# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=315 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 316 --- ## [REMINDER TO ALL POSTERS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminder-to-all-posters/198)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 1999, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reminder-to-all-posters/198 "1999-09-12T21:14:00Z")
If you are starting a new topic, please provide the link to the Straight Dope column that you are referring to. This makes it easier for others to stay on topic and to respond. To do this, simply highlight the url (in th… --- ## [Yet another witches and broomstick theory](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-witches-and-broomstick-theory/195)
**Author:** [@e-brake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/e-brake)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 1999, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-witches-and-broomstick-theory/195 "1999-09-11T10:53:00Z")
Well I cant help but question the explanation for the witches and broomstick answer so I thought I would post another theory; At one time the common people were very supersticious, every year they would save some of the… --- ## [dogs pacing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-pacing/194)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 1999, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-pacing/194 "1999-09-10T14:04:00Z")
Referring to classic column: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_090.html Cecil, sweetheart, when are you going to start running these animal questions by me before you go posting them in public? The word you’re loo… --- ## [Vin Mariani](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vin-mariani/193)
**Author:** [@Brant\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brant_Goose)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 1999, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vin-mariani/193 "1999-09-10T03:55:00Z")
In his column on whether the Civil War created 500,000 morphine addicts, CA says: “Some raised the alarm about morphine addiction as the 19th century drew to a close, but often the solution was substituting some other d… --- ## [jewelry metals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-metals/1145)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 1999, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-metals/1145 "1999-09-09T23:37:00Z")
Now I am really really hurt. You closed a thread and moved it out of Mailbag Answers, even though it actually probably did refer to a column I wrote for mailbag about “white gold.” Sorry, can’t get my link to work on thi… --- ## [sopa operas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sopa-operas/1142)
**Author:** [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 1999, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sopa-operas/1142 "1999-09-09T21:42:00Z")
link: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msoapopera.html (This is my first post – forgive me if I did this incorrectly.) Though the answer is essentially correct, it doesn’t go quite far enough. Soap operas originated… --- ## [Jewelry metals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-metals/1134)
**Author:** [@Keeves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeves)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 1999, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewelry-metals/1134 "1999-09-08T21:11:00Z")
Can you look at a piece of shiny gray jewelry, and tell whether it is silver, platinum, or white gold? I sure can’t. I even have trouble telling between them and stainless steel, though the first ones tend to be on the d… --- ## [G&Ts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-ts/192)
**Author:** [@BELN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BELN)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 1999, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-ts/192 "1999-09-07T18:36:00Z")
Gin and tonic. Quinine. The Empire. Interesting. Quit the abuse about British food, though, we have some of the finest restaurants in the world. And, while we also have some very poor ones, many of these share the same n… --- ## ["American Pie" - the name of the plane???](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie-the-name-of-the-plane/191)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 1999, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-pie-the-name-of-the-plane/191 "1999-09-07T16:40:00Z")
My brother just sent me a list of stuff, and included on it was the “fact” that the name of the plane Buddy Holly died on was “American Pie”. It seems this is too obvious to have never shown up anywhere. Does anyone know… --- ## [Straight Line in Nature](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-line-in-nature/190)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 1999, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-line-in-nature/190 "1999-09-06T21:00:00Z")
This thread has been moved to General Questions: http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002331.html --- ## [More snake stuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-snake-stuff/1132)
**Author:** [@AuraSeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuraSeer)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 1999, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-snake-stuff/1132 "1999-09-06T05:05:00Z")
Slightly related to the mailbag article: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msnakekill.html In the September Scientific American, there’s a short article on how some people have been bitten by venomous snakes that the… --- ## [Consciousness, Part 2](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consciousness-part-2/189)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 1999, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consciousness-part-2/189 "1999-09-05T15:16:00Z")
Sounds like a James Brown song, don’t it? Now, you were saying . . . your humble TubaDiva/SDStaffDiv for the Straight Dope --- ## [Gin & Quinine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gin-quinine/188)
**Author:** [@heretic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heretic)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 1999, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gin-quinine/188 "1999-09-05T02:48:00Z")
Is the name “chincon” any relation to the crusty British drinking toast “chin chin”? ben --- ## [MAJOR SYSTEM PROBLEMS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-system-problems/1131)
**Author:** [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 1999, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-system-problems/1131 "1999-09-03T12:29:00Z")
As I’m sure everybody now knows, we’re having some serious problems here. The technical word for it is “screwed.” General Questions is totally non functioning. The other forums seem to be all right – so far – but I’m … --- ## [How do they know the Earth's weight?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-know-the-earths-weight/186)
**Author:** [@notmydesk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notmydesk)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 1999, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-know-the-earths-weight/186 "1999-09-02T22:37:00Z")
In a recent column, Cecil mentioned that the mass of the earth was “reliably estimated at 6 sextillion, 588 quintillion tons”. How did they figger that out? Like how you weigh your dog; first step on the scale holding i… --- ## [MAJOR SYSTEM PROBLEM](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-system-problem/185)
**Author:** [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 1999, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-system-problem/185 "1999-09-02T04:54:00Z")
As I’m sure everybody now knows, we’re having some serious problems here. The technical word for it is “screwed.” General Questions is totally non functioning. The other forums seem to be all right – so far, but I’m no… --- ## [$1,000 Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-000-bill/1130)
**Author:** [@Rich\_Barr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Barr)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 1999, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-000-bill/1130 "1999-09-02T01:44:00Z")
Note that Salmon P. Chase was Chief Justice of the United States, not just a justice. But the real reason he’s on the $1,000 bill is because he was Lincoln’s first Secretary of the Treasury, and thus was the one who came… --- ## [Chickens with no heads...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-with-no-heads/184)
**Author:** [@Kokopeli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopeli)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 1999, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-with-no-heads/184 "1999-09-02T00:20:00Z")
Here’s a URL with some info and a pic regarding this: http://www.h2net.net/p/nslade/mike.html --- ## [Sears Catalog?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sears-catalog/183)
**Author:** [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 1999, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sears-catalog/183 "1999-09-01T21:46:00Z")
Did Jillgat ever find the Sears Catalog? \[Jill, if there is a posted version of that column, I haven’t found it…please 'url it at this thread.\] --- ## [Lidsville?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lidsville/181)
**Author:** [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 1999, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lidsville/181 "1999-09-01T16:38:00Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/990827.html I hadn’t heard of Lidsville and, in researching, came across this: http://www.livingisland.com/shows/index.html I didn’t realize they had so many shows. Or a Bay City Ro… --- ## [Moon exploding](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-exploding/1129)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 1999, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-exploding/1129 "1999-09-01T12:17:00Z")
What, other than loss of tides and bombardment of the Earth with massive moon rocks at tremendous speeds, would be the result of the moon undergoing an explosive disintegration? --- ## [Magnets & Pain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets-pain/180)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 1999, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnets-pain/180 "1999-09-01T11:23:00Z")
I dunno how this would help someone who is in pain, but the human body CAN be affected by magnetism. Remember, the main component of hemoglobin (that stuf fin your red blood cells) is iron. Other fluids in the body might… --- ## [POSTERS - PLEASE READ](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-please-read/179)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 1999, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-please-read/179 "1999-09-01T10:49:00Z")
If you are starting a new topic, please provide the link to the column or mailbag item that you are referring to. This makes it easier for others to stay on topic and to respond. To do this, simply highlight the url (in … --- ## [U-shaped public toilet seats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-shaped-public-toilet-seats/178)
**Author:** [@TRH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRH)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 1999, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-shaped-public-toilet-seats/178 "1999-09-01T10:37:00Z")
The Straight Dope’s “classic” columns archives includes one (02-Mar-90) on why public toilet seats are always “U” shaped, whereas residential toilet seats are always round. Cecil replied that it was because “men are pigs… --- ## [tit for tat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tit-for-tat/177)
**Author:** [@drasaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drasaid)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 1999, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tit-for-tat/177 "1999-09-01T09:39:00Z")
A man and a woman begat bouncing triplets named Nat, Tat, and Pat. Twas fun in the breeding But hell in the feeding She had’nt a spare tit for Tat. --- ## [Is the average work week 40 hours or 35 hours?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-work-week-40-hours-or-35-hours/1094)
**Author:** [@proman79](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/proman79)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 1999, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-work-week-40-hours-or-35-hours/1094 "1999-08-29T12:21:00Z")
The answer given may answer the actual question, but my question is, what is the required work week for a salaried office worker? Isn’t this where the expression “nine to five” (35 hours per week) comes from? Certainly … --- ## [Continuance of Ark of Covinent](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuance-of-ark-of-covinent/1085)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 27, 1999, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuance-of-ark-of-covinent/1085 "1999-08-27T15:02:00Z")
You discussed about the Ark of the Covinent that The Ark was placed in a Temple in Jerusalem, and the Romans destroyed that temple, leaving the Ark never to be found. Now, I have heard of a legend of a certain “Holy Spot… --- ## [Chickens and eggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-and-eggs/176)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 26, 1999, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-and-eggs/176 "1999-08-26T04:23:00Z")
An interested reader wrote in about this week’s classic column: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_080.html I know which end of the egg the chick comes out of. I watched my baby macaw try to extricate himself from … --- ## [Are cow farts destroying the ozone layer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cow-farts-destroying-the-ozone-layer/175)
**Author:** [@MomboCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MomboCat)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 1999, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cow-farts-destroying-the-ozone-layer/175 "1999-08-25T09:42:00Z")
Dear Cecil, I’m new to your website and have enjoyed the columns immensely. I am especially impressed with how thorough your answers are. Very informative. That is why your answer to Mojo’s question about cow farts des… --- ## [Envelopes with money (a new conundrum)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/envelopes-with-money-a-new-conundrum/174)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 1999, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/envelopes-with-money-a-new-conundrum/174 "1999-08-24T08:01:00Z")
Okay, here’s another one that’s been bugging me for ages. There are two envelopes with cash. One envelope has twice the amount of cash as the other envelope. You are given one of the envelopes. You have the option of k… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=314) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=316)