)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-canada-win-the-war-of-1812/758866 "2016-07-17T16:23:20Z")
One can claim that from their standpoint Canada won. But more important than any outcome with Canada was that other European countries had to accept that the USA was a real nation, would remain so, and had to be dealt wi… --- ## [Is it safe when pornstars prolapse their bums?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-when-pornstars-prolapse-their-bums/760093)
**Author:** [@Hollla\_theMonkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hollla_theMonkeys)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-when-pornstars-prolapse-their-bums/760093 "2016-07-17T03:24:55Z")
Inconsider myself a connoisseur of porn to a degree. I like just about all varieties with the exception of poop-related porn and dude on dude. That being said, I’ve been particularly intrigued by the recent addition of … --- ## [Who Profits from Climate Change?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-profits-from-climate-change/759410)
**Author:** [@danny212](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danny212)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-profits-from-climate-change/759410 "2016-07-12T15:20:56Z")
I’m really curious as to how Ethiopia fits into this. I Googled around and did find one article mentioning that Indian investors are buying land because they’re concerned about climate change, but why would Ethiopia in… --- ## [is sending uninvited pictures of your genitalia to someone online indecent exposure?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sending-uninvited-pictures-of-your-genitalia-to-someone-online-indecent-exposure/758744)
**Author:** [@dickensign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dickensign)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sending-uninvited-pictures-of-your-genitalia-to-someone-online-indecent-exposure/758744 "2016-07-11T15:34:56Z")
I was reading this old post Can I be charged with indecent exposure if I stay on my own private property? - The Straight Dope and thinking it would be awesome to update it with the answer to this question. Since, like, 2… --- ## [PC Accents & characters codes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-accents-characters-codes/759524)
**Author:** [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2016, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-accents-characters-codes/759524 "2016-07-11T08:32:24Z")
A few years ago the Mods posted a list of Alt+ 4 digits to produce accents and special characters on a PC. I have a copy of that list but wonder if it’s been revised or updated. Is there is a code for the Euro symbol? … --- ## [Why space?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-space/759349)
**Author:** [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-space/759349 "2016-07-08T03:02:01Z")
In the article “Why do we travel in space?”, \*\* The Master\*\* mentions a list of 74 innovations that spun off the US Space Program. I wanted to check if the idea I had was on this list, but I can’t seem to find that part… --- ## [Why haven’t tabloids been sued out of business?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-haven-t-tabloids-been-sued-out-of-business/758970)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2016, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-haven-t-tabloids-been-sued-out-of-business/758970 "2016-07-06T10:15:57Z")
Who are the two dudes supposed to be in the cartoon? Is one of them Peter Thiel, mentioned in the first paragraph of Cecil’s reply? --- ## [The Romans and Vomiting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-romans-and-vomiting/757294)
**Author:** [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2016, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-romans-and-vomiting/757294 "2016-07-04T06:29:15Z")
In Cecil’s column about Romans and vomiting, he noted that Roman vomitaria were actually theater exits, not special vomiting-rooms in Roman homes. However, he also showed evidence that, all the same, the Romans weren’t … --- ## [Why is "Fido" a common name for a dog?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-fido-a-common-name-for-a-dog/622232)
**Author:** [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2016, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-fido-a-common-name-for-a-dog/622232 "2016-07-04T06:16:30Z")
OK, it seems to me that Cecil really did not answer this question at all. He just told us what “Fido” means. i already knew that. What I do not know, and what the original questioner was also asking, is why Fido has com… --- ## [Why is oxygen usually in the form O2?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-oxygen-usually-in-the-form-o2/757882)
**Author:** [@David\_Lowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Lowe)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-oxygen-usually-in-the-form-o2/757882 "2016-07-03T19:55:52Z")
Cecil, you make a valiant attempt to teach some basic chemistry to the ignorant masses - but you seem to be confusing atomic orbitals with shells. They are definitely not the same thing - in the same way that a county i… --- ## [Baby calves' stomachs in cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-calves-stomachs-in-cheese/757498)
**Author:** [@SuperSteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperSteve)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-calves-stomachs-in-cheese/757498 "2016-06-29T23:42:25Z")
In Is rennet, a cheese ingredient, made from calves’ stomachs?, Cecil discusses whether cheese has an ingredient made from baby cows. Many cheeses do not have rennet. Kosher cheese is always free of stomach, and of all… --- ## [RE: When they do skin grafts, what if they don't have enough skin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-when-they-do-skin-grafts-what-if-they-dont-have-enough-skin/758379)
**Author:** [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-when-they-do-skin-grafts-what-if-they-dont-have-enough-skin/758379 "2016-06-29T16:03:16Z")
I have seen, on television, a procedure for growin a patient’s own skin, for covering large areas during major surgery. It was on a program showing how doctor’s were planning the seperation of conjoined twins. A sle… --- ## [Cecil is only half right on T4P](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-is-only-half-right-on-t4p/757017)
**Author:** [@waddlingeagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waddlingeagle)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 27, 2016, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-is-only-half-right-on-t4p/757017 "2016-06-27T12:18:32Z")
Planting trees does indeed trap carbon but, as Cecil points out in “Nature, fossil fuels, and global warming…”, the tree will eventually die and release much of its carbon back into the atmosphere. But Cecil makes the mi… --- ## [If the sun goes out...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-sun-goes-out/757596)
**Author:** [@psythe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psythe)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [June 21, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-sun-goes-out/757596 "2016-06-21T02:26:24Z")
Original link Cecil, my understanding is that if the Sun was replaced by a black hole\*, the lack of heat in fact would be our biggest concern. Black holes are merely objects which have been compressed to a sufficient d… --- ## [Did Walt Disney and Salvador Dali once collaborate on a film?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-walt-disney-and-salvador-dali-once-collaborate-on-a-film/757887)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-walt-disney-and-salvador-dali-once-collaborate-on-a-film/757887 "2016-06-20T15:19:06Z")
Staff Report by Eutychus The short in question, Destino, was finally completed in 2003. It’s up on Youtube --- ## [Cosmonauts in expanding orbits?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosmonauts-in-expanding-orbits/757360)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosmonauts-in-expanding-orbits/757360 "2016-06-14T22:52:25Z")
In the lost cosmonaut report, the originator of the story claimed the cosmonauts were trapped in an “expanding orbit”, doomed to spiral further and further out. But this really can’t happen, can it? No matter what veloci… --- ## [Cannabalism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabalism/757010)
**Author:** [@mlewitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlewitt)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabalism/757010 "2016-06-14T13:20:34Z")
Anyone remember Soylent Green?:eek: --- ## [How honored should I feel?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-honored-should-i-feel/757009)
**Author:** [@Johnegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnegee)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-honored-should-i-feel/757009 "2016-06-13T05:00:28Z")
Hello, All, On May 6, 2016, I emailed a question to Cecil and he replied in his column of June 10th. I didn’t expect him to reply at all, ever, so you can imagine my surprise. But now I’m wondering just how unlikely t… --- ## [Hummingbird heard quoting Shakespeare!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hummingbird-heard-quoting-shakespeare/755494)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 10, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hummingbird-heard-quoting-shakespeare/755494 "2016-06-10T22:23:28Z")
SDSAB staff dude Colibri tells us that vocal imitation is found in three bird groups: \[del\]dolphins\[/del\] songbirds, parrots, and to everyone’s great surprise, hummingbirds. (Seems like something Colibri ought to know.) … --- ## [Yes, charcoal has flame](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-charcoal-has-flame/756318)
**Author:** [@waddlingeagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waddlingeagle)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 10, 2016, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-charcoal-has-flame/756318 "2016-06-10T10:28:17Z")
Cecil mentions that he suspects charcoal has flame in his column “What Exactly Is Fire.” Clearly, Cecil has never used one of those charcoal starter cans for his barbecue nor has he seen it at night. Charcoal burns with… --- ## [Flash photography in museums](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-photography-in-museums/755684)
**Author:** [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 9, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-photography-in-museums/755684 "2016-06-09T23:46:28Z")
Link to column. It’s interesting how the amazing light-capturing ability of digital cameras – which are mostly on phones now – has advanced since 2000, such that flash/no-flash is pretty much a non-issue now, except in … --- ## [Gas Treatment vs. Fuel Injection Cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-treatment-vs-fuel-injection-cleaner/756698)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 9, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-treatment-vs-fuel-injection-cleaner/756698 "2016-06-09T20:17:21Z")
My wife’s 2002 Mazda has 119,000 miles. The engine recently had a tune-up; yet, the engine developed a knock. Before we got to a higher octane fuel, would a gas treatment or fuel injection cleaner additive help? Which … --- ## [Is fire purely energy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fire-purely-energy/756444)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fire-purely-energy/756444 "2016-06-06T20:53:30Z")
Nit picking. A flame exists because a chemical reaction is taking place. It is converting some things to other things. Some things are being converted to light and heat. Which are the same things in different waveleng… --- ## [Who Owns the Rain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-rain/756489)
**Author:** [@ccarterglass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccarterglass)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-rain/756489 "2016-06-05T01:47:26Z")
I love “The Straight Dope”, and have just read the article ““Elvis has left the building.” Who said it first?” “Elvis has left the building.” Who said it first? - The Straight Dope. Below the article is a heading “Quest… --- ## [Does the umbrella represent political weakness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-umbrella-represent-political-weakness/756364)
**Author:** [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-umbrella-represent-political-weakness/756364 "2016-06-04T03:27:31Z")
Cecil mentions and I can remember quite well the Marine umbrella incident a few years ago. It was a moronic thing to whine about but it made me wonder. The dress code, as mentioned, prohibits umbrellas for men (do they … --- ## [Why does steam rise from manholes in Denver?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-denver/749769)
**Author:** [@SFlummox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SFlummox)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-denver/749769 "2016-06-04T03:08:55Z")
In Re: Why does steam rise from manholes in the U.S.? a shout-out to Denver, CO. Although NYC/Con Ed is the largest such system, Denver has the oldest continuously operating commercial district heating system in the wor… --- ## [Elaboration on fire.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elaboration-on-fire/756440)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elaboration-on-fire/756440 "2016-06-03T23:55:18Z")
A currently burning wood fire flame, for instance. The flame itself is a bit of an illustration of what is going on. At the base it is pretty much invisible. This is the area where heat is causing certain materials in t… --- ## [I thought this part of a staff report was satire at first](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-this-part-of-a-staff-report-was-satire-at-first/756024)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-this-part-of-a-staff-report-was-satire-at-first/756024 "2016-06-03T00:25:56Z")
On the subject of how much money do panhandlers make: When I first read that, I thought they were satirically quoting Michael Scott from the office discussing in a deadpan fashion whether he or someone else should lo… --- ## [Was J. Edgar Hoover a Cross Dresser?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-j-edgar-hoover-a-cross-dresser/755650)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-j-edgar-hoover-a-cross-dresser/755650 "2016-06-02T12:23:36Z")
I know that the rumors about Hoover cross dressing were just rumors, but Tim Gunn has an interesting Vivian Vance story. This is from an interview he did on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=20)