# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=29 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 30 --- ## [Did Wile E. Coyote ever catch the roadrunner?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wile-e-coyote-ever-catch-the-roadrunner/716712)
**Author:** [@Bennyray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bennyray)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2015, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-wile-e-coyote-ever-catch-the-roadrunner/716712 "2015-04-14T05:35:41Z")
In 2011 or 2012 I ran across a DVD titled “Seth McFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy”. It contains some of the funniest, most profane, disgusting, and offensive cartoons I’ve ever seen, and one of the sketches is a ro… --- ## [Fortune cookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-cookies/717037)
**Author:** [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fortune-cookies/717037 "2015-04-07T14:01:57Z")
Thread Link I actually had the chance to see fortune cookies made at the factory. The machine had a series of heated dies much like waffle irons which rotated around the machine. Batter was metered in, the top of the i… --- ## [Monkey Brains](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-brains/716006)
**Author:** [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monkey-brains/716006 "2015-04-12T05:11:26Z")
The column in question. Just to say, I have lived in Thailand literally for decades, traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia, spent time in East and South Asia. And not once, not ever, have I heard of monkey brai… --- ## [Styptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/styptic/717352)
**Author:** [@David\_Ehrlich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Ehrlich)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/styptic/717352 "2015-04-12T04:32:21Z")
Back in the days before monotonically increasing numbers of blades were used in safety razors, even very adept shavers suffered occasional nicks. The usual thing to do was touch a styptic pencil to the wound to stop the… --- ## [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2295/is-different-than-bad-grammar](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/http-www-straightdope-com-columns-read-2295-is-different-than-bad-grammar/716781)
**Author:** [@HenryG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryG)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/http-www-straightdope-com-columns-read-2295-is-different-than-bad-grammar/716781 "2015-04-11T12:56:13Z")
Given Cecil’s background, I’m surprised he did not simply refer the questioner to the (University of Chicago’s) Chicago Manual Of Style, which is a well-respected reference work for authors, proof-readers, sub-editors an… --- ## [medical professionals' suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-professionals-suicide/717357)
**Author:** [@admin\_mostlycocoa.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/admin_mostlycocoa.com)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-professionals-suicide/717357 "2015-04-10T20:07:35Z")
By the time I was 40, two of my doctors had committed suicide, an older gentleman who was my opthalamologist (sp.?) and a young woman who was my gynecologist–hers was especially tragic as she was a really sweet person wi… --- ## [What about the NHL makes it "National"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-the-nhl-makes-it-national/716591)
**Author:** [@BCDeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BCDeb)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-the-nhl-makes-it-national/716591 "2015-04-06T03:52:10Z")
While I agree with the staff answer that the “National” in NHL refers to Canada, the question was a two or three part question, and one part never got answered: The last part of the question asked why it isn’t called … --- ## [8-Man: Did one 60's superhero get his power from … smoking?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-man-did-one-60s-superhero-get-his-power-from-smoking/715941)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 31, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-man-did-one-60s-superhero-get-his-power-from-smoking/715941 "2015-03-31T19:47:46Z")
Column I remember the Mighty-Mouse snorting cocaine controversy, the Bert and Ernie are gay controversy. It’s surprising that certain groups scrutinize these cartoons for all sorts of hidden meanings that they missed a … --- ## [Concerning Swiss cheese article:](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-swiss-cheese-article/307480)
**Author:** [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 29, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concerning-swiss-cheese-article/307480 "2015-03-29T21:16:13Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010323.html I just wanted to know why you buy Swiss cheese by Volume and not weight. I buy my Swiss cheese in units of pounds. Therefore the size of the holes doesn’t matter. May I re… --- ## [Cecil Adams Predicts the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-predicts-the-russo-ukrainian-conflict/714956)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [March 28, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-predicts-the-russo-ukrainian-conflict/714956 "2015-03-28T22:12:02Z")
Well sort of: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/799/is-it-true-there-has-never-been-a-war-between-two-democracies --- ## [Does a refrigerator cool more efficiently when full?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-refrigerator-cool-more-efficiently-when-full/715318)
**Author:** [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 28, 2015, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-refrigerator-cool-more-efficiently-when-full/715318 "2015-03-28T09:21:02Z")
original column. previous threads in response. An issue I haven’t seen addressed in any of these discussions is the choice between a large, partially-filled refrigerator and a compact, mostly-filled refrigerator, each … --- ## [Required vacation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-vacation/715380)
**Author:** [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 27, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-vacation/715380 "2015-03-27T02:56:58Z")
Considering the age of the article I’m responding to, this could be a zombie thread. Do Americans get less vacation than people in other developed countries? Federal employees are required to take mandatory vacation - … --- ## [Water rights under the land you own.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-rights-under-the-land-you-own/715452)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 25, 2015, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-rights-under-the-land-you-own/715452 "2015-03-25T01:28:53Z")
In today’s (well, tomorrow’s, 3/20/2015) column, How far down do property lines go?, Cecil discusses the legal landscape of resource extraction, including the “rule of capture” regarding pumping of oil from a vertical we… --- ## [How far down do property lines go?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-do-property-lines-go/715553)
**Author:** [@BCDeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BCDeb)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-do-property-lines-go/715553 "2015-03-21T06:00:06Z")
Cecil wrote at the end of his article: “Oh, and also: at ten miles down the temperature will be about 750 degrees, so make sure that bar car has plenty of ice.” With Cecil there are always these great punch lines! I l… --- ## [What is the present?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-present/714411)
**Author:** [@BCDeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BCDeb)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-present/714411 "2015-03-21T00:10:07Z")
Good lord, man, is that what science has concluded? That we cannot actually experience the present? Because it is already past when we experience it? Perceptually, that may be true, but who says we have to exist as … --- ## [Seven Seas (and Continents)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-seas-and-continents/715144)
**Author:** [@djinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djinni)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-seas-and-continents/715144 "2015-03-20T22:47:14Z")
So about the “seven seas”, it’s obvious the modern interpretation of dividing the atlantic & pacific oceans into north & south are a means to pigeon-hole five oceans (atlantic, pacific, indian, artic & antartic) into tha… --- ## [can cops lie to you](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cops-lie-to-you/714147)
**Author:** [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cops-lie-to-you/714147 "2015-03-20T17:49:33Z")
Generally the answer is yes but what if instead of lying to get a confession they instead lie to gain entry and conduct a warrantless search of the suspects home. Like for example showing up and claiming there is a repor… --- ## [If a feather and a hammer are dropped together...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-feather-and-a-hammer-are-dropped-together/652170)
**Author:** [@chinchilla\_of\_science](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chinchilla_of_science)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-feather-and-a-hammer-are-dropped-together/652170 "2015-03-20T09:27:09Z")
I felt compelled to post on this old column: The questioner claims that, since the overall mass of an earth-hammer system is greater than the overall mass of an earth-feather system, a hammer dropped from, say, the To… --- ## [Regarding the Mengele column](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-the-mengele-column/715105)
**Author:** [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-the-mengele-column/715105 "2015-03-18T00:49:17Z")
Column: Did Josef Mengele Produce Any Useful Medical Research? In the column, Cecil says: (emphasis mine) Um…“rural?” Am I wrong in remembering that all of the test subjects in that experiment were African-American, … --- ## [Largest Available Bra Size](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-available-bra-size/714824)
**Author:** [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-available-bra-size/714824 "2015-03-17T17:43:52Z")
Today’s Classic column, http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2289/whats-the-largest-commercially-available-bra-size, is from 1976. Any comment on whether the numbers are still accurate. I ask this question for a to… --- ## [Re: the Black Irish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-the-black-irish/715060)
**Author:** [@Verdanta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Verdanta)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-the-black-irish/715060 "2015-03-17T04:55:48Z")
I heard the same story about the Armada wreck bringing Spanish sailors to Ireland from my parents, but here’s what convinced me that they’re right about the Spanish/ Irish connection. I recently got my dna analyzed from … --- ## [Concentration camp research](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concentration-camp-research/714901)
**Author:** [@psythe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psythe)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concentration-camp-research/714901 "2015-03-16T18:23:15Z")
Original link here While Mengele himself probably had nothing to do with it, I have it on pretty good authority\* that when us Brits were facing our outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease about ten years ago, we were having … --- ## [Are smart people more likely to be depressed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-smart-people-more-likely-to-be-depressed/713831)
**Author:** [@BCDeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BCDeb)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-smart-people-more-likely-to-be-depressed/713831 "2015-03-13T10:23:18Z")
The trouble with correlative studies between high intelligence and happiness is that happiness is tested by self-reporting. It is pretty easy to answer a happiness questionnaire in the deluded belief that one is, when i… --- ## [Post from 1980 about musical instruments in different keys.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-from-1980-about-musical-instruments-in-different-keys/714145)
**Author:** [@Renobarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renobarb)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-from-1980-about-musical-instruments-in-different-keys/714145 "2015-03-12T13:27:12Z")
I am compelled to comment on the answer to “why do they make saxophones in different keys?” because it’s so, well, WRONG!!! It has NOTHING to do with transposing and everything to do with the physical properties of the i… --- ## [On: Is self-representing in court a bad idea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-is-self-representing-in-court-a-bad-idea/707719)
**Author:** [@Brady\_Kelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brady_Kelly)\ **Replies:** 96\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2015, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-is-self-representing-in-court-a-bad-idea/707719 "2015-03-11T05:41:49Z")
Bricker reckons someone who represents himself in court is a “pre se” litigant. A quick google on that term yields zero results, versus “pro se”, which brings up the host of further reading I was hoping for. --- ## [2+2=5](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-2-5/714200)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 10, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-2-5/714200 "2015-03-10T02:58:15Z")
In the current Staff Report, Dex addresses the old joke about 2+2=5 “for large values of 2”. While the explanation he gives might be the relevant one for mathematicians, statisticians, and accountants, there’s another p… --- ## [21 Gun Salute](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-gun-salute/714121)
**Author:** [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 9, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-gun-salute/714121 "2015-03-09T16:02:51Z")
Seven guns fired three times is a “21 Gun Salute”, yes? Just trying to put the one military funeral I’ve ever attended in perspective. --- ## [new user... Neat site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-user-neat-site/714521)
**Author:** [@dem45133](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dem45133)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 8, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-user-neat-site/714521 "2015-03-08T12:40:24Z")
I got a serious chuckle out your (“its taking than we thought”)… of that I have absolutely no doubt what so ever! :smiley: I’ll be looking… as a scientist/engineer in my field… its a pleasure to see some (at claimed) tr… --- ## [Does 2 + 2 = 5 for very large values of 2? - Nitpick](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-2-2-5-for-very-large-values-of-2-nitpick/714444)
**Author:** [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-2-2-5-for-very-large-values-of-2-nitpick/714444 "2015-03-07T22:38:31Z")
I expected Cecil to know the difference between precision and accuracy. While, the article was well written, it probably was written by a mathematician rather than a statistician or engineer familiar with measurements. T… --- ## [Was the Confederate secession legal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-confederate-secession-legal/714086)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-confederate-secession-legal/714086 "2015-03-06T20:05:35Z")
From 2008. The column deals mainly with the fact that a) the rebellion was a failure, and b) the SCOTUS said it wasn’t legal in 1869. I think a better response to the question would have been how the SCOTUS would have … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=30)