# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=211 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 212 --- ## [Safest Place in Atomic War](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safest-place-in-atomic-war/193992)
**Author:** [@tecknow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tecknow)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safest-place-in-atomic-war/193992 "2003-08-09T12:22:35Z")
A true anecdote. I am in Edmonton Canada. About 20 years ago, a local family, concerned about the possibility of such a war did their own research and concluded much like your reference. They decided that an island grou… --- ## [Nuclear Reactors at Sea](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-reactors-at-sea/190377)
**Author:** [@edct](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edct)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2003, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-reactors-at-sea/190377 "2003-08-09T08:24:08Z")
Since 2 US subs and at least 4 Russian Nuclear subs have gone down, and not recovered, what is the status of their reactors? I have read that the US check the crash sites of the Thresher and Scorpion show no leakage so … --- ## [The Wheel and Eastern Asia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wheel-and-eastern-asia/193749)
**Author:** [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wheel-and-eastern-asia/193749 "2003-08-08T22:45:24Z")
In the column http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_250.html , Cecil says that in the Old World Sumer invented the wheel and everyone else got the idea from them. Sumer was basically the cool kid of the Stone Age. We… --- ## [Nuclear waste disposal.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-waste-disposal/193430)
**Author:** [@Ether\_Dragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ether_Dragon)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2003, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-waste-disposal/193430 "2003-08-08T12:31:04Z")
An off the cuff question: rather than worry about dumping spent rods into a crater for 200,000 years, why couldn’t we just launch the rods into space - maybe aim them at the sun to insure their complete destruction? How… --- ## [American Pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345)
**Author:** [@Kutter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kutter)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie/18345 "2003-08-08T03:11:16Z")
I know I’m posting probably old news, but I was digging through the Archives and ran across the “What is ‘American Pie’ all about?” column and the meaning of the song occured to me… Its a history of Rock and Roll…More i… --- ## [I saw one! I saw a pigeon nest!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-one-i-saw-a-pigeon-nest/192914)
**Author:** [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-one-i-saw-a-pigeon-nest/192914 "2003-08-07T22:15:24Z")
The Column. A search on the topic brought up a topic only as recent as April, 2001, so I thought I’d start a new one. I saw a pigeon nest on top of and behind a backlit sign for a parking garage at an office complex. … --- ## [Multiple tones from a single larynx](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-tones-from-a-single-larynx/192961)
**Author:** [@beckerxc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckerxc)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 6, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-tones-from-a-single-larynx/192961 "2003-08-06T19:02:36Z")
Tibetan Buddhist monks have long practiced multiphonic chanting. It is said to be the holiest sound ever heard. Apparently, the monks achieve a state called “samadhi” which is “a trancelike state of pure consciousness, u… --- ## [Zeno's Paradox: MORE](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenos-paradox-more/188866)
**Author:** [@geezergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geezergeek)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [August 6, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zenos-paradox-more/188866 "2003-08-06T00:29:03Z")
Re: Cecil’s column http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030711.html While playing with the Zeno Paradox mentioned in Cecil’s column some years ago, I came to a strange conclusion. If we solve for the distance the torto… --- ## [Congrats, Q.E.D.!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congrats-q-e-d/190178)
**Author:** [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [August 5, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congrats-q-e-d/190178 "2003-08-05T20:34:03Z")
This was your first one, verdad? --- ## [What would happen to sound if I traveled at Mach 1?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-sound-if-i-traveled-at-mach-1/192847)
**Author:** [@RefridgeratorRaider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RefridgeratorRaider)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-sound-if-i-traveled-at-mach-1/192847 "2003-08-04T18:34:47Z")
Just going through some of the older stuff and came across this one. http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_116.html In the reader asks: and Cecil replies: Well not entirely true anymore. Recent studies show that … --- ## [Do decapitated heads briefly remain conscious?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-decapitated-heads-briefly-remain-conscious/187463)
**Author:** [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-decapitated-heads-briefly-remain-conscious/187463 "2003-08-04T13:53:36Z")
In this column, the Slug illustration is mystifying. (In other non-news, water is discovered to be “wet.”) Why would this illustration accompany a column about human beheading? The Slug illustration seems to be about an… --- ## [The Hiccup record story is bunk...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hiccup-record-story-is-bunk/186955)
**Author:** [@Emanuel\_Ravelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emanuel_Ravelli)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hiccup-record-story-is-bunk/186955 "2003-08-04T03:11:32Z")
I don’t think anyone could have hiccups for months, and certainly not years, since it is impossible to eat or sleep when you have them. To cure them in about 30-45 seconds, stand BEHIND the “victim”/place both hands on t… --- ## [Has anybody gotten electrocuted peeing on the third rail?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-gotten-electrocuted-peeing-on-the-third-rail/188917)
**Author:** [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-gotten-electrocuted-peeing-on-the-third-rail/188917 "2003-08-04T02:16:53Z")
I did a search for the name Joseph Patrick O’Malley and came up with this reference, which doesn’t sound like a drunk who wanders the subways: http://www.miltontimes.com/News/2002/1024/Opinions/support\_for.html So eith… --- ## [What does the word 'Wanker' mean in America?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-wanker-mean-in-america/189282)
**Author:** [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2003, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-word-wanker-mean-in-america/189282 "2003-08-03T11:41:34Z")
While browsing through Cecil’s column on whether .999… = 1 I was mildly taken aback to read: Now, in the UK a wanker is someone who is fixated with jerking off. I figure that a national syndicated column like The Stra… --- ## [An infinite question: Why doesn't .999~ = 1?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infinite-question-why-doesnt-999-1/191230)
**Author:** [@Wassup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wassup)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infinite-question-why-doesnt-999-1/191230 "2003-08-03T07:34:41Z")
I read your answer with interest, Cecil, and you are correct. However, in addition to your explanation that it is a fluke of the limitations of our decimal system, there is also a physical limitation. I believe that Ma… --- ## [French word for "Earth"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-word-for-earth/188279)
**Author:** [@rzajac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rzajac)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-word-for-earth/188279 "2003-08-02T11:24:28Z")
One of the staff answered a question about the word for “Earth” proffered by other languages by (in part) cut/pasting the results of an online translations service. For shame! These things are notoriously undiscriminat… --- ## [Aluminum and Alzheimer's](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aluminum-and-alzheimers/166542)
**Author:** [@apoco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apoco)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [August 1, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aluminum-and-alzheimers/166542 "2003-08-01T19:19:15Z")
I’m confused about the link of aluminum with Alzheimer’s Disease. Is it pure aluminum that is a neurotoxin or some compound containing aluminum? Cecil mentions aluminum chloride, aluminum chlorhydrate, sodium aluminum … --- ## [Typewriter Keys column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typewriter-keys-column/191940)
**Author:** [@xanadu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanadu)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typewriter-keys-column/191940 "2003-07-30T17:53:31Z")
Regarding Cecil’s column on why typewriter keys are arranged as they are: I always thought that the keys were arranged in the QWERTY format so that typewriter salesmen could demonstrate how easy they were to use. All of… --- ## [Tipping](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/191051)
**Author:** [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping/191051 "2003-07-28T12:49:25Z")
I just read this thread and had a couple questions for the dopers. How many of you really figure out what 15% or 18% or 20% of the bill is and pay exactly that much tip? Also, it’s mentioned in the article that some re… --- ## [why europe and asia are considered seperate continnets](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-europe-and-asia-are-considered-seperate-continnets/187918)
**Author:** [@426hemi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/426hemi)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-europe-and-asia-are-considered-seperate-continnets/187918 "2003-07-27T23:42:28Z")
It is not, as you mentioned, becuase of map error. In order to qualify as a continent a landmass must meet certain criteria: 1: They must have their own river and drainage system which drains into the ocean. Europe ha… --- ## [Cults vs. LDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cults-vs-lds/191043)
**Author:** [@ikderk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ikderk)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cults-vs-lds/191043 "2003-07-27T21:02:52Z")
After reading the Church vs. Cults report by Euty(http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcult.html), I thought it was too similar to how the LDS (Latter-Day Saints or Mormons to you regular folks) operate. Lets go line by… --- ## [Citizen's Arrest](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/191037)
**Author:** [@ikderk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ikderk)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/191037 "2003-07-27T20:05:19Z")
In reading the column on different police and and their turf, part of the question delt with citizen’s arrest. My understanding was that you could only get sued in certain states, like Vermont, for a false arrest. I ha… --- ## [No such thing as centrifugal force?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-such-thing-as-centrifugal-force/190138)
**Author:** [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-such-thing-as-centrifugal-force/190138 "2003-07-27T17:48:56Z")
In Cecil’s answer to What happens if the earth stops spinning?, Cecil makes the statement, “(And please, don’t tell me there’s no such thing as centrifugal force. I know that. I just don’t feel like going into a long exp… --- ## [Hawk: Ants falling unharmed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawk-ants-falling-unharmed/191014)
**Author:** [@illoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/illoe)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawk-ants-falling-unharmed/191014 "2003-07-27T17:05:24Z")
From “Why can bugs fall great distances and survive, but humans won’t?” (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugfall.html): “Our human test subject is 2 meters tall, 0.6 meters wide, and 0.4 meters deep and weighs 90.7… --- ## [Jesus' name](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-name/191258)
**Author:** [@kloosdavid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kloosdavid)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-name/191258 "2003-07-27T14:17:19Z")
The following question is to be founded in the archive: ‘During the TV series I, Claudius, mentions of Jesus Christ were mostly couched in allusions to “the Nazarene.” In one of the later episodes, however, he was refer… --- ## [McLuhan's Reflexology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcluhans-reflexology/190859)
**Author:** [@daniel801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daniel801)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 26, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcluhans-reflexology/190859 "2003-07-26T20:40:34Z")
Just a little Freudian slip from the column that I might have detected: The Medium is the Massage Hehe --- ## [Damn fool war](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-fool-war/168017)
**Author:** [@aubries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aubries)\ **Replies:** 285\ **Last updated:** [July 26, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-fool-war/168017 "2003-07-26T01:44:04Z")
Cecil’s words. I feel vindicated.:cool: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030411.html --- ## [Structured Interviews](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/structured-interviews/188683)
**Author:** [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/structured-interviews/188683 "2003-07-25T23:31:29Z")
In regards to structured interviewing (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbehavioralint.html), I’d say that it’s a technique that is being damaged by its own power. I went through some job interviews that were just pl… --- ## [Behavioral Interviews and the unqualified masses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behavioral-interviews-and-the-unqualified-masses/187707)
**Author:** [@raysirx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raysirx)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/behavioral-interviews-and-the-unqualified-masses/187707 "2003-07-25T22:17:58Z")
As I am a current employee of a company that endorses Behavioral based Interviewing, I feel that I can comment on this. We are overwhelmed with great “Team Players” that have excellent personalities but don’t know squat … --- ## ["propylene glycol alginate"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/propylene-glycol-alginate/189847)
**Author:** [@Ewokie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ewokie)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/propylene-glycol-alginate/189847 "2003-07-24T04:08:13Z")
Thought you guys may like some more information on “propylene glycol alginate” This product and you are right it is used in salad dressings, It is sold to Kraft for Salad dressings, Alginate is a product produced from S… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=210) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=212)