# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=208 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 209 --- ## [Was Isaac Newton a Virgin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-isaac-newton-a-virgin/199408)
**Author:** [@rad58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rad58)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-isaac-newton-a-virgin/199408 "2003-09-10T13:07:48Z")
I think you meant to call Richard Feynman a “bon viveur” (one who lives well) as opposed to a “bon vivant” (one who like good food). Otherwise, well written and very entertaining!:cool: --- ## [Odd Question About Street Lights?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-question-about-street-lights/90309)
**Author:** [@NPavelka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NPavelka)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-question-about-street-lights/90309 "2003-09-10T07:41:12Z")
This is a bit unusual, but here goes… I have noticed this for years, whenever I walk under a street lamp they flicker and go out. This happens about 40% of the time but usually when I am alone or with only one other pers… --- ## [Creationist Propaganda?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-propaganda/198298)
**Author:** [@Forty2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forty2)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-propaganda/198298 "2003-09-09T21:19:56Z")
this is with regards to http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbigbangmyth.html lets take a look at this… SDSTAFF David says that the arguments stated by john from alabama sound like Creationist Propaganda… So “you” Prov… --- ## [Brick Shithouse and Women??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brick-shithouse-and-women/200457)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brick-shithouse-and-women/200457 "2003-09-09T14:57:35Z")
Prior to this column: How did the phrase “built like a brick shithouse” get to be a compliment?, I’d never heard this phrase used as a compliment for an attractive woman, only to describe stocky, football-player guys. I… --- ## [Does a duck's quack echo?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ducks-quack-echo/200264)
**Author:** [@\_catharsis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_catharsis)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ducks-quack-echo/200264 "2003-09-09T13:32:41Z")
Finally, someone else was man enough to take on some scientific investigation. Only five years after Cecil and his intrepid researcher Janedispelled the myth in East Lansing. Seems that the world of mainstream scientif… --- ## [Margin for Error - Bigger is Better?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/margin-for-error-bigger-is-better/199182)
**Author:** [@rriggstx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rriggstx)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/margin-for-error-bigger-is-better/199182 "2003-09-08T23:24:42Z")
In the article regarding rolling a 747 (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_262.html), Cecil states: I always thought that it was the “small margin for error” that put you at risk. In other words, there was very … --- ## ["Pump" my dyin'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pump-my-dyin/198666)
**Author:** [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pump-my-dyin/198666 "2003-09-08T23:02:25Z")
ass Even the infallible Cecil can’t get it right. One more time; The pump is down inna tank, underground. The thingie you put gas in your tank with is a dispenser. It’a a tough fight, Mr. Adams. Wish you would help m… --- ## [Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-a-penny-from-the-empire-state-building/189914)
**Author:** [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-a-penny-from-the-empire-state-building/189914 "2003-09-08T22:20:01Z")
Although I agree with Cecil’s conclusion/speculation that a penny dropped from the ESB would not kill (or otherwise “pass right through”) an unwitting pedestrian below, I think his equating a penny’s mass with that of a… --- ## [Shimmy Eyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shimmy-eyes/199339)
**Author:** [@Momotaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momotaro)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shimmy-eyes/199339 "2003-09-07T19:18:02Z")
About Cecil’s report on shimmy eyes, I have to say I don’t think there’s anything with shimmying eyes. I’ve been doing it since I was in grade school. It’s a weird sensation. I used to do it when I was embarrassed to avo… --- ## [In the record business, what do "b/w" and "c/w" mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-record-business-what-do-b-w-and-c-w-mean/199937)
**Author:** [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-record-business-what-do-b-w-and-c-w-mean/199937 "2003-09-07T02:11:16Z")
With reference to: In the record business, what do “b/w” and “c/w” mean? http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a991015.html “The term single actually is a misnomer–couple is more like it, since a 45 has two sides. The s… --- ## [On Nystagmus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-nystagmus/199337)
**Author:** [@FinalLogic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinalLogic)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-nystagmus/199337 "2003-09-06T23:49:49Z")
I don’t think the condition that was being described by the writer was actually Nystagmus. I can do the same thing - rapidly move my eyes back and forth at will. So can my father, and several of my friends. All of the… --- ## [The location of the first exchange or "bourse"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-location-of-the-first-exchange-or-bourse/199711)
**Author:** [@Paul\_De\_Belder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_De_Belder)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-location-of-the-first-exchange-or-bourse/199711 "2003-09-06T16:23:35Z")
Dear Cecil, I had one comment on your very well written article about the stock market. You wrote: “In the Netherlands, traders began gathering in front of the house of the Van der Buerse family, eventually leading to t… --- ## [Stock market and betting on horses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-market-and-betting-on-horses/199130)
**Author:** [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stock-market-and-betting-on-horses/199130 "2003-09-05T18:17:26Z")
In the thread at http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mstockmarket.html there was a lot of “classical” interpretation of a stock market, but no mention of what the modern stock market has become. From what I’ve seen, a g… --- ## [How the Stock Market Works](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-stock-market-works/199157)
**Author:** [@jbaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbaker)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-stock-market-works/199157 "2003-09-05T12:26:46Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mstockmarket.html I thought I would take a stab at KC’s questions, since friedo’s answer seems to be more of a discussion of how companies work. “What is the connection between the p… --- ## ["something inside my body which results in a strange sensation"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-inside-my-body-which-results-in-a-strange-sensation/199689)
**Author:** [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2003, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-inside-my-body-which-results-in-a-strange-sensation/199689 "2003-09-05T09:30:11Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_264.html Seems this is an old question, but it was on the front page today, and the second part of the question rang a bell with me. “Self shocking” has been discussed at lenght … --- ## [white slavery column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-column/78550)
**Author:** [@alumshubby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alumshubby)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-slavery-column/78550 "2003-09-03T20:09:45Z")
I dunno about Arab sultans and American/English women, but I recall hearing a story on NPR about very real sex slavery – I can’t remember if the women were from the former Yugoslavia or the former Soviet Union. Here’s so… --- ## [Cylinders -\> discs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cylinders-discs/197679)
**Author:** [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2003, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cylinders-discs/197679 "2003-09-02T09:44:15Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_256b.html “You would hire, say, a brass band, which you would surround with a phalanx of recording machines loaded with blank discs…” Oops ! --- ## [Shaving](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving/193088)
**Author:** [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving/193088 "2003-09-02T01:08:53Z")
Greetings, Dex. http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mshave.html Just thought you might want to know that your advice regarding shaving pretty much jibes with the standard advice given by Kyan Douglas. It is best, accor… --- ## [A-bomb fall out for Aug 29](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-fall-out-for-aug-29/198506)
**Author:** [@epicac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epicac)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-fall-out-for-aug-29/198506 "2003-09-02T00:59:17Z")
While today’s answer was informative and did answer the question posed, I found its conclusion to be overly optimistic for one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. --- ## [sexual addiction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156)
**Author:** [@roscopc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roscopc)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-addiction/197156 "2003-09-01T15:44:08Z")
In his column “what is Nymphomania?” he says in reference to the term “sexual addiction” being taken out of the DSM: “…even sexual addiction was abandoned, perhaps because the non-gender-specific nature of the term laid … --- ## [Eyesight of aquatic mammals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyesight-of-aquatic-mammals/197334)
**Author:** [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyesight-of-aquatic-mammals/197334 "2003-09-01T15:17:11Z")
In the Staff Report Why is your vision blurred underwater?, Chronos writes My question: how do aquatic mammals handle this? Seals, for example, hunt fish and so should need good vision underwater, but I myself saw a tr… --- ## [Solution to Low Level Radioactive Waste](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-low-level-radioactive-waste/196435)
**Author:** [@NickFun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NickFun)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solution-to-low-level-radioactive-waste/196435 "2003-09-01T15:03:24Z")
There has been a process for a decade which involces heating the low level waste to a certain high temperature thus creating industrial gases and eliminating the radioactivity. Though my memory is falible and my knowled… --- ## [Triple rainbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triple-rainbows/198176)
**Author:** [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triple-rainbows/198176 "2003-09-01T12:24:09Z")
In the column Why are rainbows curved?, Cecil writes: I’ve seen this phenomenon first hand a couple of times. This one time, the second rainbow was almost as bright as the first one and the entire scene was really beau… --- ## [US and western Europe, as always... humm...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-and-western-europe-as-always-humm/198398)
**Author:** [@Gutza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gutza)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2003, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-and-western-europe-as-always-humm/198398 "2003-08-30T11:11:30Z")
Regarding http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mstockmarket.html At some point it reads “Privately owned corporations came into being gradually during the early 19th century in the United States, United Kingdom and weste… --- ## [Bad Sides of Town](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sides-of-town/193993)
**Author:** [@tecknow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tecknow)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-sides-of-town/193993 "2003-08-30T07:34:36Z")
As opposed to North South, in the Northern hemisphere, there is an East West bias, that is quantifiable. Because of prevailing winds, in polluted areas, the higher up you are, and the more often your location is upwind … --- ## [Artificial gravity: bad link](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-gravity-bad-link/198377)
**Author:** [@anguilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anguilla)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-gravity-bad-link/198377 "2003-08-30T04:52:38Z")
The URL in the weekly Straight Dope e-mail led to nothing. How can I see the answer to this? It’s about spinning space stations causing artificial gravity. http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspacestation.html Than… --- ## [raven like a writing desk](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raven-like-a-writing-desk/196955)
**Author:** [@gopi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gopi)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raven-like-a-writing-desk/196955 "2003-08-30T00:39:12Z")
In his column on this topic, http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_266.html, Cecil quotes Lewis Carroll as saying “it is never put with the wrong end in front.” This is a misquote, caused by an overzealous copy editor… --- ## [Earlier 'S' Variations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earlier-s-variations/195554)
**Author:** [@ChampagneSheik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChampagneSheik)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2003, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earlier-s-variations/195554 "2003-08-29T10:39:36Z")
In Cecil’s reply to why 18th century literature had 'f’s instead of 's’s , he says that the 'f’s were actually 's’s that had a different appearance depending on where they were in a word. He says that the earliest appear… --- ## [Bernoulli vs. Venturi?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernoulli-vs-venturi/198362)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernoulli-vs-venturi/198362 "2003-08-29T04:30:33Z")
In a classic column on gas pump shutoff, Cecil refers to the Bernoulli effect as being the tendency of a stream of fluid to draw in surrounding fluid. I thought this was the Venturi effect, and that the Bernoulli effect… --- ## [Dry Ice and Movie Smoke Effects](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-and-movie-smoke-effects/197573)
**Author:** [@CEMX86SD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CEMX86SD)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 26, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-and-movie-smoke-effects/197573 "2003-08-26T22:52:03Z")
In the article “What exactly is dry ice?” http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdryice.html the questioner mentioned “I know it’s used to make a cool fog effect for movies…”. Wrongo bucko. While it might have been used … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=207) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=209)