# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=322 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 323 --- ## [Continents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continents/893)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 1999, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continents/893 "1999-05-15T02:24:00Z")
The real explanation is much simpler; the division of Europe, Asia and Africa dates back to early Greek times. “Asia” meant to them the Anatolian peninsula (Asia Minor), and they didn’t know that you could get there on l… --- ## [Boarding Ship](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarding-ship/891)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 1999, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boarding-ship/891 "1999-05-15T01:44:00Z")
Now someone explain Boatswain (Bosun) whistles! Where did someone get the idea that officers might like to be greeted by a shrill, piercing noise when they board a ship? Everybody from Nelson to Kirk have had to tolerate… --- ## [Old one - English words ending in -gry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 1999, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60 "1999-05-14T16:18:00Z")
Just a quick note I wanted to post after reading this oldie… once again, the shining light of reason has demolished a perfectly good bar bet. The question is phrased, “Can you name three English words that end in g or y?… --- ## [Comment on: What's the origin of "hunky dory"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-whats-the-origin-of-hunky-dory/890)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 1999, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-whats-the-origin-of-hunky-dory/890 "1999-05-14T14:33:00Z")
One possible explanation mentioned was: “Another story however (attributed by the Morrises to Charles Earle Funk) traces the origin back to the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam: taking the word hunk as derived from the… --- ## ["English"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english/886)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 1999, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english/886 "1999-05-14T11:25:00Z")
You are insufficiently up to date. The original Oxford English Dictionary does not cover “English” in the billiards sense, but that is not surprising, since it is an American use first recorded in 1869. But the second Su… --- ## ["Son of a gun"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-of-a-gun/58)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 1999, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-of-a-gun/58 "1999-05-14T00:48:00Z")
Another angle on this one… A Southernism I’ve heard reference to more than once goes, “My daddy was a pistol, and I’m a son of a gun.” Pistol, of course, being an epithet for a hell-raiser. No ideas on where this origina… --- ## [mike, the headless chicken](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-the-headless-chicken/57)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 1999, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mike-the-headless-chicken/57 "1999-05-14T00:09:00Z")
forgot which book this was in, but it was memorable. anyway, in news bites (that’s actually the name “news bites”–it’s a local thing that has loads of advertising and very few national/regional/state news items that we k… --- ## [What's up with catnip?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-catnip/56)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 13, 1999, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-catnip/56 "1999-05-13T18:18:00Z")
I asked Cecil about Catnip before, but never saw anything posted on it. Now that straightdope.com has such a funky search system, I queried for “catnip” and found What is it with cats and catnip?, only to find that Cecil… --- ## [Rerun](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rerun/54)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 13, 1999, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rerun/54 "1999-05-13T11:27:00Z")
Wasn’t this week’s column a rerun?In that case, Ed, could you dig up some topic from way back that was never in a book? --- ## [Chuch of SubGenius / Discordianism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuch-of-subgenius-discordianism/885)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 1999, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chuch-of-subgenius-discordianism/885 "1999-05-12T02:17:00Z")
Link to Mailbag Article: What’s up with the Church of the Subgenius? – CKDext I like the answer – it’s true as far as it goes – but I also think it can go a lot farther here. Personally, \[just so I can be sure to get… --- ## [Jewish leap years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-leap-years/883)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 1999, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-leap-years/883 "1999-05-12T02:08:00Z")
Re: your response to the person who asked about the reason for leap years. You said that you weren’t certain about the Jewish leap years, but you thought they came 9 out of every 19 years. Close. It’s 7 out of 19. If I … --- ## [Glow in the dark](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glow-in-the-dark/53)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 1999, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glow-in-the-dark/53 "1999-05-12T01:12:00Z")
Hey Cecil, At risk of being labeled a pedantic scientist I’d like to point out what you refer to as fluorescence (Baltimore city paper 28 April) is actually Phosphorescence. Most molecules exist in unexcited states wit… --- ## [Dinosaur bones in Antarctica](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-bones-in-antarctica/52)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 1999, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-bones-in-antarctica/52 "1999-05-12T01:03:00Z")
I’ve read in the paper that dino bones have been found in Antarctica. Let’s assume this is true for the sake of argument (can anyone verify this?): Was Antarctica closer to the Equator, making it warmer, or was the plane… --- ## [Humpty Dumpty](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humpty-dumpty/881)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 11, 1999, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humpty-dumpty/881 "1999-05-11T16:08:00Z")
Dex: You did some great work tracking down the first occurance of the rhymn in print but you only quoted the riddle. Did the answer; “An Egg”, immediately follow in the source you quote or are you just assuming that “An … --- ## [CE answer is probably wrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ce-answer-is-probably-wrong/51)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 11, 1999, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ce-answer-is-probably-wrong/51 "1999-05-11T12:52:00Z")
I have it from a friend that CE stands for Conformitee’ Europee’ne, not European Community (or the French equivalent). He works with CE markings. --- ## [Streaming bubbles from boiling points](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streaming-bubbles-from-boiling-points/50)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 1999, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streaming-bubbles-from-boiling-points/50 "1999-05-09T20:17:00Z")
First let me copy what has and had been said starting below with Dear Cecil (two words that I fear may spark an White House inquiry one day) Dear Cecil: Long ago I noticed that the bubbles in clear carbonated beverages… --- ## [Eskimo words for snow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimo-words-for-snow/49)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 1999, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimo-words-for-snow/49 "1999-05-09T18:21:00Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_297.html I first read this column as a callow youth… now I wonder how the Teeming Millions let Cecil get away with this answer. When asked for the nine Eskimo words for “snow,” C… --- ## [Origin of "skosh" for "little"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-skosh-for-little/48)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 1999, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-skosh-for-little/48 "1999-05-09T15:32:00Z")
The answer doesn’t appear on the webpage for some reason, but “skosh” is a very close approximation of the Japanese word “sukoshi”, meaning “a little”. The “U” is barely pronounced, so it sounds like “s’koshi” in Japanes… --- ## [THREE dead pigeon columns?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-dead-pigeon-columns/47)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 1999, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-dead-pigeon-columns/47 "1999-05-08T12:08:00Z")
I just noticed something that, if not wierd, than at least slightly peculiar. It appears Cecil wrote three slightly different columns on answering where all the dead pigeons are, two of them on this website. Here’s how … --- ## [pushers on Tokyo subways](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pushers-on-tokyo-subways/45)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 1999, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pushers-on-tokyo-subways/45 "1999-05-08T08:39:00Z")
I came across your column about oshiya, pushers on the Tokyo subway, and having been a resident of the Tokyo area for almost 30 years, I can asure you that your information is somewhat out of date. Specifically, I have n… --- ## [Is "humongous" a word?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-humongous-a-word/880)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 1999, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-humongous-a-word/880 "1999-05-08T01:17:00Z")
Hell, yeah, it’s a word. If people use it with a consistent meaning, it’s a word whether it’s in the dictionary or not. Since I’ve never heard anyone use “humongous” without meaning “huge”, I’d classify it as an American… --- ## [Re: Which is taller, Mt. Everest or K2?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-which-is-taller-mt-everest-or-k2/879)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 1999, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-which-is-taller-mt-everest-or-k2/879 "1999-05-07T20:44:00Z")
Link to Mailbag Article: Which is taller, Everest or K2? – CKDext I’ve heard some similar question to this before that demonstrates just how pedantic people like me can get. The word in question is “taller.” Mt. Evere… --- ## [the Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moon/44)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 1999, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-moon/44 "1999-05-07T19:43:00Z")
The column about “Why does the same side of the moon always face the earth?” says that “captured” or “synchronous” rotation…\[is\] common throughout the solar system. How common is it? Of all the moons that we can see cle… --- ## [X-mas?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-mas/43)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 6, 1999, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-mas/43 "1999-05-06T21:50:00Z")
My curiosity has been jogged and I fear this question has been posed in the past, but why is Christmas commonly refered to as X-mas? Does it have something to do with the representation of the cross, or just a shorthand … --- ## [On continents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-continents/878)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 1999, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-continents/878 "1999-05-05T16:13:00Z")
The Spaniards have a different way of looking at it: they consider North and South America to be part of the same continent, which they call simply “America”. Yeah, geologically they’re wrong, I know…still, this is why t… --- ## [Restaurants in Da Big Apple](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-da-big-apple/42)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 1999, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-in-da-big-apple/42 "1999-05-05T13:48:00Z")
Are New Yorkers afraid of heights while they’re eating? I’ve been searching for a restaurant located on one of the upper levels of Manhattan, and there don’t seem to be any. Is there some custom/licensing/tax thing that … --- ## [Thou, thee, thy and thine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-thee-thy-and-thine/877)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 1999, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thou-thee-thy-and-thine/877 "1999-05-04T09:04:00Z")
Link to Mailbag Article: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/m971211c.html In the response to the question about the second-person singular familiar pronouns, McCaffertA heaps scorn on the questioner for spelling “thine… --- ## [Heart or the heart???](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-or-the-heart/41)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 1999, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-or-the-heart/41 "1999-05-03T16:16:00Z")
Well, this question is a follow up of the archived post posing a query of “Why does heart=love”. The question and subsequent answer discuss the historical development of the heart/love/soul/being relationship. Cecil refe… --- ## [Dolphins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dolphins/40)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 1999, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dolphins/40 "1999-05-03T08:31:00Z")
Why don’t we do MORE stuff about saving dolphins’ lives to tuna fishermen? --- ## [kwanzaa?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kwanzaa/39)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 1999, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kwanzaa/39 "1999-04-30T18:10:00Z")
Reading another archived column (yeah i have too much time on my hands). I found a concern with your treatment of the timing of kwanzaa. You poked doubt as to the timing having anything to do with the harvest as its orig… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=321) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=323)