# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=213 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 214 --- ## [How much power for electrocution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-power-for-electrocution/187418)
**Author:** [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-power-for-electrocution/187418 "2003-07-10T21:30:35Z")
In the article about electrocution, Cecil writes: It struck me as a surprisingly large amount of power. Three minutes at 10,000 W is enough to raise the temperature of an average person by about 6 degrees C, if I calcu… --- ## [The indestructable box on airplanes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187541)
**Author:** [@beccabee52000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beccabee52000)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187541 "2003-07-10T19:23:51Z")
Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that material?:dubious: --- ## [The indestructable box on airplanes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187540)
**Author:** [@beccabee52000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beccabee52000)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187540 "2003-07-10T19:23:51Z")
Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that material?:dubious: --- ## [Peanut Allergies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies/181957)
**Author:** [@MrBoy1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBoy1967)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanut-allergies/181957 "2003-07-10T18:34:45Z")
My dad is an Allergist, and I’ve worked in his office, so I know a little about food allergies. To be allergic to something, you must be exposed to it. It is an immune system reaction. One of the problems with food al… --- ## [hi-rise bugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-rise-bugs/187209)
**Author:** [@tucker0171](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tucker0171)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-rise-bugs/187209 "2003-07-09T20:34:51Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspiderballoon.html I work on the 23rd floor of a building, and occasionally we see grasshoppers outside our windows. Considerably larger than a few millimeters (3-5 inches in length… --- ## [Dex Rocks ("Do Jewish and Islamic dietary laws have anything in common?")](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dex-rocks-do-jewish-and-islamic-dietary-laws-have-anything-in-common/182568)
**Author:** [@crywalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crywalt)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dex-rocks-do-jewish-and-islamic-dietary-laws-have-anything-in-common/182568 "2003-07-09T18:12:06Z")
I, for one, would like to compliment Dex on the column “Do Jewish and Islamic dietary laws have anything in common?” It was so brilliantly written as to be wonderfully polite to all religions concerned – no mean feat, a… --- ## [Inhaling floating spiders?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157)
**Author:** [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inhaling-floating-spiders/187157 "2003-07-09T17:59:05Z")
In Doug’s column, he mentions an “aerial plankton” of spiders flying about. Do we inhale these guys? Is Doug wrong in this column,and do these people not know the half of it? --- ## [Electrocution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrocution/186416)
**Author:** [@areopagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/areopagan)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrocution/186416 "2003-07-09T03:12:17Z")
In the Straight Dope classics column from 15-May-1981 Cecil states “Offhand I can’t think of anybody who was strapped in only to be taken out later…” Knowing that the teeming millions always seek the most complete and a… --- ## [No Slug Signorino in NYPress?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-slug-signorino-in-nypress/161128)
**Author:** [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-slug-signorino-in-nypress/161128 "2003-07-08T23:47:04Z")
Slug’s illustration in this week’s NYPress version of TSD has been replaced! Is this common practice at other papers? I always assumed the illustration and text were a package deal. --- ## [Pencil Lead](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pencil-lead/184893)
**Author:** [@goddessodd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goddessodd)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pencil-lead/184893 "2003-07-07T18:17:40Z")
Response to http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpencillead.html About those accidental tattoos…I am the unfortunate possessor of such a mark which is only slightly faded after more than 30 years. (This mark was not cau… --- ## [Aluminum & Alzheimer's column - Cecil has a time machine?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aluminum-alzheimers-column-cecil-has-a-time-machine/185597)
**Author:** [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aluminum-alzheimers-column-cecil-has-a-time-machine/185597 "2003-07-06T16:44:49Z")
Does exposure to aluminum cause Alzheimer’s disease? 18-Nov-1983 “\[A\]ll these years later”? Does that refer to when the column was posted or what? :confused: --- ## [salt and sweaty activities](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-sweaty-activities/186555)
**Author:** [@frank\_cowling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frank_cowling)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2003, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-sweaty-activities/186555 "2003-07-06T12:00:21Z")
My blood pressure is too high. I read somewhere that this is because my body cannot get rid of salt efficiently enough. If sweat (perspiration) is salty then would sweaty activities like jogging help? --- ## [Balancing on bikes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-on-bikes/117474)
**Author:** [@badgerboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badgerboy)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/balancing-on-bikes/117474 "2003-07-06T07:30:13Z")
Hallo all, this is my very first SDMB post, woohoo! Cant beleive no-one has mentioned this yet, but doesnt a bike balance when it’s moving on account of the curved profile of the tyres? If the bike leans, the rubber on … --- ## [psychic orgasms (very old column)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-orgasms-very-old-column/186377)
**Author:** [@zaneblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zaneblue)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 5, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychic-orgasms-very-old-column/186377 "2003-07-05T23:47:42Z")
I’ve been a reader of The Straight Dope for years, used to read it in the Boston Phoenix. Got sent here from a link on a long debate on the American vs. British meanings of “brick house.” Anyhow, I just wasted a mornin… --- ## [Man Wrecks Planet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wrecks-planet/183725)
**Author:** [@SchnauzerFish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SchnauzerFish)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [July 5, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wrecks-planet/183725 "2003-07-05T23:13:11Z")
Just a question if anybody knows. When we talk about population, we add births and subtract deaths. But when we talk about species, we only subtract. Are there no new species? If mutations occur as frequently as I’m … --- ## [Does it make sense to keep minting pennies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-keep-minting-pennies/173732)
**Author:** [@aandronov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aandronov)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-keep-minting-pennies/173732 "2003-07-04T22:31:20Z")
Looking at Cecil’s article called “Does it make sense to keep minting pennies?” http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a981009a.html He says: “The arguments in favor of retaining the penny are weak, arising from the same… --- ## [Computer Speed (July 4, 2003)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-speed-july-4-2003/186205)
**Author:** [@Major\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Kong)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-speed-july-4-2003/186205 "2003-07-04T21:44:17Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030704.html Can someone explain what the limits of wafer technology are? --- ## [Can a baseball be a shooting star?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-baseball-be-a-shooting-star/183179)
**Author:** [@GNL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GNL)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-baseball-be-a-shooting-star/183179 "2003-07-04T14:10:59Z")
It has been suggested that a baseball, thrown ‘backwards’ out of the shuttle would burn up on re-entry — but (if you consider its mass, density, etc) would it? Ok, this is based solely on intuition, but it seems like th… --- ## [Vlasov Soldiers in WWII](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vlasov-soldiers-in-wwii/184743)
**Author:** [@RobHanawalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobHanawalt)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2003, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vlasov-soldiers-in-wwii/184743 "2003-07-04T06:06:31Z")
I live in Prague (Czech Republic), and I can add a little information about the Vlasov soldiers. A couple of units of them ended the war here in Prague, where they awaited an uncertain future. When units of the U.S. Th… --- ## [Can man live by bread alone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-man-live-by-bread-alone/185266)
**Author:** [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-man-live-by-bread-alone/185266 "2003-07-04T03:45:06Z")
I had a question concerning this article by Cecil. Midway through he mentions that “But humans must consume vitamin C in their diets, and bread, alas, doesn’t have any. (Not even raisin bread, and I am not going to sully… --- ## [Female Mantis eats mate during sex](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-mantis-eats-mate-during-sex/185726)
**Author:** [@nickn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nickn)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-mantis-eats-mate-during-sex/185726 "2003-07-03T21:03:41Z")
The jun 28l/july 4th economist reports a report in the proceedings of the royal society about Orb weaving spiders. Apparently in one species the male dies immediately before the female attacks him. The reason is that w… --- ## [cheshire cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheshire-cats/185886)
**Author:** [@ethuilathelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethuilathelas)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheshire-cats/185886 "2003-07-03T12:36:30Z")
hmph. i was reading the thing about the cheshire cats grinning, and the suggestion was made that the phrase came from the cat-shaped cheeses originating there. but what i want to know is why nobody stopped to think WHY… --- ## [Herod's Disease](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herods-disease/185840)
**Author:** [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herods-disease/185840 "2003-07-03T07:45:14Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_216b.html if this is the herod i’m thinking of who was eaten by worms in the book of acts, i always heard that it was the worms you get from eating undercooked pork. i wish i knew… --- ## [allergy & pregnancy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergy-pregnancy/181530)
**Author:** [@Learner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learner)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergy-pregnancy/181530 "2003-07-03T04:24:27Z")
In Cecil’s recentColumn he said ‘if allergies run in your family and you get pregnant, you might want to shun peanuts to avoid giving a peanut allergy to your child’. There is also increasing evidence that probiotics (… --- ## [Herod's Disease](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herods-disease/185839)
**Author:** [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herods-disease/185839 "2003-07-02T19:15:48Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_216b.html if this is the herod i’m thinking of who was eaten by worms in the book of acts, i always heard that it was the worms you get from eating undercooked pork. i wish i knew… --- ## [Re: How is it that the farther we see...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-how-is-it-that-the-farther-we-see/184963)
**Author:** [@Nim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nim)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2003, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-how-is-it-that-the-farther-we-see/184963 "2003-07-02T07:47:02Z")
Post: How is it that the farther we see into the universe, the younger the objects we see? “During the initial explosion of the Big Bang that we were a part of–or at least that our corner of the universe was a part of–t… --- ## [Tasting Cocaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450)
**Author:** [@Major\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Kong)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasting-cocaine/175450 "2003-07-02T07:34:42Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcocaine.html Isn’t the obvious answer that the police officers in TV shows taste cocaine is to confirm to the audience that it is in fact cocaine? This is a hell of a lot faster than… --- ## [Throwing Objects While in Orbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-objects-while-in-orbit/183147)
**Author:** [@farout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/farout)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwing-objects-while-in-orbit/183147 "2003-07-02T06:13:44Z")
So, I believe what we really want to know about Throwing Objects While in Orbit is this: Do we possess the scientific and logistical abilities to create a meteor shower, or a celestial display, to entertain the folks on… --- ## [Electrified Guitars - One Problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrified-guitars-one-problem/184515)
**Author:** [@Gort53](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gort53)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrified-guitars-one-problem/184515 "2003-07-01T23:08:13Z")
There’s only one problem with the answer to the guitar electrocutions question. While the safety ground is certainly important to mind, there is no equivalent in the British electrical wiring. There is a different power … --- ## [Stupid Nitpick Regarding Dex's Excellent Sherlock Holmes Column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-nitpick-regarding-dexs-excellent-sherlock-holmes-column/185427)
**Author:** [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-nitpick-regarding-dexs-excellent-sherlock-holmes-column/185427 "2003-06-30T21:17:18Z")
Did Sherlock Holmes Really Exist? There seems to be a great deal of confusion concerning the exact title of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s second Sherlock Holmes mystery. Dex has it as The Sign of Four, which would agree with… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=212) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=214)