# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=221 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 222 --- ## [calories in ejaculate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calories-in-ejaculate/167724)
**Author:** [@soldat4800](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soldat4800)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calories-in-ejaculate/167724 "2003-04-10T21:42:20Z")
Cecil indicates “In the end, it seems that you are the one guilty of making unwarranted assumptions. You assumed I played a made-up question for kicks and that I didn’t know what I was talking about. Neither of these, I… --- ## [French Fries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-fries/126572)
**Author:** [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-fries/126572 "2003-04-10T15:39:58Z")
What? French fries, you say? But I see no French Fries! You, Monsieur Le Hamster, are a selfish pig, to eat all the French fries in the OP and not leave any for the rest of us. Shame. I’m taking a wild guess here–th… --- ## [Good Holmes source](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-holmes-source/167765)
**Author:** [@wsmonty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wsmonty)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-holmes-source/167765 "2003-04-10T15:02:14Z")
Excellent column! For an great source of ongoing Holmes discussion, you might want to check out The Baker Street Journal , the official publication of the Baker Street Irregulars at www.bakerstreetjournal.com . For ove… --- ## [Does a dripping faucet keep the pipes from freezing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-dripping-faucet-keep-the-pipes-from-freezing/167785)
**Author:** [@Mathias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathias)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-dripping-faucet-keep-the-pipes-from-freezing/167785 "2003-04-10T14:54:40Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpipefreeze.html I know this one goes back a ways, but I’ve had personal experience with sub-zero temps and plumbing nightmares. The staff report on running water was right on. Nothin… --- ## [Blue moons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-moons/166840)
**Author:** [@joehyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joehyman)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-moons/166840 "2003-04-09T18:41:04Z")
Re: Blue Moons http://216.33.240.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?\_lang=EN&lah=46875ebf734e123a01d26183604925a9&lat=1049616049&hm\_\_\_action=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.straightdope.com%2Fclassics%2Fa1\_172.html What are the 12 named full moons? --- ## [On Animals and Language](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-animals-and-language/164821)
**Author:** [@ejh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ejh)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-animals-and-language/164821 "2003-04-09T14:54:27Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030328.html I know I’ve blathered about Chomsky before in the forums, but here it’s relevant again – a lot of the difficulty here comes from questions about what language consists of. … --- ## [Concerning The Wizard of OZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-the-wizard-of-oz/163008)
**Author:** [@CwazyKono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CwazyKono)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-the-wizard-of-oz/163008 "2003-04-08T23:19:39Z")
Cecil’s Column: Is “The Wizard of Oz” a satire … – CK Dexter Haven I was looking through bored.com and found this site among the other links. I was browsing through when I came across an article that dealt with the Wi… --- ## [Animals with Wheels](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-with-wheels/165401)
**Author:** [@MrBoy1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBoy1967)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-with-wheels/165401 "2003-04-08T03:18:59Z")
While there is still no known animal with, as you say, a wheel and axle, there is at least one spider that has evolved a wheel-like form of locomotion. It is a desert spider that spreads its legs and rolls, wheel-like, … --- ## ["commonest"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonest/167002)
**Author:** [@1whopontificates](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1whopontificates)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonest/167002 "2003-04-07T14:26:19Z")
I was reading along in one of Cecil’s columns (“Do bathtubs drain counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?”) when I came across the final paragraph and read: Commonest? Commonest? It made me cringe. I wouldn’t call… --- ## [Cecil/Ed duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-ed-duality/166666)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2003, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-ed-duality/166666 "2003-04-07T09:34:19Z")
Ed writes part of this staff column: How can light be both a wave and a particle? but doesn’t come across as especially knowledgeable about the topic. He’s mostly asking questions that one would expect Cecil to know the … --- ## [Camel Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camel-spider/166911)
**Author:** [@USTATennis89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USTATennis89)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camel-spider/166911 "2003-04-06T23:03:19Z")
Thank you for clearing that issue up. Those 3 things are quite possibly some of the most horrifying things i have ever heard. I am completely terrified of spiders, but now I won’t be thinking one will eat me from the ins… --- ## [Is there a Holy Grail?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-holy-grail/166460)
**Author:** [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-holy-grail/166460 "2003-04-06T06:30:26Z")
In this response, http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030404.html Cecil says there is absolutely no “Holy Grail”, no chalice from the last supper which is the subject of legend and myth. I have no doubt about the myth … --- ## [Wave particle duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wave-particle-duality/166656)
**Author:** [@ihumpher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ihumpher)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wave-particle-duality/166656 "2003-04-06T04:57:35Z")
Wave particle duality is much more complicated then some of these threads make it seem. The confusion about whether or not light is a wave or a particle comes from a misunderstanding about what particles are. All matter … --- ## [Sherlock Holmes and the Seven Percent Solution - Straight Dope Style](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-and-the-seven-percent-solution-straight-dope-style/166672)
**Author:** [@Lupanox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lupanox)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sherlock-holmes-and-the-seven-percent-solution-straight-dope-style/166672 "2003-04-06T04:50:20Z")
While I simply loved the recent staff article on Sherlock Holmes (found here ) I did notice that Dex left out one glaring argument for why The Seven Percent Solution should be completely disregarded. As anyone who has… --- ## [The Ark of the Covenant](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ark-of-the-covenant/166454)
**Author:** [@japastor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japastor)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ark-of-the-covenant/166454 "2003-04-04T21:15:07Z")
In the 4/4/2003 column on the Holy Grail, Cecil says “the Grail-as-mystical-object doesn’t appear in ancient Christian texts–unlike, say, the Ark of the Covenant.” Um, Cecil, I’m not 100% sure about this, but I believe … --- ## [The Four-Color Map Problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-color-map-problem/139091)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-color-map-problem/139091 "2003-04-04T17:15:45Z")
Cecil’s Column on the four-color map problem. Note that the column was written in 1984, and that the research in question dates to 1976. The column begs two simple questions: Is the four-color map problem still solve… --- ## [Why is Satan often shown as having goatlike features?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-satan-often-shown-as-having-goatlike-features/164124)
**Author:** [@lord\_arach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lord_arach)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-satan-often-shown-as-having-goatlike-features/164124 "2003-04-04T16:03:12Z")
This actually came about while Christianity was still trying to convert everyone on the planet. Most pagan civilizations were in the practice of worshipping a horned god. Greece had Pan. Celts had Cernunnos. In order to … --- ## [Why do people clink their glasses together after a toast?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-clink-their-glasses-together-after-a-toast/164322)
**Author:** [@Heather\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heather_R)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2003, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-clink-their-glasses-together-after-a-toast/164322 "2003-04-04T10:59:05Z")
I have actually heard that people clink glasses while sharing a drink for the purpose of including all five senses with the experience. When you share a drink with someone, you TASTE the drink, you SMELL the drink’s fra… --- ## [RE: Why are we in space?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-are-we-in-space/160370)
**Author:** [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-why-are-we-in-space/160370 "2003-04-04T04:23:29Z")
Lots of reasons, which have been spelled out in many other posts, but which deserve to be collected together. Because we must Over ten year ago, the discovery of an ancient impact crater in Mexico and subsequent exhau… --- ## [Tunguska Explosion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunguska-explosion/166327)
**Author:** [@BlueMit11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMit11)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunguska-explosion/166327 "2003-04-04T03:37:24Z")
Concerning the article about theTunguska Explosion, Cecil failed to mention the theory that this explosion resulted from Nikola Tesla’s experiment with his particle beam tower. That’s a shame-I saw the article and got a… --- ## [Comments on "Why does the same side of the moon always face the earth?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-why-does-the-same-side-of-the-moon-always-face-the-earth/158247)
**Author:** [@jbock220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbock220)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-why-does-the-same-side-of-the-moon-always-face-the-earth/158247 "2003-04-03T22:38:56Z")
Just thought i’d throw these out there since were talking about why the moons motions are the way they are… There are some theories to the effect of the moon being a chunk of earth or a celestial body smashing in to the… --- ## [Camel Spiders](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camel-spiders/165706)
**Author:** [@stofsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stofsky)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camel-spiders/165706 "2003-04-03T15:04:32Z")
Link Tell that to the male mantis! :eek: --- ## [I don't get the Levis' drawing.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-levis-drawing/166037)
**Author:** [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-the-levis-drawing/166037 "2003-04-03T04:57:12Z")
I do not get the meaning of the graphic which accompanies Cecil’s explanation about Levis’ stitching. The column is here. It shows a heavy person in a pair of jeans wearing cowboy boots. Fine. Instead of a torso or h… --- ## [Why does the remote work if I point it at the TV's reflection in a mirror?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-remote-work-if-i-point-it-at-the-tvs-reflection-in-a-mirror/157396)
**Author:** [@emiller28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emiller28)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [April 2, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-remote-work-if-i-point-it-at-the-tvs-reflection-in-a-mirror/157396 "2003-04-02T22:49:36Z")
I think it’s pretty clear from reading this that erroneously programming your remote could accidentally turn people into stone. Now, if only we could get that Midas touch thing working… --- ## [Cecil's IQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-iq/164532)
**Author:** [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [April 2, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-iq/164532 "2003-04-02T18:48:18Z")
Well it is no doubt that Cecil is quite an inteligent one, if not the most. But what is his IQ? And how old is Cecil. Just wondering… --- ## [carlos casteneda?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carlos-casteneda/165816)
**Author:** [@rezwar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rezwar)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 2, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carlos-casteneda/165816 "2003-04-02T13:15:06Z")
anybody think he was real? :dubious: :smack: --- ## [Flying the Atlanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-the-atlanic/164182)
**Author:** [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 2, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-the-atlanic/164182 "2003-04-02T06:19:52Z")
I’m almost afraid to challenge Cecil on one of his facts, but this can’t be resisted. The Hindenburg, on her last flight, was not commanded by Dr. Eckener as stated in the column, but instead by a Captain Max Pruss. Dr… --- ## [Why is Visible light visible..](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-visible-light-visible/164563)
**Author:** [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [April 2, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-visible-light-visible/164563 "2003-04-02T06:08:35Z")
In today’s column (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mvisiblelight.html) Karen of the SDSTAFF says basically that it’s because the Sun puts out most of it’s energy in those spectra that the receptors of most creatures … --- ## [The big apple](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-apple/164015)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 1, 2003, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-apple/164015 "2003-04-01T06:17:16Z")
The article comes from the Society for New York City History, Education Committee http://salwen.com/snych.html. We have to take it that they got to the bottom of the barrel on this. When and how did New York City come… --- ## [Cecil and Syphilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-and-syphilis/163245)
**Author:** [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 1, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-and-syphilis/163245 "2003-04-01T04:45:50Z")
No, not a personal comment! :slight\_smile: Just wondering about a contradiction I see in two of Cecil’s columns. In “The amazing history of chewing gum” (link) it says: The chewing gum habit goes back to the Indians,… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=220) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=222)