# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=294 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 295 --- ## [Three Men and a Baby - and a kid in the window](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-and-a-baby-and-a-kid-in-the-window/1744)
**Author:** [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2000, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-and-a-baby-and-a-kid-in-the-window/1744 "2000-05-05T19:49:57Z")
I take issue with The Mailbag answer to the now-infamous “ghost kid” visible in a scene of the movie Three Men and a Baby. www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mthreemen.html I’ve heard this explanation before: that the kid vi… --- ## [DNS article-minor nit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dns-article-minor-nit/18325)
**Author:** [@Bobort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobort)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2000, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dns-article-minor-nit/18325 "2000-05-05T13:35:05Z")
In the mailbag article on the DNS system ( http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdomains.html ) you used the domain division.company.com as an example. As you might have guessed, the domain company.com is already owned by… --- ## [Bloodletting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloodletting/18352)
**Author:** [@DropOfaHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DropOfaHat)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2000, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloodletting/18352 "2000-05-05T12:42:29Z")
I was glad that Cecil addressed the question of therapeutic phlebotomies (bloodlettings), and I’m here to tell you that regular blood donation certainly CAN improve your health. I suffer from one of the conditions Cecil … --- ## [abolish the IRS?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abolish-the-irs/1800)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2000, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abolish-the-irs/1800 "2000-05-05T00:35:42Z")
In Cecil’s recent column Do the rich pay very little tax? Wouldn’t a flat tax be fairer?, someone asks the stupid question, Cecil does respond in conclusion with the comment I feel, however, that he fails to heap eno… --- ## [who was the first person to use a parachute? 1-21-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-person-to-use-a-parachute-1-21-2000/18498)
**Author:** [@moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moon)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 2000, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-person-to-use-a-parachute-1-21-2000/18498 "2000-05-04T23:24:26Z")
I recently found in my archives a list of interesting facts (from an email no doubt) and found this interesting fact that does not correspond to Cecil’s answer to the original question: The parachute was invented by Leo… --- ## [Spontaneous Human Combustion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spontaneous-human-combustion/1223)
**Author:** [@Quisling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quisling)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 2000, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spontaneous-human-combustion/1223 "2000-05-04T02:03:01Z")
Cecil- Just out of a little curiousity here, it hurts me to see that you have left out the most obvious reason of all for SHC! Obiously what has happened here is a case of Vampire destuction. Clearly a concientious ci… --- ## [Why do the French love Jerry Lewis?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371)
**Author:** [@trilobite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trilobite)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2000, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-french-love-jerry-lewis/18371 "2000-05-03T23:21:05Z")
La raison qu’on aime Jerry? C’est le doublage!!! “http://www.straightdope.com/columns/991001.html” It’s the dubbing! Dubbing in France is often taken very seriously, giving far better results than what anglophones get … --- ## [Cecil's Shortest Column?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-shortest-column/1830)
**Author:** [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-shortest-column/1830 "2000-05-03T22:33:24Z")
If it isn’t this one, what is? www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_150.html \>\ \_L\_\_\_L He’s back! --- ## [Nitrous Oxide](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitrous-oxide/18415)
**Author:** [@choens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choens)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2000, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitrous-oxide/18415 "2000-05-03T16:35:27Z")
OK. I read Cecil’s answer regarding Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas, the stuff Dentist’s use), but he only went so far as to explain what it is and possibly how it works. What I want to know is the odd sensation you get when… --- ## [Cecil and lesbian mothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-and-lesbian-mothers/1831)
**Author:** [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2000, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-and-lesbian-mothers/1831 "2000-05-03T01:23:14Z")
In his latest column (which should be on the boards next week sometime so I’ll link to it then if the topic flies) Cecil again goes after the number of lesbian mothers in the country. What’s the deal?!? I’m not really su… --- ## [If the sun winked out tomorrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-sun-winked-out-tomorrow/1717)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 2, 2000, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-sun-winked-out-tomorrow/1717 "2000-05-02T22:00:41Z")
Regarding David’s column on Are the stars really all burned out?, he mentions tha if the Sun were to stop shining tomorrow at 5:00 AM, we wouldn’t know it for a while, since the light takes a small amount of time to reac… --- ## [Why is there braille on drive-up teller machines?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-braille-on-drive-up-teller-machines/18291)
**Author:** [@trilobite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trilobite)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 2, 2000, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-braille-on-drive-up-teller-machines/18291 "2000-05-02T03:04:50Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_010.html \ Cecil has an excellent discussion on the issue. Prior to his column, I had just assumed they are brailled for the same reason guys have nipples. --- ## [Acting strangely](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-strangely/18310)
**Author:** [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 1, 2000, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-strangely/18310 "2000-05-01T23:32:13Z")
Re: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_151.html I would also take issue with the quote: =============== I doubt very seriously that an agitated, frightened mother literally used the words “acting strangely.” ==… --- ## [pink floyd ? another explanation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-another-explanation/1702)
**Author:** [@phtimo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phtimo)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 1, 2000, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-floyd-another-explanation/1702 "2000-05-01T20:32:50Z")
Hi Board Member and/or Master In France the story goes that Pink Floyd was a (or one of the) nickname of the very fist acid in the UK, but I have to say that this may be what you call Urban Legend ? ps : just found… --- ## [Three Men and a Baby and a Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-and-a-baby-and-a-ghost/1808)
**Author:** [@Myndephuquer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myndephuquer)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2000, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-and-a-baby-and-a-ghost/1808 "2000-04-30T23:34:55Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mthreemen.html Has anyone else actually sat there with their thumb on the “Pause” and “Frame Advance” buttons of the VCR remote? In the scene in question, there is what appears to be … --- ## [Braking vs. Downshifting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braking-vs-downshifting/1189)
**Author:** [@JJ\_Richard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JJ_Richard)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2000, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braking-vs-downshifting/1189 "2000-04-30T16:49:06Z")
The following comes from my brother, who has been in the automotive racing business for some time now. His credentials span wide enough (pit crew engineer of Porsche racing for many years). He has shown up unexpectedly … --- ## [The south pole](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-south-pole/1743)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2000, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-south-pole/1743 "2000-04-30T07:52:55Z")
here’s my question: I’ve believed for a long time that the mean temperature at the south pole is lower than that at the north pole. I do know that the lowest temperature ever recorded was recorded there, although that ce… --- ## [Rodriquez' goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodriquez-goat/16592)
**Author:** [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2000, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rodriquez-goat/16592 "2000-04-29T17:43:32Z")
This story holds almost everything Johnny Rodriquez said in an interview we had back in the mid '70s. But for the record he seems to have added Bobby Bare. Rodriquez gave the reason for his discovery to a)goat roping wh… --- ## [Screwdriving Cocktails](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriving-cocktails/1747)
**Author:** [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2000, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriving-cocktails/1747 "2000-04-29T05:56:00Z")
I guess I must have missed something here. In his Mailbag article about cocktails (What’s the origin of “cocktail”?), Gaudere says that a Screwdriver isn’t a cocktail, which properly defined is That’s pretty much how I… --- ## [Bear arms and militias](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-arms-and-militias/1820)
**Author:** [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2000, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-arms-and-militias/1820 "2000-04-28T19:40:00Z")
In this classic column \[(What"\]http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_123.html\](What\]( \[url="http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_123.html) does “the right to bear arms” really mean?), Cecil attempts to clarify the … --- ## [Why is Slug so underappreciated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-slug-so-underappreciated/1807)
**Author:** [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2000, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-slug-so-underappreciated/1807 "2000-04-28T16:54:00Z")
I see many posts regarding Cecil’s columns, and I see many posts by (and in response to) Ed Zotti, but the heart of the whole massive Straight Dope organization, the linchpin, the Big Bang of the Straight Dope cosmos is … --- ## [Daylight Savings Time for farmers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-for-farmers/1797)
**Author:** [@Kid\_Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_Gilligan)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2000, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-for-farmers/1797 "2000-04-28T06:11:00Z")
I’m not, nor have I ever been a farmer, but it doesn’t seem hard to understand why they wouldn’t like DST. If I had to do my job at the same “solar” time every day, regardless of what the clock said, I would get upset i… --- ## [Missing Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-mass/1735)
**Author:** [@Dvandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dvandom)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2000, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-mass/1735 "2000-04-28T01:07:00Z")
Something omitted in the Mailbag topic for 2/18 was the Cosmological Constant. That leftover omega of 0.7 is no longer just the pipe dream of theorists wanting a less messy universe, it seems to be filled up by the Cosmo… --- ## [Dauphin still dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dauphin-still-dead/1796)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2000, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dauphin-still-dead/1796 "2000-04-28T00:58:00Z")
In the morning paper, there was a report that the kid who died in 1795 was really the dauphin. Apparently, some doctor had kept his heart as a souvenir and they were able to compare its DNA with some from Marie Antoinett… --- ## [Lesbian mothers' art work](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbian-mothers-art-work/1795)
**Author:** [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lesbian-mothers-art-work/1795 "2000-04-27T19:33:00Z")
I was surprised to see the Slug Signorino drawing in this week’s e-column: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000421.html The Chicago Reader, Cecil’s home paper, ran the column on 4/20, re-using artwork from the “no-i… --- ## [Why do singers use vibrato?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-singers-use-vibrato/1732)
**Author:** [@jtp8736](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtp8736)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2000, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-singers-use-vibrato/1732 "2000-04-27T14:04:00Z")
The answer to this question (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mvibrato.html) was pretty good but some of the details are sketchy. The repeated use of the term “tremelo” is the first thing that bothers me. You describe… --- ## [Hemp as a rotational crop](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hemp-as-a-rotational-crop/1792)
**Author:** [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2000, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hemp-as-a-rotational-crop/1792 "2000-04-27T12:25:00Z")
Some months ago, The (Toledo) Blade published a story about hemp farmers in Canada who are working under a provisional program allowing them to plant hemp as a rotational crop. Hemp, it appears, helps re-nitrogenize the … --- ## [Shoe Polish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-polish/1730)
**Author:** [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-polish/1730 "2000-04-26T16:10:00Z")
So, does Chief Scott polish his shoes annually, or daily? I vote for daily. --- ## [Children odds problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-odds-problem/1787)
**Author:** [@B\_Trey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B_Trey)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2000, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-odds-problem/1787 "2000-04-26T02:45:00Z")
A family has two children. One of them is a girl. What are the odds that the second is a boy? Cecil claims that they are 2/3, and discusses it here: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_189.html I believe there’s a f… --- ## [Geronimo (and Toto too!)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geronimo-and-toto-too/1786)
**Author:** [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2000, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geronimo-and-toto-too/1786 "2000-04-25T21:08:00Z")
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that in one of the Zucker brothers movies (“Top Secret,” I think), they have a string of paratroopers jumping out yelling “Geronimo!” Until an Indian brave jumps out, yelling “Meeee!” A… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=293) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=295)