# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=292 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 293 --- ## [Skin grafts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-grafts/21296)
**Author:** [@PStamler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PStamler)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2000, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skin-grafts/21296 "2000-06-05T14:01:25Z")
Jill wrote: \<\ **Author:** [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2000, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flash-in-museums/20804 "2000-06-04T00:18:53Z") Corroborating the idea that flashes and not photos per se are the problem is the fact that they often will let you take photos as long as you cover up the flash. --- ## [What's in The Pulp Fiction Briefcase?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-the-pulp-fiction-briefcase/21022)
**Author:** [@DropOfaHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DropOfaHat)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2000, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-the-pulp-fiction-briefcase/21022 "2000-06-02T23:07:23Z")
I have heard before all of the theories mentioned in the mailbag answer, and I am willing to accept that QT left the ultimate answer to our imaginations. But I can’t help bringing up another possible not-yet-mentioned s… --- ## [Did Cecil stumble on Guiness Stout?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-cecil-stumble-on-guiness-stout/21016)
**Author:** [@waldenfont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waldenfont)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2000, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-cecil-stumble-on-guiness-stout/21016 "2000-06-02T18:25:05Z")
Not that this is directly related to the topic, but - Cecil mentions that he got the glass from his “brother-in-law’s English wife.” Now, unless thinks are done differently in his neck of the woods, I should think his b… --- ## [where can you see shoes hanging and sticking out their tongues?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-you-see-shoes-hanging-and-sticking-out-their-tongues/21118)
**Author:** [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 1, 2000, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-you-see-shoes-hanging-and-sticking-out-their-tongues/21118 "2000-06-01T17:12:10Z")
While leafing through Cecil’s books, I read an article that caught my eye. In his column discussing shoes hanging from wires, Cecil didn’t mention the shoe tree phenomenon. I saw one when I was in vacation in Arkansas, n… --- ## [Premarital blood testing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/premarital-blood-testing/20821)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2000, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/premarital-blood-testing/20821 "2000-05-31T13:14:16Z")
Commenting on the classic column: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_193.html The primary reason for state health departments to test people applying for marriage licenses for syphilis was (still is, in some states… --- ## [Why does steam rise from manholes in the U.S.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-the-u-s/20419)
**Author:** [@Lampare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lampare)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2000, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-the-u-s/20419 "2000-05-31T11:57:31Z")
I just read the “answer” to the question “Why does steam rise from manholes in the U.S.?”. The reply leaves one with the impression that there are huge clouds of freewheeling steam roiling through the storm sewer systems… --- ## [Rule of thumb](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-of-thumb/19339)
**Author:** [@jberger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jberger)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2000, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-of-thumb/19339 "2000-05-31T03:54:45Z")
The “rule of thumb” column just ran in my local paper, the Pacific Sun. I wanted to comment that Cecil’s summary is in substantial agreement with a fairly lengthy article on the same subject by a professor named Henry An… --- ## [Enquiring minds want to know](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enquiring-minds-want-to-know/20954)
**Author:** [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2000, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enquiring-minds-want-to-know/20954 "2000-05-31T01:44:42Z")
Intriguingly, today’s Classic Column Whatever happened to “Planet X”? seems to be in the middle of a remarkable time warp. The Questioner opens by stating that s/he was in first grade in 2972. “A typo”, Ceilc scoffs, ad… --- ## [Can hair turn white overnight due to fright](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-hair-turn-white-overnight-due-to-fright/19414)
**Author:** [@Wibi2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wibi2)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2000, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-hair-turn-white-overnight-due-to-fright/19414 "2000-05-30T12:27:44Z")
I don’t know about “due to fright” but a streak in my hair turned white immediately when I had my tonsils removed. I had a reaction to the anaesthetic I was given and awakened having a seizure. My father slapped me to s… --- ## [Cecil, you oughtta tell that to my cats...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-you-oughtta-tell-that-to-my-cats/20595)
**Author:** [@soulsling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulsling)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2000, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-you-oughtta-tell-that-to-my-cats/20595 "2000-05-29T23:49:10Z")
wish my cats knew they this: one of my cats seems to find a way to fall off the table just by standing on it. My other cat knows how to fall down on purpose, but makes it look cute, like she wants a belly rub, like:“ye… --- ## [She Was Like a Bearded Rainbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-was-like-a-bearded-rainbow/20620)
**Author:** [@zadillo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zadillo)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2000, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-was-like-a-bearded-rainbow/20620 "2000-05-29T14:15:33Z")
I don’t think that the answer given for what “bearded rainbow” means is correct. It doesn’t make much sense anyway. Most of the other FAQs out there seem to give a different answer; http://guitar.isd.net/songs.html#“SWL… --- ## [Crack the code?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crack-the-code/20708)
**Author:** [@JonF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonF)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2000, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crack-the-code/20708 "2000-05-28T03:27:46Z")
I sure seem to recall a Cecil column on this, so I’m posting this here. Maybe it’s a Weird Earl instead … (The search engine came up with zero hits for the word “radio” … ya gotta be kidding!) Remember those radio stat… --- ## [Magnets](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets/20572)
**Author:** [@DragonDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonDave)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2000, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets/20572 "2000-05-27T22:44:32Z")
I had a comment on one of your answers, “The real problem with magnetic therapy–and related issues like whether low-level electromagnetic fields have adverse health effects–is that no one’s proposed a plausible physio… --- ## [Regarding cat droppage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-cat-droppage/20647)
**Author:** [@daveb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daveb)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-cat-droppage/20647 "2000-05-27T19:15:16Z")
Having finished your column regarding falling cats, and the efforts of amateur experimentors, I wonder if your time might be better spent less on ridding the world of ignorance and instead coming up with hobbies for peop… --- ## ["Monsters" anthology series 1988](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monsters-anthology-series-1988/20600)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2000, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monsters-anthology-series-1988/20600 "2000-05-27T16:58:36Z")
One of the entries in this series was an episode entitled “Mr Swlabr,” about a boy with some real jerky family members. He gets something out of a cereal box, adds water, and it turns into some disgusting (talking) rept… --- ## [Women's monthlies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-monthlies/20520)
**Author:** [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2000, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-monthlies/20520 "2000-05-27T04:40:58Z")
I just read Cecil’s column http://www.straightdope.com/columns/990924.html on women’s menstrual cycles coninciding, or not, with the moon and wondered if he’d ever addressed the phenomenon of women who work or live toget… --- ## [Typing in Chinese](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-in-chinese/20453)
**Author:** [@charizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charizard)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2000, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-in-chinese/20453 "2000-05-26T21:59:53Z")
The Straight Dope web page recently featured a Straight Dope Classic column about how to use a keyboard to type Chinese characters into a computer: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/951208.html The article captured mu… --- ## [Orgasms making you sleepy? Hmmmmmm......](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-making-you-sleepy-hmmmmmm/20482)
**Author:** [@Quisling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quisling)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2000, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasms-making-you-sleepy-hmmmmmm/20482 "2000-05-26T14:43:16Z")
OK that was definitely a pretty interesting article and I must say that the guy has a point especially if one has been drinking you tend to fall asleep right after sex, but even without alcoholic stimuli it can induce a … --- ## [Sounds Fishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sounds-fishy/20216)
**Author:** [@missdavis102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missdavis102)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2000, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sounds-fishy/20216 "2000-05-25T22:02:41Z")
Um, minor point maybe, but why would a urniophillic fish (or a pee-phillic piscene, if you prefer) swim into a vagina? As far as I can tell, both males and females pass urine through a urethra. In males, it goes through … --- ## [New Moderator for this forum!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-moderator-for-this-forum/20231)
**Author:** [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-moderator-for-this-forum/20231 "2000-05-25T21:21:24Z")
A big round of applause for Arnold Winkleried, the brave soul that has stepped up to moderate Comments on Cecil’s Columns. They’re wild here, Arnold. Walk carefully. :slight\_smile: your humble TubaDiva Administrator … --- ## [Why does steam rise from manholes in the U.S.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-the-u-s/20421)
**Author:** [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2000, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-the-u-s/20421 "2000-05-24T19:45:25Z")
I’m confused about something. It seems to me that pushing steam miles and miles around a city would be very ineffective. Wouldn’t it cool off and turn back into water? Just wondering. A faithful reader… Enright3 --- ## [Why does steam rise from manholes in the U.S.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-the-u-s/20420)
**Author:** [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2000, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-steam-rise-from-manholes-in-the-u-s/20420 "2000-05-24T16:46:47Z")
I’m confused about something. It seems to me that pushing steam miles and miles around a city would be very ineffective. Wouldn’t it cool off and turn back into water? Just wondering. A faithful reader… Enright3 --- ## [Where does the term "86" come from?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-term-86-come-from/20061)
**Author:** [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-term-86-come-from/20061 "2000-05-24T15:47:29Z")
A comment on the column Where does the term “86” come from?. Today the History Channel aired a 2-hour program titled Secret Passages. About 65 minutes into the program, Stephen Shlopack, the proprietor of Chumley’s Pub … --- ## [Microchips in the Brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microchips-in-the-brain/20356)
**Author:** [@Punyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punyon)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microchips-in-the-brain/20356 "2000-05-24T05:20:07Z")
In seriousness, I’ve heard theories that microchips could be used in the brain to fix severed or damaged nerves. Since both run on electricity, if there were some way to encode a chip with signals the brain could interpr… --- ## [Foil on potatoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foil-on-potatoes/19746)
**Author:** [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2000, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foil-on-potatoes/19746 "2000-05-23T16:48:06Z")
Cecil botched the answer. You never put foil on baked potatoes. Once they’re covered with their pretty little coffins, they’re steamed potatoes, not baked, and totally inferior to the real thing. Link to column: http:/… --- ## [Orgasm illustration](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasm-illustration/19192)
**Author:** [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2000, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orgasm-illustration/19192 "2000-05-23T03:57:16Z")
I don’t know if this should go here as it isn’t specifically about the column, but: The illustration accompanying this weeks column is a little on the graphic side. I know Cecil runs in alternative papers but I am wond… --- ## [units of measurement unimportant? not so!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/units-of-measurement-unimportant-not-so/19134)
**Author:** [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/units-of-measurement-unimportant-not-so/19134 "2000-05-23T00:26:59Z")
Referring to In E=mc2, what units of measurement was Einstein using? (10-May-2000) The column says “Equations such as E=mc2 are independent of units of measurement.”. I don’t think that tells the whole story! The colum… --- ## [Candiru swimming "upstream"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-swimming-upstream/20215)
**Author:** [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2000, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/candiru-swimming-upstream/20215 "2000-05-22T19:30:32Z")
In this week’s Straight Dope article, http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000519.html, Cecil quotes a 1973 Urology article that discusses rumors about: Near the end of the Straight Dope article, Cecil says: The 1973 … --- ## [Talking Drums](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-drums/19830)
**Author:** [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2000, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-drums/19830 "2000-05-22T17:38:06Z")
The Bantu languages have the advantage of being tonal so that allows you to pack in more information along with the rhythm. Spanish, while lacking tones, does have rhythm. This allows Mexican motorists to beep out the fa… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=291) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=293)