# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=224 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 225 --- ## [Tube through the earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tube-through-the-earth/158770)
**Author:** [@LabRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LabRat)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tube-through-the-earth/158770 "2003-03-07T15:36:47Z")
Is it just me or did Cecil miss something important in his response to this question? Coriolis effect would smear you against the side of the tube as you descended/ascended. --- ## [TV remotes & mirrors](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-remotes-mirrors/156516)
**Author:** [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-remotes-mirrors/156516 "2003-03-07T15:36:09Z")
Why does the remote work if I point it at the TV’s reflection in a mirror? Keyless car remotes and alarms use radio, not infra-red. The background infra-red level from sunlight would swamp the output from a tiny infr… --- ## [When will California fall off into the sea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-california-fall-off-into-the-sea/159353)
**Author:** [@brantgoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brantgoose)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-california-fall-off-into-the-sea/159353 "2003-03-06T22:57:13Z")
There is a simple answer to this question which does not involve the vagueries of seismic prediction: Not soon enough for some, too soon for others. “Nudge Nudge :wink: :wink: You know what I mean? You know what I mean… --- ## [Trepenation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trepenation/159474)
**Author:** [@green\_disk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_disk)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trepenation/159474 "2003-03-06T13:40:44Z")
Ok… I am not on to say who is right or wrong, and I do understand that you had said that trepenation was once used as a surgery to relieve pressure…etc… I do a lot of studying on my own and I have found that, yes Trepen… --- ## [alignment of planets: solar-centerd arcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alignment-of-planets-solar-centerd-arcs/154605)
**Author:** [@ChordedZither](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChordedZither)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alignment-of-planets-solar-centerd-arcs/154605 "2003-03-04T23:49:15Z")
In Would alignment of the planets cause catastrophe?, Cecil suggests that planetary alignments can be discounted because, even when planets appear to be aligned from Earth, they are typically spread across wide solar-cen… --- ## [Warmer on the top of tall buildings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warmer-on-the-top-of-tall-buildings/157664)
**Author:** [@Penumbra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penumbra)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warmer-on-the-top-of-tall-buildings/157664 "2003-03-04T22:47:00Z")
Cecil said that it is cooler on the tops of tall buildings because the air gets cooler the higher up you go. However, inside the building, as hot air rises wouldn’t all the hot air from the lower floors rise to the top o… --- ## [Another sighting of Moonlighting-like Secret Coded Message](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-sighting-of-moonlighting-like-secret-coded-message/158760)
**Author:** [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-sighting-of-moonlighting-like-secret-coded-message/158760 "2003-03-04T02:09:22Z")
I realize that this article was written about 17 years ago, but I’ve finally witnessed a similar event. During this past week, ESPN (on Cablevision in Morris County, NJ) had a set of numbers and letters printed over the … --- ## [getting rid of cockroaches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-cockroaches/158166)
**Author:** [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-rid-of-cockroaches/158166 "2003-03-02T19:13:51Z")
don’t know how true this is, but i heard that cockroaches cannot stand chalk. Ordinary chalk that school teachers used to use when i was a nipper. Just draw a line around every opening where you think the roaches are com… --- ## [kemosabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/156904)
**Author:** [@vjg2nd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vjg2nd)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/156904 "2003-03-02T16:42:57Z")
Todays New York Times Sunday Crossword puzzle clue is"Language in which “kemosabe” means “white shirt”? The answer as supplied by Nancy Salomon the creater of the puzzle and Will Shortz the editor is Apache. That is as g… --- ## [comments on "washboarding"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-washboarding/158245)
**Author:** [@jbock220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbock220)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comments-on-washboarding/158245 "2003-03-01T02:34:51Z")
I live in Southern CA. For a number years I have been heading out towards edwards airforce base for motorcycle riding and all around tomfoolery. I believe in the response to the question “What causes the “washboard” ef… --- ## [Pollution and automobiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollution-and-automobiles/158216)
**Author:** [@LarryBobb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LarryBobb)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pollution-and-automobiles/158216 "2003-02-28T22:45:17Z")
I was reading Cecil’s article on hemp today (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_131.html) and one of the comments that he made struck me. It was "There’s been talk of using hemp in particleboard and such. But take i… --- ## [Tesla's Death Ray](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-death-ray/149981)
**Author:** [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-death-ray/149981 "2003-02-28T18:24:15Z")
Dear Cecil I know you’ve discussed Tesla before (What’s up with “broadcast power”?, 04-May-1990), but I think the really interesting question is, did he fire a test of a death ray at the North Pole that accidently hit R… --- ## [Porn Stamina](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-stamina/150612)
**Author:** [@Ooze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ooze)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porn-stamina/150612 "2003-02-28T17:27:40Z")
I hate to rain on your parade, but I spent four years in the porn industry as a cameraman, shooting over 200 movies. Guess what? The guys really do last that long. A typical porn scene is shot in one take, and often edi… --- ## [Hitler's testicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitlers-testicle/156121)
**Author:** [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2003, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitlers-testicle/156121 "2003-02-28T07:47:35Z")
Minor quibble on the Hitler’s testicle column. It says: “Moreover, the \[Russian\] autopsy report said Hitler’s body showed no external wounds, even though all the German witnesses mentioned a shot through the head.” I’… --- ## [Anne Boleyn's Body](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anne-boleyns-body/145573)
**Author:** [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anne-boleyns-body/145573 "2003-02-28T03:32:27Z")
I read that Anne Boleyn had six fingers on one hand, and even had specially tailored gloves to hid the deforminity. Furthermore, I also read that she had three breasts. What truth is there to this? --- ## [Groggy after oversleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groggy-after-oversleeping/156861)
**Author:** [@b3286](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/b3286)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groggy-after-oversleeping/156861 "2003-02-27T23:01:09Z")
Now i may not be as smart as Cecil, but I do remember reading that the reason you are groggy after oversleeping is because of the hightened levels of melatonin in the system. Melatonin, as you may already know, is prod… --- ## [star wars and norse mythology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-and-norse-mythology/155751)
**Author:** [@cbfog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbfog)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-and-norse-mythology/155751 "2003-02-27T19:39:40Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mstarwar.html i was reading this and the comment that luke skywalker was “luke s. lucas” caught my eye because i always thought that luke skywalker was a take on loki sky-traveler, th… --- ## [metals are cooler to touch than wood.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metals-are-cooler-to-touch-than-wood/157593)
**Author:** [@karan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karan)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metals-are-cooler-to-touch-than-wood/157593 "2003-02-27T00:56:54Z")
Sorry about this Cece, but your explanation as to why metals are cooler (or hotter), as the case (or climate), may be, isnt up to your usual mark. In cold weather, metals would be cooler than say, wood, rubber, cloth, o… --- ## [Re: Tanning and burning through glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-tanning-and-burning-through-glass/157174)
**Author:** [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-tanning-and-burning-through-glass/157174 "2003-02-26T16:01:20Z")
One point Cecil didn’t mention is that ordinary incandescent bulbs won’t tan (or burn either, unless you touch them). The filament doesn’t get nearly hot enough to produce significant UV. Link to column: Can you tan t… --- ## [lunar rotation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lunar-rotation/151665)
**Author:** [@ace22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ace22)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lunar-rotation/151665 "2003-02-26T05:36:16Z")
Just a quick question. I understand why lunar rotations sync up with their revolutions. Why don’t planetary rotations do the same with regards to the sun? Why doesn’t the same side of the earth face the sun all the time?… --- ## [Warning: mad squirrel disease](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-mad-squirrel-disease/99182)
**Author:** [@veg\_all](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veg_all)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-mad-squirrel-disease/99182 "2003-02-26T02:31:49Z")
It seems to me Cecil should have mentioned the fact that squirrel head eating, a common practice, apparently, in Kentucky and nearby reigions (I live, unfortunately, in southern Indiana, but, fortunately, have not been y… --- ## [Leap Years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leap-years/157284)
**Author:** [@ZooMetropolis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZooMetropolis)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leap-years/157284 "2003-02-25T18:08:39Z")
I thought that a leap year was every year that could be exactly divided by 4 (multiple of 4). But I was doing some research of the Doomsday Algorithm in this page and learned that the definition of a leap year was: T… --- ## [Why do some wine bottles have indented bottoms](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-wine-bottles-have-indented-bottoms/156721)
**Author:** [@carver42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carver42)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-wine-bottles-have-indented-bottoms/156721 "2003-02-25T15:45:21Z")
I have been at restaurants where “fancy” waiters pour wine with 3 fingers under the bottom of the bottle and their thumb in that dent. It looks elegant. --- ## [Measuring Snow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-snow/156162)
**Author:** [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-snow/156162 "2003-02-24T15:05:56Z")
All I can say is that How do they measure snowfall? is one of Cecil’s funniest columns ever. --- ## [Are the dittoheads taking over The Straight Dope too? Cecil makes a factual error](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dittoheads-taking-over-the-straight-dope-too-cecil-makes-a-factual-error/155138)
**Author:** [@DRomm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRomm)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-dittoheads-taking-over-the-straight-dope-too-cecil-makes-a-factual-error/155138 "2003-02-23T21:13:46Z")
In the column Was Bush’s great grandfather a Nazi? http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030214.html , Cecil not only sounds like a mindless dittohead but gets his facts wrong. The questioner was right, and Cecil was wro… --- ## [RE: What is sea level?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-what-is-sea-level/155693)
**Author:** [@LarryBobb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LarryBobb)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-what-is-sea-level/155693 "2003-02-23T20:03:39Z")
In http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_160.html Cecil states that the shape of the earth is an ellipsoid. Not to get too picky or anything, but isn’t an ellipsoid a 2-dimensional object? The description for the geome… --- ## [Re: Is red Fiestaware radioactive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-is-red-fiestaware-radioactive/156889)
**Author:** [@Indefatigable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indefatigable)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-is-red-fiestaware-radioactive/156889 "2003-02-23T18:53:36Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_099.html I’d contest the statement that “less than the normal background radiation you get from rocks and stuff”. Go find a Geiger-Mueller counter and aim it at a red Fiesta plate… --- ## [Latin, PIE, and even older stuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-pie-and-even-older-stuff/156816)
**Author:** [@Akatsukami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akatsukami)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-pie-and-even-older-stuff/156816 "2003-02-23T14:06:02Z")
There are a couple of points in bibliopage’s Staff Report, Many English words have Latin roots, but what are the roots of Latin? that I would take mild exception to. Thus, bibliophage writes: This is correct in a very… --- ## [prononciation of heathrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prononciation-of-heathrow/156847)
**Author:** [@dahood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dahood)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prononciation-of-heathrow/156847 "2003-02-23T02:51:38Z")
Re comment about how heathrow is pronounced in the item about busiest airport. Heathrow is only pronounced “EEF ROW” if you were born within the sound of Bow Bells. See if you can work that one out! --- ## [Washboard Roads](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-roads/156851)
**Author:** [@Omnivar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnivar)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washboard-roads/156851 "2003-02-23T02:48:23Z")
On the same day that SDSTAFF Hawk presented his explanation of the “washboard road” phenomenon, NPR presented a short “Earth Science” blurb about the same topic. Their explanation was a little weirder, saying that a tire… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=223) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=225)