# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=27 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 28 --- ## [Obtaining synthetic cannabinoids](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obtaining-synthetic-cannabinoids/725466)
**Author:** [@bowlweevils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bowlweevils)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obtaining-synthetic-cannabinoids/725466 "2015-07-17T23:09:11Z")
you can obtain synthetic cannabinoids by the ton from helpful chemists located in China or import/export companies based in the Cayman Islands. or some guy on the internet. maybe your local smoke shop or gas station. fri… --- ## [Still Thinking About Knee Deep in Photons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-thinking-about-knee-deep-in-photons/725465)
**Author:** [@bowlweevils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bowlweevils)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-thinking-about-knee-deep-in-photons/725465 "2015-07-17T22:59:08Z")
Son ain’t been shining for 15 billion years (that’s milliards for you who know what one is). Son is 4.57 billion years old. Big Bang is currently reckoned to have happened 13.7 billion years ago, and was mostly a dark p… --- ## [Church Keys for Bottle Opening](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-keys-for-bottle-opening/725291)
**Author:** [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-keys-for-bottle-opening/725291 "2015-07-16T15:42:59Z")
Re: What’s the origin of “churchkey,” meaning a can or bottle opener? - The Straight Dope At least as early as prohibition, and possibly much earlier These and These were quite popular in New England, USA. My Grandfat… --- ## [Car sickness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-sickness/724482)
**Author:** [@mbrice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbrice)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-sickness/724482 "2015-07-16T02:42:28Z")
I have found that keeping the horizon in sight greatly reduces the upchuck reflex, I guess by keeping all the senses in sync. In a car, put down your phone or book and watch the scenery go by; on a ship, make sure you’r… --- ## [Car Alarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-alarms/723511)
**Author:** [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-alarms/723511 "2015-07-12T01:00:41Z")
There are two points labeled 4. I don’t get why the paragraphs are even numbered at that point. --- ## [Is the glycemic index the new key to healthy eating?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-glycemic-index-the-new-key-to-healthy-eating/724687)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-glycemic-index-the-new-key-to-healthy-eating/724687 "2015-07-09T19:28:09Z")
Is the glycemic index the new key to healthy eating? This is the main problem with the Glycemic Index. There’s no standard way of calculating it. If I give you a food item, you can use science to tell me the number of … --- ## [origin of "the finger"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-finger/724579)
**Author:** [@Artemis-Vee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis-Vee)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-finger/724579 "2015-07-09T00:16:34Z")
Well answered Cecil. I do wish someone would erase all copies of this idiotic piece. It has travelled around the world and even ended up in a lecture at a very distinguished meeting in London. May I add my two penn’ort… --- ## [Turtle butts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtle-butts/724546)
**Author:** [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtle-butts/724546 "2015-07-08T14:24:20Z")
Is it true turtles breathe through their butts? Yuck … Just … Yuck … --- ## [Does Running for President Make Any Sense?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-running-for-president-make-any-sense/724139)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-running-for-president-make-any-sense/724139 "2015-07-04T14:17:50Z")
Linky Of course it does! You know the nation’s problems. You know what’s needed. Only you can save this country and steer it off the dangerous path it’s on to the path of all that’s right and good. After all, God Himse… --- ## [Boxing scores](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boxing-scores/724163)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boxing-scores/724163 "2015-07-03T22:11:20Z")
Why are boxing scores kept secret during the match? Interesting sidenote. It always puzzled me why a boxing ring should be so called. Duh, it’s square! Then I found out. Nothing at all to do with the shape of the arena.… --- ## [Re: Was the legendary liqueur absinthe hallucinogenic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-was-the-legendary-liqueur-absinthe-hallucinogenic/723857)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-was-the-legendary-liqueur-absinthe-hallucinogenic/723857 "2015-07-01T23:43:49Z")
Concerning this Cecil article, the article is actually rather dated. It says Absinthe is illegal just about everywhere. Actually, now the opposite is true. You can buy it practically everywhere–including the USA. I’ve b… --- ## [Why can bugs fall great distances](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-can-bugs-fall-great-distances/723302)
**Author:** [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-can-bugs-fall-great-distances/723302 "2015-06-30T18:22:34Z")
I googled for previous discussion, and there was a beginning to my question, but no conclusion. The previous thread started the scaling idea: if you take a human 1/10th the size, what is the effect? But did not reach … --- ## [use of bloody](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-bloody/721871)
**Author:** [@zhorika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zhorika)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-bloody/721871 "2015-06-29T00:47:31Z")
According to Michal Quinion, world wide words when discussing the different way Australians and British use the word,From about 1750 bloody became taboo in polite society.In an entry published in 1887 in what was then st… --- ## [e-cigarettes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-cigarettes/660376)
**Author:** [@wil9000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wil9000)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-cigarettes/660376 "2013-07-24T03:28:40Z")
The column mentions a “snootful of secondhand vapor” I’ve spent time with an e-cigarette smoker on two occasions, and while the secondhand vapor is much less offensive than smoke from an actual cigarette, it is by no mea… --- ## [Capturing an iceberg](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capturing-an-iceberg/722947)
**Author:** [@kapntoad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapntoad)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capturing-an-iceberg/722947 "2015-06-23T01:37:16Z")
In regards to capturing the water from an iceberg as referenced here, how about a pulling a gigantic, let’s call it kiddy-pool-shaped teflon bag under the iceberg? A cover to keep seawater from splashing in, a pump in th… --- ## [Chicago 25 or 624](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-25-or-624/720803)
**Author:** [@todd25624](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/todd25624)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-25-or-624/720803 "2015-06-19T17:49:04Z")
refers to LSD-25 and 624 Quaalude --- ## [Ice age vs. global warming](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-age-vs-global-warming/722365)
**Author:** [@ebyron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebyron)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-age-vs-global-warming/722365 "2015-06-18T01:31:46Z")
An excellent informative post! You and your readers would be interested in this 2005 Scientific American article by Ruddiman that shows very nicely that humans started warming the planet about 2000 years ago with the adv… --- ## [Who was the stupidest US president?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-stupidest-us-president/720968)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-stupidest-us-president/720968 "2015-06-17T02:30:31Z")
Who was the stupidest US president? While such a question is near impossible to answer definitively Cecil takes a shot at it and (reasonably) uses what metrics we have such as SAT scores and GPAs. Still, education does… --- ## [ice age vs. global warming](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-age-vs-global-warming/722530)
**Author:** [@sweart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweart)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-age-vs-global-warming/722530 "2015-06-15T22:50:59Z")
Cecil, Good post but some of your info is out of date. (1) In the 1980s scientists realized that although the average interglacial period might last 10-20,000 years, the current one, because of variations in orbital dyn… --- ## [What's the deal with the Church of the Subgenius?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-church-of-the-subgenius/722274)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-church-of-the-subgenius/722274 "2015-06-12T19:49:07Z")
Having seen the stickers of the Happy Fifties Guy with Pipe all over a local college campus for years, I’m glad to finally learn more. Thanks, Eutychus, for this 1999 column. I noticed a typo. The next-to-last parag… --- ## [Cecil on Telegony](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-on-telegony/176243)
**Author:** [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 11, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-on-telegony/176243 "2015-06-11T16:23:32Z")
Does a woman retain traces of her male partner after giving birth? Moms, kids carry one another’s cells I should note that the article does say that the amount of such cells is “vanishingly small”. But still, enough … --- ## [Human Disasters](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-disasters/721705)
**Author:** [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 8, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-disasters/721705 "2015-06-08T12:36:47Z")
The article about natural disasters didn’t address the fact we’re not slaughtering off ourselves near as much. Only the 2004 Indonesia earthquake and tsunami comes close to the death toll we saw during WWII. In six yea… --- ## [Cucaracha Lyrics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cucaracha-lyrics/721712)
**Author:** [@SageGrouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SageGrouse)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2015, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cucaracha-lyrics/721712 "2015-06-07T08:15:10Z")
I had always heard them as La cucaracha! La Cucaracha! No tengo puede caminar. Porque no falta, porque no tiene Marijuana par fumar! As The little cockroach, the little cockroach He has not the power to walk. It … --- ## [Lady Marmalade lyrics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-marmalade-lyrics/721624)
**Author:** [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-marmalade-lyrics/721624 "2015-06-06T23:46:02Z")
In paragraph 2, Cecil makes clear reference to this song as “LaBelle’s 1975 disco hit”, but then in paragraph 3 he references lyrics that aren’t in that song, but do appear in the 2001 cover version (which admittedly i… --- ## [Blue veins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-veins/721543)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-veins/721543 "2015-06-04T03:18:58Z")
If veins looks blue because red light doesn’t escape through the skin, how can we look bright red when we get sunburn? --- ## [World More Dangerous for Kids?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-more-dangerous-for-kids/721108)
**Author:** [@Kitsapian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitsapian)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-more-dangerous-for-kids/721108 "2015-06-01T23:50:15Z")
My eastern friends find it incomprehensible that 70 years ago this kid, raised in the wet woods of Washington State, has his own .22 calibre rifle and ammunition at age five. In the country, this was not unusual, and ou… --- ## [La Cucaracha lyrics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-cucaracha-lyrics/721117)
**Author:** [@GRobLewis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GRobLewis)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2015, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-cucaracha-lyrics/721117 "2015-06-01T07:45:28Z")
Ages ago I read somewhere that the Mexican word “marihuana” (I believe that was the spelling) could also refer to a low-grade tobacco. --- ## [Drug Testing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drug-testing/718447)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drug-testing/718447 "2015-05-31T22:36:26Z")
Cecil’s Column on Drug-Testing I used to work for a nursing home that did random drug-testing (sort of; more on that in a minute). Early in my career there, the CEO’s number did, in fact, come up. He laughed about it, p… --- ## [Superpowered babies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superpowered-babies/720593)
**Author:** [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superpowered-babies/720593 "2015-05-27T16:07:40Z")
Not a comment on the content of the article per se, but things like are the reason I continue to read the Dope. E-, er Cecil’s high-brow humor is difficult to find elsewhere. --- ## [Nitrogen+Bananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitrogen-bananas/719844)
**Author:** [@toefungus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toefungus)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2015, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitrogen-bananas/719844 "2015-05-26T06:38:07Z")
Last time I checked the air was about 80% nitrogen. Storing a banana next to a mango won’t do much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=28)