# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=253 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 254 --- ## [Stars on the flag -- yet another goof](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-on-the-flag-yet-another-goof/90490)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2001, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-on-the-flag-yet-another-goof/90490 "2001-10-30T22:29:54Z")
Dear Cecil: A thread in GQ referenced the column How will stars be arranged on the flag if the U.S. ever has 51 states? in which you proclaim Cec, are you some kind of commie? Every true-blooded American knows that st… --- ## [Cleveland Cipangans](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-cipangans/89600)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2001, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-cipangans/89600 "2001-10-30T18:14:50Z")
In George’s recent Report on the origin of the term “Indians” for indigenous Americans, he comments: Now, I don’t know where Ohians are from, but most of the folks who root for Cleveland teams, however styled, are Ohioa… --- ## [Ohh...Gross](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563)
**Author:** [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 30, 2001, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohh-gross/87563 "2001-10-30T00:14:31Z")
Just read Cecil’s article Does flushing the toilet cause dirty water to be spewed around the bathroom? I have read most of Cecil’s old columns and don’t remember this one. How disgusting. My daughter learned about bacte… --- ## [New findings on shower curtain question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-findings-on-shower-curtain-question/73776)
**Author:** [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2001, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-findings-on-shower-curtain-question/73776 "2001-10-29T20:05:52Z")
Cecil’s job of fighting ignorance is hard work, but undoubtedly it is worth it watching the rest of the world occasionally claw their way into enlightenment. In this case, it is the famous ‘Why does the shower curtain bl… --- ## [MOVED THREAD: Was Reagan denied admission to the Communist Party for being too stupid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moved-thread-was-reagan-denied-admission-to-the-communist-party-for-being-too-stupid/90254)
**Author:** [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2001, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moved-thread-was-reagan-denied-admission-to-the-communist-party-for-being-too-stupid/90254 "2001-10-29T06:57:31Z")
The thread Was Reagan denied admission to the Communist Party for being too stupid? started by Anal Scurvy has been moved to the General Questions forum. bibliophage moderator GQ --- ## [French Foreign Legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-foreign-legion/88441)
**Author:** [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2001, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-foreign-legion/88441 "2001-10-29T06:04:43Z")
In regards to C.A.'s column: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/011019.html for interested parties I recommend for a swell read Christian Jennings’ “Mouthful of Rocks”: The only other comment I have is, if you watc… --- ## [Glowing in the Dark](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glowing-in-the-dark/89486)
**Author:** [@PStamler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PStamler)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2001, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glowing-in-the-dark/89486 "2001-10-28T20:55:23Z")
It’s worth noting, re. Cecil’s excellent summary, that Cerenkov radiation can also exist outside of nuclear-radiation contexts. Those of you old enough to remember vacuum tubes (or who still use them, like me) may rememb… --- ## [nursery rhyme = pirate recruitment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478)
**Author:** [@zoey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoey)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2001, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478 "2001-10-28T00:33:44Z")
re: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msixpence.html I don’t know if you’ve already come across this particular theory or not but according to http://www.Snopes.com the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Six Pence” was a c… --- ## [why is humpty dumpty portrayed as an egg?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-humpty-dumpty-portrayed-as-an-egg/89932)
**Author:** [@jgholz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jgholz)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2001, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-humpty-dumpty-portrayed-as-an-egg/89932 "2001-10-27T09:00:04Z")
this may not sound particularly persuading, but i thought i read an article in an old “boy’s life” magazine about the origins of nurserey rhymes. i could have sworn that the poem symbolized somebody’s falling out of favo… --- ## [Wile E. Coyote Column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wile-e-coyote-column/89810)
**Author:** [@Silverwing55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silverwing55)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2001, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wile-e-coyote-column/89810 "2001-10-27T01:26:18Z")
…FWIW, in the early 80s National Lampoon (when it was funny)did a technically perfect story called ‘Coyote v. Acme’, the account of Mr. Coyote’s lawsuit against the company and its products. The jury found for Acme at th… --- ## [What's the difference between a street, a road, an avenue, a boulevard, etc.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-street-a-road-an-avenue-a-boulevard-etc/88883)
**Author:** [@Yumanite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumanite)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2001, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-street-a-road-an-avenue-a-boulevard-etc/88883 "2001-10-25T19:04:11Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990423.html One evil abomination of a street suffix that was not mentioned by Cecil in this article was: stravenue. Yes, I said stravenue. Here in Tucson, we have stravenues. Appar… --- ## [In re: street names](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-street-names/88950)
**Author:** [@babaloo41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babaloo41)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-re-street-names/88950 "2001-10-25T12:58:52Z")
Be thankful you don’t live in St. Louis and have to put up with abomination known as Olive Street Road. Now how confusing can that be? My speculation is that as it gets farther out into the country it becomes Olive Stree… --- ## [Why are the Americans ruining our language?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-americans-ruining-our-language/89277)
**Author:** [@bmerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmerton)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 24, 2001, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-americans-ruining-our-language/89277 "2001-10-24T20:34:28Z")
Whilst I think that this website is interesting, I object to Cecil’s final comments about the usage of ‘different to’ as opposed to ‘different from’ and the way that he admonishes English speakers in the United Kingdom. … --- ## [I can crack my thumb twice!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-crack-my-thumb-twice/86506)
**Author:** [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2001, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-crack-my-thumb-twice/86506 "2001-10-23T12:05:27Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_305b.html I was able to crack my thumb (start the clock) 20 times(!) in 1 minute (on my windows 98 se clock). Yet Cecil says you won’t be able to crack the same joint for a while. … --- ## [Guinea pigs as guinea pigs.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guinea-pigs-as-guinea-pigs/87293)
**Author:** [@ahansen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ahansen)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2001, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guinea-pigs-as-guinea-pigs/87293 "2001-10-23T06:45:44Z")
In a sense, Cecil, you answered your own question with the reference to the “Last Supper,” (which brings up some interesting implications in and of itself.) In Victorian times until the mid-nineteenth century, Guinea pi… --- ## [street, avenue, etc](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/street-avenue-etc/88882)
**Author:** [@regnad\_kcin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/regnad_kcin)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2001, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/street-avenue-etc/88882 "2001-10-23T01:39:50Z")
As a resident of Guilford County, NC as mentioned in: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990423.html I quote: "Guilford County, North Carolina, prefers: North-south streets–street; east-west–avenue (take that, Man… --- ## [Civil Construction thread moved](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-construction-thread-moved/88866)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2001, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-construction-thread-moved/88866 "2001-10-22T15:23:57Z")
Moved to “Comments on Staff Reports”: Civil Construction (clean fill) --- ## [The evolution of hair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-evolution-of-hair/86547)
**Author:** [@SolomonGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolomonGrundy)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2001, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-evolution-of-hair/86547 "2001-10-22T09:26:16Z")
Why does (some) human hair grow indefinitely? Cecil kind of answered this question in one of his columns that I’m too lazy to look up right now – his answer was “to put bows in,” the idea being that having long hair allo… --- ## [Why do some wine bottles have indented bottoms?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-wine-bottles-have-indented-bottoms/82652)
**Author:** [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2001, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-wine-bottles-have-indented-bottoms/82652 "2001-10-22T01:03:03Z")
In todays question for cecil, - http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990305b.html - He states the reason for indented champagne bottles is to nestle the bottles during the process of making champagne the traditional way… --- ## [Mary Celeste--Great Column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-celeste-great-column/87743)
**Author:** [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2001, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-celeste-great-column/87743 "2001-10-22T00:01:46Z")
The new column by John Corrado was really good. I don’t have any facts to add, or any points to argue, or even any questions to ask. I just wanted to say how very complete and well-researched it was. Link to the column:… --- ## [Cannot locate Iceland/Greenland report](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannot-locate-iceland-greenland-report/88433)
**Author:** [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannot-locate-iceland-greenland-report/88433 "2001-10-19T18:37:36Z")
I don’t know if this is happening only to me, but I cannot get to the latest Staff Report, on Iceland and Greeland: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/micegreenland.html (I’m on the SD mailing list, so I don’t think t… --- ## [Edgar Cayce](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edgar-cayce/86584)
**Author:** [@razorraca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razorraca)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2001, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edgar-cayce/86584 "2001-10-19T17:26:03Z")
Actually I have read this before. But to someone who’s studied Cayce carefully, this whole article is so flawed its ridiculous. They are dead wrong about many things they were saying, I don’t know how they got their fact… --- ## [better late than never, spuggy.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-late-than-never-spuggy/88177)
**Author:** [@JimShaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimShaw)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2001, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-late-than-never-spuggy/88177 "2001-10-19T14:10:18Z")
While grazing through the archives, I found this little gem \>What’s the meaning of “Ollie, Ollie oxen go free”? \>22-Jun-1990 \>“All in, all in, spuggy in the tin.” \>One might inquire into the meaning of “spuggy,” but … --- ## [toilet aerosol](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-aerosol/87792)
**Author:** [@hfheller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hfheller)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2001, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-aerosol/87792 "2001-10-19T12:20:05Z")
I think I recall this guy. He said he never flushed in a public toilet by pushing the lever with his hand, just his elbow. Then, of course, he washes his hands. Well, I would welcome him into my home, shake his hand, and… --- ## [spider bites](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-bites/88327)
**Author:** [@hfheller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hfheller)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2001, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-bites/88327 "2001-10-19T11:58:37Z")
I was in Family Practice for over 15 years, and EVERYONE who came to the office with a mysterious skin lesion or a few number of lesions said, “Doc, I got a spider bite.” This is on a par with “Only a rusty nail causes … --- ## [Thanks for the history lesson, but...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-history-lesson-but/84126)
**Author:** [@Windsculptor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windsculptor)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-history-lesson-but/84126 "2001-10-18T20:24:09Z")
It’s interesting to learn that saying “GBY” when one sneezes originated in the 6th century – but why the HELL do morons continue to say this 1400 years later? I’m sick and tired of morons pointlessly (and mindlessly) re… --- ## [Black Irish--aren't they the original Celtic type?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-irish-arent-they-the-original-celtic-type/1037)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2001, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-irish-arent-they-the-original-celtic-type/1037 "2001-10-18T13:46:09Z")
Re the black Irish… http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_077.html My understanding (probably wrong) was that the old stock of the Celts (early in the first millenium C.E.) was predominantly melanochroi–somewhat ligh… --- ## [About Nostradamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-nostradamus/81558)
**Author:** [@Just-Drew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just-Drew)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2001, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-nostradamus/81558 "2001-10-17T11:26:16Z")
In one of your articles you wrote that Nostradamus’s prediction were just too vaque to be really true. They were just a bunch of BS. Well I tend to disagree, severely in light of the twin tower attacks that occurred re… --- ## [Ultimate Hicup Cure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-hicup-cure/52658)
**Author:** [@cuzisaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuzisaid)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ultimate-hicup-cure/52658 "2001-10-16T14:27:38Z")
This works every time. Sit on a chair. Take a sip of water…don’t swallow. Put your head between your legs (or as far down as you can - just so your head is almost upside down). Then swallow. Do this three times in a … --- ## [Jumpin' Jack Flash](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jumpin-jack-flash/86037)
**Author:** [@xxxxlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xxxxlaw)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2001, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jumpin-jack-flash/86037 "2001-10-16T03:56:29Z")
I hate to add a serious note to Cecil’s lighthearted words about Jumpin’Jack Flash, but since his columns amount to a publication of record of contemporary culture, and no doubt will be read by historians forever, I’ve g… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=252) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=254)