# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=318 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 319 --- ## [Is innocent until proven guilty legal fiction?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-innocent-until-proven-guilty-legal-fiction/998)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 1999, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-innocent-until-proven-guilty-legal-fiction/998 "1999-07-15T23:30:00Z")
I have heard that while people are innocent until proven guilty, property is not. In other words, even if a person is aquitted of a crime their property can still be confiscated. I have heard that if I get pulled over an… --- ## [Christian Beliefs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christian-beliefs/991)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 1999, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christian-beliefs/991 "1999-07-15T20:03:00Z")
I just wanted to point out that not all Christians keep holidays that they consider pagan in origin (Christmas, Easter, etc.) nor do all Christians hold the cross to be their “symbol”. Although some of these parts of C… --- ## [Skipping CDs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skipping-cds/141)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 1999, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skipping-cds/141 "1999-07-14T23:04:00Z")
Cecil wrote that skipping CDs were due to dirt. I first noticed skipping CDs on virgin (whatever plastic they’re made from) right from the jewel case. Certain tracks would skip no matter how much the CD was cleaned. The… --- ## [New moderator](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-moderator/139)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 1999, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-moderator/139 "1999-07-14T05:53:00Z")
Hey! You can gush about me all you like. I’ve been made moderator of this board, and I am touched (in more ways than one) (but not in as many ways as I’d like, come to think of it.). Give me a few days to catch up with a… --- ## [Dogtags](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogtags/990)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 1999, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogtags/990 "1999-07-14T05:24:00Z")
Don’t know when they quit, but they don’t put the tooth notch in the dogtags anymore. I don’t remember them from my first set in 75, and the ones I have now don’t have them either. Don’t take life so serious. It ain’t no… --- ## [Is Resurrection Immediate? (was Devils Running Hell)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-resurrection-immediate-was-devils-running-hell/987)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 1999, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-resurrection-immediate-was-devils-running-hell/987 "1999-07-13T08:43:00Z")
DrTom posted 06-18-99 02:24 PM This is a position usually taken up by fundamentalists who rely on Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and Revelations. In Thes., Paul is winging an answer to what happens to the dead if … --- ## [Boiling Water For](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water-for/986)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 1999, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water-for/986 "1999-07-13T02:20:00Z")
I am responding to the posting about boiling water for tea- http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mteaboil.html Iffen I was to boil water, then EMPTY the kettel? All I get ( and, got once…sadly ) is an incredibly rusty in… --- ## [Suicide and professions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-and-professions/984)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 1999, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-and-professions/984 "1999-07-12T19:54:00Z")
Dext, my personal guess would be that the profession with the highest suicide rate is “retired”. \*\* EDIT BY CKDextHavn on 7/11/99: link is http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msuicide.html \*\* \[Note: This message has … --- ## [Double pawed cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-pawed-cats/983)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 1999, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-pawed-cats/983 "1999-07-12T14:18:00Z")
I always thought that cats with extra toes were descendants of cats that were given LSD in the 70s. I never heard of this lucky ship cat stuff. --- ## [Quaker Oats, and Saul Bass](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaker-oats-and-saul-bass/981)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 1999, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaker-oats-and-saul-bass/981 "1999-07-12T12:31:00Z")
In 1970, Saul Bass created the shadowed illustration?? Is this the very same Saul Bass who created those terrific Stop-Motion cartoons all of which are Holiday-Season based? (Rudolph, etc.) Talk about a Conspiracy. I th… --- ## [ducks' half-brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ducks-half-brain/138)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 1999, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ducks-half-brain/138 "1999-07-12T07:50:00Z")
HA! Finally my school, Indiana State is famous for something besides Larry Bird!! Thanks Cecil. --- ## [Sifting Flour](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sifting-flour/980)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 1999, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sifting-flour/980 "1999-07-12T03:48:00Z")
For reasons I cannot explain, it makes sense to me not to sift my flour whilst creating yet another prize batch of banana breads. I DO, however, use a wire whisk on all of the dry ingredients to insure an even dispersal … --- ## [Why Is An Oscar An Oscar ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-an-oscar-an-oscar/979)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 1999, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-an-oscar-an-oscar/979 "1999-07-11T13:00:00Z")
I’ve held more than one of these puppies. Now, there is something amazing about them, and it is completely a social phenom. Other awards of this ilk (Including an Emmy, which I have also fondled) just DON’T have the pana… --- ## [The Noise Inside of Your Computer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noise-inside-of-your-computer/978)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 1999, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noise-inside-of-your-computer/978 "1999-07-11T12:58:00Z")
Grease the WIRING??? Oh goodness gracious. Would that be a delicate drop or two of the Radio Shack Teflon Lube Gel, or a generous slathering of 10W-40??? I’ve never heard of such a thing, and besides, aside from iMacs, n… --- ## ["Classic" U-shaped toilet seats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-u-shaped-toilet-seats/135)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 1999, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-u-shaped-toilet-seats/135 "1999-07-10T04:10:00Z")
Unca Cecil – A few things to consider about this old topic, recently given new life on the website: 1. "Three times readers have sent me this question in the space of four months. You people really have to start getti… --- ## [Yellow Ribbon story origins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellow-ribbon-story-origins/134)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 1999, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellow-ribbon-story-origins/134 "1999-07-09T15:46:00Z")
I was a young lad back in 1969 when I saw the story on television. (I think it was 1969, might be + or - a year). It was summer TV programming to fill in the emptiness between seasons. The show was called “Perpetual Peop… --- ## [oyez,oyez](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oyez-oyez/976)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 1999, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oyez-oyez/976 "1999-07-09T05:57:00Z")
No kidding: in the Jefferson County (TN) courthouse, the bailiff DOES say “oh yes, oh yes!” Or at least he used to. Haven’t been to court in a while (knock on wood). --- ## [Killer Sperm?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-sperm/132)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 1999, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-sperm/132 "1999-07-08T18:13:00Z")
== I read an article in Details Magazine within the last year talking about how human sperm all, similar to an ant colony, all have special duties. One of these is to stick around and fight sperm from other people, anot… --- ## [what's this trend with two questions in one column?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-trend-with-two-questions-in-one-column/131)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 1999, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-trend-with-two-questions-in-one-column/131 "1999-07-08T15:29:00Z")
I’ve noticed something similar to the lull of summer at my office in the column. What’s this? The Almighty swiped up a few, short’n’easy ones before taking off to Cancun? It’s simply below par right now. When in troub… --- ## ["Calming" effects of Nicotine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calming-effects-of-nicotine/130)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 1999, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calming-effects-of-nicotine/130 "1999-07-08T13:54:00Z")
I’m not sure how old the info on the calming effects of nicotine is but… I’ve heard that it is not the actual drug that calms smokers, rather it’s what it is that the smoker does while smoking…that’s just what I’ve hear… --- ## [National Hockey League](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-hockey-league/975)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 1999, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-hockey-league/975 "1999-07-07T19:07:00Z")
I would have thought that you would explain your comment “the Montreal Canadiens (yes, that’s how they’ve always spelled it)”, especially since we are talking to Americans who don’t understand that the NHL is a Canadian … --- ## [Killing Coackroaches, a biological approach](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-coackroaches-a-biological-approach/129)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 1999, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-coackroaches-a-biological-approach/129 "1999-07-07T06:52:00Z")
Being very interested in sailing (long distance cruising), I can tell you that the cockroach problem also infests ships. I have been told by reliable sources that no chemical will really help. The best way to get rid of… --- ## [human adrenaline](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-adrenaline/127)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 1999, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-adrenaline/127 "1999-07-07T00:58:00Z")
what would happen if you were to extract the human adrenale gland then ingest the actual adrenaline? mike --- ## [Burning Crosses.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-crosses/126)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 1999, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-crosses/126 "1999-07-06T01:20:00Z")
Why would the KKK and other groups burn crosses to scare people ? What does a cross have to do with it ? What was the meaning or message it is supposed to convey ? --- ## [No 4,000 year leap day rule](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-4-000-year-leap-day-rule/972)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 1999, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-4-000-year-leap-day-rule/972 "1999-07-04T22:59:00Z")
Regarding www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mleapyr.html The 4,000 year rule has been proposed by some writers but it is not part of Pope Gregory’s system nor has any official body I know of accepted it. --- ## [Crystal Balls](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-balls/125)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 1999, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-balls/125 "1999-07-04T19:51:00Z")
Where did the idea come from that gypsies us crystal balls to predict events or tell fortunes? Does it have something to do with the bending of the light? Is there any hallucinogenic effect produced? Or is it that this i… --- ## [Sun and sun and Sol](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-and-sun-and-sol/969)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 1999, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-and-sun-and-sol/969 "1999-07-04T11:06:00Z")
I have it on good authority that the Sun (capitalized) is the correct English proper noun for the specific primary of the solar system we inhabit. “sun” refers to any star, or to various other meanings (“got too much sun… --- ## [Oct. 07, 94 Oxygen levels in relation to amount of forests in ancient times](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oct-07-94-oxygen-levels-in-relation-to-amount-of-forests-in-ancient-times/123)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 4, 1999, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oct-07-94-oxygen-levels-in-relation-to-amount-of-forests-in-ancient-times/123 "1999-07-04T02:49:00Z")
I find it strange that with all the great hubbub about deforestation there is no mention of the largest carbon dioxide sink on the planet, the oceans. There should be concern about the destruction of rain forests, the me… --- ## [origins of the peace symbol](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-peace-symbol/122)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 1999, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-peace-symbol/122 "1999-07-03T19:57:00Z")
The other theories were good, but I ahve one more to add for your consideration. I’m sure many of you who are either “new age” or followers of “the old religion” (you know who you are) have heard of runes- the ancient No… --- ## [The guy who says "Welcome" on AOL...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-who-says-welcome-on-aol/966)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 1999, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-who-says-welcome-on-aol/966 "1999-07-03T15:07:00Z")
The article on the guy who says the messages on AOL really interested me, but I have something that’s been bugging me for a long time; who the heck is that guy who is always in the movie previews? Any of guys know? It’s … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=317) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=319)