# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=247 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 248 --- ## [M. Le Petomane](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-le-petomane/102104)
**Author:** [@hyjyljyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyjyljyj)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2002, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/m-le-petomane/102104 "2002-04-16T15:45:26Z")
Your excellent bit on Monsieur Bujol, aka Le Petomane http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_394 was entertaining to read. I have read in a couple of places that this gentleman, who would entertain audiences at the Moul… --- ## [Dungeons and Dragons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dungeons-and-dragons/100047)
**Author:** [@Nekronn99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nekronn99)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2002, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dungeons-and-dragons/100047 "2002-04-16T10:15:19Z")
Hi there Cecil! Usually, I agree with most of your explanations about these mysteries of life, but your explanation of D&D was obviously cursory and glib. Dungeons and Dragons is a complicated game, granted, however, i… --- ## [Vows](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vows/103877)
**Author:** [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2002, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vows/103877 "2002-04-16T09:43:39Z")
Column. No answer to the interesting question of whether or not vocal cords can atrophy over time. Any ideas? And while you’re at it, do any other parts fall off from disuse? --- ## [When will California fall into the sea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-california-fall-into-the-sea/103845)
**Author:** [@bferullo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bferullo)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2002, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-california-fall-into-the-sea/103845 "2002-04-16T00:05:50Z")
–from http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_157a.html My question is this: wouldn’t the fact that continental crust is less dense than seafloor crust prevent it from subducting, thereby causing Los Angeles to collide… --- ## [Seatbelts on Buses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seatbelts-on-buses/103497)
**Author:** [@bluefalcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluefalcon)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seatbelts-on-buses/103497 "2002-04-14T15:48:21Z")
Okay, I was in a bus accident in October of 2000. Our bus driver had a case of leadfoot and went around an almost right angle curve at full speed. Anyway we went up on two wheels ,at which point i wasn’t really concern… --- ## [Seven deadly sins error](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185)
**Author:** [@M.Peterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Peterson)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185 "2002-04-14T04:56:22Z")
Has Cecil (the world’s smartest human) ever admitted to making a mistake? Even to a relatively insignificant one? On June 1, 2001 he responded to a question concerning the seven deadly sins. In this response, he made ref… --- ## [Suttee column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suttee-column/102010)
**Author:** [@C\_J\_Strolin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_J_Strolin)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suttee-column/102010 "2002-04-13T16:41:53Z")
I’ve read and enjoyed and been enriched by The Straight Dope for over 10 years but I have to say that I am appalled at the closing comment in the article about the Indian practice of suttee. Completely ignoring the com… --- ## [Ramen noodles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodles/103084)
**Author:** [@Twin\_Tattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twin_Tattoo)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramen-noodles/103084 "2002-04-13T15:13:03Z")
As a follow-up question to your Ramen noodle column, what is the cheapest heathliest brand of Ramen noodles? I’d rather not have so much salt and fat in the ones I eat. --- ## [Monkey Brains, the breakfast of champions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-brains-the-breakfast-of-champions/103070)
**Author:** [@Twin\_Tattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twin_Tattoo)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-brains-the-breakfast-of-champions/103070 "2002-04-12T20:11:47Z")
As a follow-up to the monkey brain meal post, Cecil and SD researchers should get their hands on “Faces of Death” videos. In the late '80s while in college, I remember watching one that showed a monkey served up this wa… --- ## [The whole nine yards](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-nine-yards/102227)
**Author:** [@skyward22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skyward22)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-whole-nine-yards/102227 "2002-04-12T18:07:53Z")
In World War II the ammunition belts in airplanes were 27 feet or 9 yards long. When you used all your ammo on one enemy plane it was said that he got the whole nine yards. :wally --- ## [What's with cecil and bugs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-cecil-and-bugs/103197)
**Author:** [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2002, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-cecil-and-bugs/103197 "2002-04-12T17:47:25Z")
All we seem to get these days are questions about cockroaches and other crawly things. Is this some sort of perverse obsession? And, while I’m here, what’s with the What’s up with… questions? Can’t anyone phrase a que… --- ## [Sati Column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sati-column/102854)
**Author:** [@Koala1114](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koala1114)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sati-column/102854 "2002-04-12T16:38:14Z")
I was wondering, if an Idian woman is pregant at the time of her husband’s death is she still expected to kill herself? If not, does she have to after the baby is born? --- ## [Re: Indian sterilization](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-indian-sterilization/103043)
**Author:** [@man\_in\_black529](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/man_in_black529)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-indian-sterilization/103043 "2002-04-12T16:35:33Z")
The fact is that we honestly don’t know the Indian numbers. During the seventies, a lot of whites became wannabe Indians, known to Indians as “twinkies.” The issue got even worse. Do the names Harley Swiftdeer, Wallace B… --- ## [Dashing Cockroaches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashing-cockroaches/103053)
**Author:** [@ChordedZither](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChordedZither)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2002, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashing-cockroaches/103053 "2002-04-12T03:21:22Z")
In this classic column, Cecil suggests that That’s something of a surprise to me. Many times I have come home at night, unlocked and opened the house door, then caught sight of a sudden flurry of movement as a roach da… --- ## [Pius XII controversey](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pius-xii-controversey/102901)
**Author:** [@Frank7748124](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank7748124)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pius-xii-controversey/102901 "2002-04-11T18:08:13Z")
Wow! Cecil, I just read the achive column “Who was the worst Catholic saint?” I was amazed that someone who tries to deliver “the Straight Dope” to questions could stumble so badly by referencing a book that is so histor… --- ## [Chocolate's and Dogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chocolates-and-dogs/102352)
**Author:** [@Maludious115](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maludious115)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chocolates-and-dogs/102352 "2002-04-09T21:02:33Z")
I read a post on toxicity of chocolate and dogs. I understand the possibilities of death due to a dog eating chocolate, but seriously name me one dog that has ever died of eating chocolate. --- ## [Sneezing rhymes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-rhymes/102434)
**Author:** [@musicman70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicman70)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sneezing-rhymes/102434 "2002-04-08T22:28:52Z")
Here’s another rhyme that deals with sneezes: One for a wish Two for a kiss Three for an invitation Four for a letter from your love and Five for a proclamation --- ## [absinthe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/90546)
**Author:** [@phartizan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phartizan)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absinthe/90546 "2002-04-08T02:08:41Z")
Cecil doesn’t tell us what absinthe tastes like, aside from being bitter. Did it have an aniseed flavor? The French still drink an aniseed flavored aperitif; like absinthe, it’s also diluted with water, which changes the… --- ## [Was the legendary liqueur absinthe hallucinogenic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-legendary-liqueur-absinthe-hallucinogenic/89743)
**Author:** [@JoeTheFoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeTheFoot)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2002, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-legendary-liqueur-absinthe-hallucinogenic/89743 "2002-04-08T01:55:20Z")
I’m a Chicagoan living in southern France. I’ve tried the modern absinthe and there’s nothing that special about it. It’s 45° alcohol (90 proof). It tastes like liquorice. I’ve met a number of ‘traditional’ absinthe dri… --- ## [Why does Cecil hate cats?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cecil-hate-cats/100194)
**Author:** [@LiquidLobotomy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiquidLobotomy)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cecil-hate-cats/100194 "2002-04-07T20:12:33Z")
Why the hostility toward our small furry friends? In several columns he has made disparaging remarks such as: “… the whole feline race would surely have perished long ago, and good riddance.” located in: http://www.s… --- ## [Are the yellow lights in traffic signals briefer than they used to be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-yellow-lights-in-traffic-signals-briefer-than-they-used-to-be/101837)
**Author:** [@GoneTheSun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoneTheSun)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-yellow-lights-in-traffic-signals-briefer-than-they-used-to-be/101837 "2002-04-06T15:24:33Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_028a.html Cecil certainly missed the boat on this column. Apparently he hasn?t been reading any newspapers or automobile related periodicals (Car and Driver and Motortrend, most … --- ## [Tokyo subway pushers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokyo-subway-pushers/102004)
**Author:** [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2002, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokyo-subway-pushers/102004 "2002-04-05T23:22:34Z")
Some of Cecil’s columns are getting out of date. The article aboutTokyo subway “pushers”, for instance. I rode Tokyo subways every day in the late 80s, and still ride them once in a while. I have never seen an actual Pus… --- ## [Pesticide signs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pesticide-signs/101492)
**Author:** [@ASBEntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASBEntropy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2002, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pesticide-signs/101492 "2002-04-05T22:24:19Z")
Get with the program, Cecil. Nobody is going to buy those little warning signs if they don’t have to–believe me, the regulations requiring them have had a heck of a time getting through most state regulatory programs. I … --- ## [Its true - traffic lights around here have about 2 seconds of green](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-true-traffic-lights-around-here-have-about-2-seconds-of-green/101989)
**Author:** [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-true-traffic-lights-around-here-have-about-2-seconds-of-green/101989 "2002-04-05T19:21:43Z")
I don’t know about anywhere else, but here in Knoxville (I’ve never seen a city with more history or less future) about half the lights are timed to turn flashing red after about 4 seconds. They keep flashing red for a w… --- ## [With regards to the Breaking of Penises](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-regards-to-the-breaking-of-penises/101915)
**Author:** [@Mistteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mistteak)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2002, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/with-regards-to-the-breaking-of-penises/101915 "2002-04-05T19:02:04Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_426.html My brother actually broke his penis. The other female members of my family all have an idea of how this happened. BUT the official version is that while waking suddenly i… --- ## [If a word is used, it's a word...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-word-is-used-its-a-word/101047)
**Author:** [@boudicca13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boudicca13)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2002, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-word-is-used-its-a-word/101047 "2002-04-05T15:28:27Z")
I just finished reading Cecil’s column, “Is a pregnant goldfish called a twit?”, and It kinda struck me - if there are, say, a couple hundred people who use the word “twit” to refer to a ‘pregnant’ goldfish, then doesn’t… --- ## [Einstein's brain is not in KC!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/einsteins-brain-is-not-in-kc/101981)
**Author:** [@littlelave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlelave)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/einsteins-brain-is-not-in-kc/101981 "2002-04-05T14:41:03Z")
Is Einstein’s brain kept in a bottle in a small-town doctor’s office near Kansas City? No. Actually, I remember seeing a story about this on the ABC station here in Wichita. A local reporter went to a home of some man… --- ## [Nuked cockroaches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuked-cockroaches/63577)
**Author:** [@SnowCat66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnowCat66)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2002, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuked-cockroaches/63577 "2002-04-05T06:50:27Z")
I was skimming through some old Straight Dope articles when I came across the one about the cockroach in the microwave. There was one possibility which immediately came to mind: I have always heard that cockroaches survi… --- ## [What is consciousness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-consciousness/101199)
**Author:** [@Father\_Zeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Father_Zeus)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-consciousness/101199 "2002-04-04T22:27:09Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990611.html Here’s a definition from a book on consciousness I have been reading… It is outragous and slanders the gods! I will hold back my fury… but my inbred cousin on mt. sin … --- ## [Lotsa Flies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotsa-flies/100254)
**Author:** [@grg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grg)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2002, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotsa-flies/100254 "2002-04-04T22:23:22Z")
Hmmm, Cecil’s a bit too generous with the number of flies after 11 years. (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_022.html) You can’t have 9.550892 x 10^357’th power flies, for lotsa reasons: (1) There are only arou… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=246) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=248)