# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=237 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 238 --- ## [Why is Cecil putting words in people's mouths?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cecil-putting-words-in-peoples-mouths/126759)
**Author:** [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cecil-putting-words-in-peoples-mouths/126759 "2002-09-08T00:13:43Z")
In a column from last week, we have the following exchange: In a column from early July, Cecil seemed to jump to the conclusion that the letter-writer had jumped to a conclusion. All the guy did was point out that no… --- ## [Marie Antoinette and French Fries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marie-antoinette-and-french-fries/127032)
**Author:** [@CEMX86SD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CEMX86SD)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2002, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marie-antoinette-and-french-fries/127032 "2002-09-06T02:49:55Z")
In Cecil’s article on French Fries he says, “But she decided to take a break from eating cake…” I have found several references that the whole Marie Antoinette saying “If they don’t have bread, let them eat cake!!” bit … --- ## [On the Fahrenheit scale, why is 32 freezing and 212 boiling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-fahrenheit-scale-why-is-32-freezing-and-212-boiling/49788)
**Author:** [@AG9Y](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AG9Y)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-fahrenheit-scale-why-is-32-freezing-and-212-boiling/49788 "2002-09-05T17:14:44Z")
I remember being told this by my science teacher, Mr. Rockwell, way back in high school. Mr. Fahrenheit needed a way to calibrate his thermometers. What he used was a glass of ice, and his body temperature. He would put … --- ## [What came first, dick or Dick?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-dick-or-dick/125151)
**Author:** [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-came-first-dick-or-dick/125151 "2002-09-05T07:13:21Z")
In this article, dick or Dick? Was it just me, or was the answer in the first sentence? Hard ruler (from Heard and Ric) seems to be a logical leap to dick (or Dick). The bigger question is, why would anyone GO by “Di… --- ## [the lowly potato and french cuisine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowly-potato-and-french-cuisine/127074)
**Author:** [@pufnstuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pufnstuff)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2002, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowly-potato-and-french-cuisine/127074 "2002-09-05T03:05:30Z")
Being both a sometime practicer of the culinary arts and a modest french speaker, I thought I had to correct you on one point. A little elemantary research might yield that the potato in french is the pomme de terre. I … --- ## [French Fries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-fries/126998)
**Author:** [@Bluealyson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluealyson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-fries/126998 "2002-09-04T17:58:44Z")
Sorry to be the one to do it, but my Belgian host family would never forgive me if I didn’t set the record straight. This story is going to sound apocryphal, but only because I’ve forgotten some of the details. I’ve he… --- ## [Foods in the bible](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-in-the-bible/126801)
**Author:** [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2002, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-in-the-bible/126801 "2002-09-04T16:25:43Z")
In Dex’s interesting article on the origin of the French Fry at http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfrenchfry.html he mentions in passing that “The Protestants in northern Ireland and Scotland refused to plant \[potatoes… --- ## [Uncle Cecil and the embalmed body.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-cecil-and-the-embalmed-body/126585)
**Author:** [@andydufresne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andydufresne)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-cecil-and-the-embalmed-body/126585 "2002-09-04T05:16:21Z")
I hope this is the proper forum for this as it’s my first time visiting the Straight Dope. First of all I don’t want to sound like I’m defending funeral directors. But a couple of things you said are just not true. In… --- ## [Cowboy Hats? Mongols? Fnord?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-hats-mongols-fnord/120388)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-hats-mongols-fnord/120388 "2002-09-03T19:06:18Z")
In this Staff Report– http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtengallonhat.html We learn that cowboy hats were worn by Mongols– And in this article by The Master— http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_016.html We le… --- ## [women getting paid less](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-getting-paid-less/125244)
**Author:** [@ruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruth)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-getting-paid-less/125244 "2002-09-03T16:56:08Z")
Of course women get paid less in many of the lower end jobs! Every time you hear some woman say “I only took this job to make some extra spending money” or “I was bored since my kids left home so I went back to work”, th… --- ## [Window jumpers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-jumpers/126257)
**Author:** [@goddessodd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goddessodd)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-jumpers/126257 "2002-09-03T03:26:20Z")
Comment on Cecil’s column: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020830.html I am not sure of the historical accuracy of this story, but I have heard that here in Orlando, one speculator did attempt to throw himself out a… --- ## [reasons for innie/outie navel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-innie-outie-navel/125196)
**Author:** [@Rhapsody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhapsody)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2002, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-innie-outie-navel/125196 "2002-09-02T05:49:02Z")
I may be mistaken but I believe the reason some people have “innie” and some have “outie” navels is due to the fact that the navel of an “outie” owner is not directly attached to the abdominal wall as it usually is. Basi… --- ## [Typo in Plant DNA article](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typo-in-plant-dna-article/126333)
**Author:** [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typo-in-plant-dna-article/126333 "2002-09-01T20:24:53Z")
In the last sentence of the “identify plants by their DNA” article at http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mplantdna.html, ol’ Doug and/or Colibri accidentally misspelled “riflip” as “riplip”. This conjured up images of … --- ## [Did Mussolini use castor oil as an instrument of torture?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-use-castor-oil-as-an-instrument-of-torture/126399)
**Author:** [@Dratman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dratman)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-use-castor-oil-as-an-instrument-of-torture/126399 "2002-08-31T15:01:17Z")
(The original column is located at http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_028.html) This unfortunate use of castor oil is portrayed in Federico Fellini’s wonderful film Amarcord (1973). The dose of castor oil in that c… --- ## [Poisonous Potatos](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisonous-potatos/126256)
**Author:** [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2002, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisonous-potatos/126256 "2002-08-31T07:54:11Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfrenchfry.html Potatos are poisonous. Well, at least the sprouts are, as they contain alkalines. So, there was good reason to believe they were poisonous, especially in those days w… --- ## [Indian Corn vs Indian Giver](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-corn-vs-indian-giver/125971)
**Author:** [@Machiavelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machiavelli)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indian-corn-vs-indian-giver/125971 "2002-08-30T20:56:45Z")
Having recently gone back to drink from the firehose of Cecil’s wisdom in the archives, I’ve found something thats been bothering me a bit. In article http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_102.html on Romans not havin… --- ## [Bush affair?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-affair/126270)
**Author:** [@darvijen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darvijen)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-affair/126270 "2002-08-30T20:20:58Z")
Hello all… saw Cecil’s column about a possible Bush affair… Thought this might clear some things up. :slight\_smile: http://glossynews.com/082102/bush.htm --- ## [The cloning of apples](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cloning-of-apples/126082)
**Author:** [@Zubrowka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zubrowka)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2002, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cloning-of-apples/126082 "2002-08-30T13:19:09Z")
Just a little smart-ass note to point out that plant do reproduce asexually in the wild (how can it be wild AND asexual beats me though) thus identification could be made to identify a patch or colony and not an individu… --- ## [Ship ahoy!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ahoy/124384)
**Author:** [@Ian\_Orchard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_Orchard)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2002, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-ahoy/124384 "2002-08-30T12:42:29Z")
The nautical call may be used because the last vowel resonates nicely to make the call carry across the water. Much like the Southern (?) USA call “soooEEEEE” I guess, from the french ‘suis’ or the Australian attention a… --- ## [So, legally, what can you do with a corpse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-legally-what-can-you-do-with-a-corpse/126121)
**Author:** [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2002, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-legally-what-can-you-do-with-a-corpse/126121 "2002-08-29T23:18:08Z")
In If I dug up a body, what would it look (and smell) like, Cecil mentions that by law a body does not have to be embalmed. Are there are other services a mortician performs that aren’t required? Do I even need a mortici… --- ## [Inuit and physiology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inuit-and-physiology/125720)
**Author:** [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inuit-and-physiology/125720 "2002-08-29T21:13:54Z")
This is about the “why do Eskimos people stay there?” column. Cecil says: To me this makes sense, and when you look at other populations it is, at times, hard to deny the logic of that statement. For example. if you … --- ## [Plant DNA murder conviction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-dna-murder-conviction/126108)
**Author:** [@AmbushBug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmbushBug)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-dna-murder-conviction/126108 "2002-08-29T15:51:56Z")
Can plants be identified by their DNA the way humans can? A quick google search based on a remembered TV show, revealed such items as this page, which contains many non-human examples of DNA testing. The remembered epi… --- ## [Cocaine in Coca Cola](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cocaine-in-coca-cola/125907)
**Author:** [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cocaine-in-coca-cola/125907 "2002-08-28T19:20:53Z")
This is in regards to the question answered by Cecil here: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_033.html “Shortly thereafter Coke quietly switched from fresh to “spent” coca leaves (i.e., what’s left over after the c… --- ## [Dick](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick/125149)
**Author:** [@kid\_A.T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kid_A.T)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick/125149 "2002-08-28T03:32:51Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdick.html Two entries in the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: Dick. That happened in the reign of the queen Dick, i.e. never : said of any absurd old story. I am as queer as … --- ## [flatworms and contagious ignorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatworms-and-contagious-ignorance/119610)
**Author:** [@DRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRS)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2002, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flatworms-and-contagious-ignorance/119610 "2002-08-28T00:05:28Z")
The flatworm report is a nice example of how the fascinating but unfortunately false factoid can travel much further than the straight dope. That flatworms are proof of edible memory is one of the things that I “knew” u… --- ## [CKDextHavn reply to 'is pi an exact number'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ckdexthavn-reply-to-is-pi-an-exact-number/122098)
**Author:** [@robot-penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robot-penguin)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [August 27, 2002, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ckdexthavn-reply-to-is-pi-an-exact-number/122098 "2002-08-27T21:36:32Z")
In CKDextHavn’s over-complicated explanation of the definition of pi it was neglected to mention that pi is not an exact number NOR an infinitum. Pi can be calculated with the simple expression of which, on simple cal… --- ## [What is the true origin of 86'ing something in a restruant?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-origin-of-86ing-something-in-a-restruant/123531)
**Author:** [@captainolev](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captainolev)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 27, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-true-origin-of-86ing-something-in-a-restruant/123531 "2002-08-27T15:52:25Z")
While working in the restruant industry i have come across the phrase of 86’ed. While I have heard many a theories and ideas on how it started i still do not know the origional birth of this phrase. Help me!!! --- ## [How Many g's Does my laundry pull during its spin cycle?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-gs-does-my-laundry-pull-during-its-spin-cycle/125459)
**Author:** [@Mastertypo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mastertypo)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-gs-does-my-laundry-pull-during-its-spin-cycle/125459 "2002-08-25T15:30:48Z")
Speaking of which, my ferret got into the laundry one day and almost died.:frowning: But luckily, I found it, and he is still with us to this day. (this happened last year\* --- ## [Medical experts wanted! Decapitation and brain death.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-experts-wanted-decapitation-and-brain-death/125433)
**Author:** [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2002, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-experts-wanted-decapitation-and-brain-death/125433 "2002-08-25T02:27:54Z")
Well, we’re talking about Cecil’s first try at it in his book Then he wroteCecil’s updated column(1998) , wherein he allowed as how some VietNam Vet’s story caused him to “…repent my previous skepticism.” There have … --- ## [Progress on the whole parkway/driveway issue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progress-on-the-whole-parkway-driveway-issue/124219)
**Author:** [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progress-on-the-whole-parkway-driveway-issue/124219 "2002-08-24T21:44:44Z")
Quoth Cecil: If you’ll permit me to wax philosophical for a moment, this is the very essence of drivewayness–to enable you to drive from the street to your garage. Moreover, you can park on the parkway, if you’re willin… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=236) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=238)