# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=33 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 34 --- ## [Did Nietzsche's philosophy arise from his lack of success with women?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nietzsches-philosophy-arise-from-his-lack-of-success-with-women/702195)
**Author:** [@zhoen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zhoen)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-nietzsches-philosophy-arise-from-his-lack-of-success-with-women/702195 "2014-10-23T02:50:19Z")
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/85yda5gs9780252074677.html He certainly had a sister issue. "…revenge against a brother whose love for her waned after she caused the collapse of his friendship with Lou Sal… --- ## [why-do-humans-have-so-little-body-hair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-humans-have-so-little-body-hair/702106)
**Author:** [@DougFraser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougFraser)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-humans-have-so-little-body-hair/702106 "2014-10-22T23:00:08Z")
A major aspect of the answer to this question is often missing. It is usually rightfully noted that hair is an insulator. While true, this characteristic is perhaps not particularly critical for such a large mammal in a… --- ## [Kemosabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559)
**Author:** [@ol\_fart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ol_fart)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2014, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559 "2014-10-21T11:29:04Z")
being a lone ranger fan dating back to radio days… kemosabe was a fictious name such as the lone ranger…it was part of a program…it initially mant trusted scout. as tontos horses name was scout, it would follow that sabe… --- ## [So, if I'm only 5'2", what do I do about airbags?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-im-only-52-what-do-i-do-about-airbags/701375)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2014, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-im-only-52-what-do-i-do-about-airbags/701375 "2014-10-19T07:48:09Z")
Re Cecil’s column We know air bags can kill people; do they actually save anybody?, (November 27, 1998) re-published on or about today (10/14/2014): So, “Some people do everything right and still get killed by air bags”… --- ## [Cecil's Lip Balm Article is Seriously Deficient](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-lip-balm-article-is-seriously-deficient/701275)
**Author:** [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-lip-balm-article-is-seriously-deficient/701275 "2014-10-17T19:55:45Z")
Cecil gives his take on lip balm addiction. Cecil appears to be having so much fun mocking extreme “addicts” he leaves himself no room to consider whether there may be any nub of truth in the claim. Cecil cites only tw… --- ## [SD Is My Cite](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sd-is-my-cite/701464)
**Author:** [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sd-is-my-cite/701464 "2014-10-16T03:19:05Z")
Is there (or should there be) a probably sticky-type post listing different places where the Straight Dope is listed as a citation source? Today I discovered that the Straight Dope/Cecil Adams is listed as the first Wik… --- ## [singularity and black holes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singularity-and-black-holes/700980)
**Author:** [@Dr\_J](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_J)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singularity-and-black-holes/700980 "2014-10-15T19:07:45Z")
Great and powerful Cecil, excellent job once again on your article regarding black holes and singularities. You have gotten most of the important points correct; however, as a professor of physics I would be remiss to … --- ## [Cartoons with Articles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoons-with-articles/689242)
**Author:** [@Laplante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laplante)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoons-with-articles/689242 "2014-10-15T06:53:50Z")
I just really enjoy the articles and the cartoons are funny! Thanks Cecil! --- ## [Burning of the wicker man](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-of-the-wicker-man/700774)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 10, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-of-the-wicker-man/700774 "2014-10-10T14:11:51Z")
A propos of today’s posting: Did the Celts burn human sacrifices in a huge “wicker man”? - The Straight Dope, I must mention the Swiss Sechselaeute festival held every April in which a giant effigy of the snowman (boogg,… --- ## [Cremation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation/699633)
**Author:** [@CaymanQT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaymanQT)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation/699633 "2014-10-08T11:52:58Z")
OMG Cecil, “spoons" made me think this was going to be, you know what, being asked to ingest a spoonful and deposit the remains that way. I hope there were little plastic bags next to the bowl of ashes to hold the spo… --- ## [Are Americans are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-are-eight-times-more-likely-to-be-killed-by-a-police-officer-than-by-a-terrorist/698947)
**Author:** [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2014, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-are-eight-times-more-likely-to-be-killed-by-a-police-officer-than-by-a-terrorist/698947 "2014-10-08T10:46:42Z")
I enjoyed having my ignorance fought by the article What’s the racial breakdown of people killed by cops? but it never got around to answering the OP. The stated question was: Dear Cecil: I keep seeing a stat saying A… --- ## [Seat belts in school buses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-belts-in-school-buses/700696)
**Author:** [@grue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grue)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-belts-in-school-buses/700696 "2014-10-08T00:24:51Z")
Surprisingly, Cecil didn’t mention the other source of additional injuries that would be sustained on school buses if they had seat belts: kids hitting each other with them. Seatbelt fights were a common occurrence on … --- ## [Is multiple sclerosis increasing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-multiple-sclerosis-increasing/700300)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-multiple-sclerosis-increasing/700300 "2014-10-07T14:10:49Z")
The column: Is multiple sclerosis increasing? - The Straight Dope Very interesting - I learned a lot. I wonder why this appeared at the end of the last paragraph: “/p\>” An editing artifact? --- ## [is there really a race of blue people?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-race-of-blue-people/63044)
**Author:** [@colin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colin)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2014, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-race-of-blue-people/63044 "2014-10-07T08:04:42Z")
Dear Cecil: It is true that the gaelic people refer to black people as blue. I speak Irish (gaelige) and learn it in school,and a black man in irish is “fear gorm”, which translates as blue man. I have asked so many peo… --- ## [Discontinue the Penny?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discontinue-the-penny/698962)
**Author:** [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discontinue-the-penny/698962 "2014-10-06T06:25:39Z")
I realize this is a very old thread, but it was republished today as an SD Classic. I have to wonder about this: “The mint makes something like 13 billion pennies a year, accounting for two-thirds of all U.S. coinage. … --- ## [cremations 9/29/14](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremations-9-29-14/699867)
**Author:** [@scottyb23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scottyb23)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremations-9-29-14/699867 "2014-09-29T18:42:04Z")
Cecil & Staff : Still not enough info…What happens to dental gold,metal appliances,etc ? --- ## ["zinc lozenges" article needs an update](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zinc-lozenges-article-needs-an-update/695617)
**Author:** [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zinc-lozenges-article-needs-an-update/695617 "2014-09-28T11:51:34Z")
Well, it’s happened again. An old SD article was reprinted that really should have been updated first. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1258/can-zinc-lozenges-cure-the-common-cold Long story short, in 1998 Willia… --- ## [Middle finger at Agincourt?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-finger-at-agincourt/698173)
**Author:** [@toefungus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toefungus)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-finger-at-agincourt/698173 "2014-09-27T05:52:09Z")
RE: Middle finger at Agincourt The British don’t use the middle finger as a gesture so that story is obviously false. --- ## [Washing blue jeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-blue-jeans/698275)
**Author:** [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 23, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-blue-jeans/698275 "2014-09-23T00:18:24Z")
Column in question. My folks had a friend who’d been raised on a ranch in Arizona. It was a hard-scrabble ranch and there were a lot of kids so money was always short. The neighboring ranch was owned by a bachelor who… --- ## [So who, besides Lewis Carroll, was Jack the Ripper?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-besides-lewis-carroll-was-jack-the-ripper/693822)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-besides-lewis-carroll-was-jack-the-ripper/693822 "2014-09-19T18:18:29Z")
Do anagrams in Lewis Carroll’s poems prove he was Jack the Ripper?, originally published March 7, 1997, re-published on-line on or about July 22, 2014: Mr. Traugott asks: Okay, I’ll bite. Who was supposedly Lewis Car… --- ## [Blue People](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-people/697314)
**Author:** [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-people/697314 "2014-09-17T14:20:22Z")
Obligatory link I think Cecil is a little too dismissive of the Ainu report. Back in my own days as an anthropology student several decades ago, I distinctly recall the Ainu described as having a bluish cast from their … --- ## [What does kumbaya mean](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-kumbaya-mean/698319)
**Author:** [@Charmbrights](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charmbrights)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-kumbaya-mean/698319 "2014-09-15T12:59:31Z")
I always understood that kumbaya was UK Yorkshure dialect “come by here” whichis expressed orally as “come by yere” and had nothing to do with pidgin unless the interpreter came from Lancashire. --- ## [Origins of 7-up](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-7-up/696770)
**Author:** [@lmichaelpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lmichaelpost)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-7-up/696770 "2014-09-14T22:36:54Z")
It was common knowledge in my youth that 7-up got its name from the size of its bottle. Coke and other soft drinks were sold in 6 1/2 oz bottles. 7-up, to distinguish itself, was sold in 7 oz bottles. Get it? 7-up = 7-ev… --- ## [What is branch water?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-branch-water/695087)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-branch-water/695087 "2014-09-14T21:36:54Z")
Today’s classic column says: I’ve lived all my life in “the South” (Arkansas, Oklahoma, East Texas), and I’ve never heard of a stream called a branch, as in “let’s go down to the branch and go swimming,” as opposed to … --- ## [Jumpin' Jack Flash](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jumpin-jack-flash/693189)
**Author:** [@sudont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sudont)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jumpin-jack-flash/693189 "2014-09-14T03:41:17Z")
I’m fascinated by the crazy stuff people will believe about recreational drugs. It never fails to amaze me how credulous some people can be: “I may have my facts mixed up, but if what I’ve heard is correct, “Jumpin’ Jac… --- ## [Pain relief (copper, magnets, and otherwise)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-relief-copper-magnets-and-otherwise/698322)
**Author:** [@grue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grue)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-relief-copper-magnets-and-otherwise/698322 "2014-09-12T18:12:16Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1276/do-copper-bracelets-ease-pain One thing to mention is the concept of “regression to the mean;” generally, everything is cyclical and self-correcting, and usually people try … --- ## [Th shrtst nglsh sntnc](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/th-shrtst-nglsh-sntnc/697559)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/th-shrtst-nglsh-sntnc/697559 "2014-09-10T03:54:23Z")
Re: Cecil’s column Is “I am” the shortest English sentence? Cecil doesn’t bother to rebut this objection. He should have. Actually, “Go.” is too a perfectly complete English sentence. Yes, an English sentence needs … --- ## ["Do Scarecrows Work?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-scarecrows-work/697665)
**Author:** [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2014, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-scarecrows-work/697665 "2014-09-09T03:55:11Z")
I’m no farmer and haven’t dealt with crows per se. But I’ll offer my two cents based on Cecil’s column. In the city of Austin, grackles are the biggest bird pests. And I’ve seen people trying all kinds of ways to scar… --- ## [Tycho Brahe did not attend the U of Rostock in Germany](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tycho-brahe-did-not-attend-the-u-of-rostock-in-germany/696181)
**Author:** [@bowlweevils](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bowlweevils)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tycho-brahe-did-not-attend-the-u-of-rostock-in-germany/696181 "2014-09-08T21:37:35Z")
In 1566 there was no Germany. The city of Rostock was part of the Hertzogtum Mecklenburg, itself part of the Heilige Römische Reich Deutscher Nation. (the Duchy of Meckleburg in the Holy Roman Empire of the German People… --- ## [CA lottery payout options.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-lottery-payout-options/579518)
**Author:** [@1densuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1densuke)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-lottery-payout-options/579518 "2014-09-08T21:12:20Z")
I like your analogous comparison of the CA lottery to the standard U.S. mortgage. I even agree with your calculated values that $100,000 @ 5% interest makes a monthly payment of $659.96 and @ 3% interest a monthly paym… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=34)