# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=51 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 52 --- ## ["One in nine Americans over age 12 takes antidepressants"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-in-nine-americans-over-age-12-takes-antidepressants/644743)
**Author:** [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [December 24, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-in-nine-americans-over-age-12-takes-antidepressants/644743 "2012-12-24T13:04:12Z")
Holy Crow! That seemed high to me, but it’s confirmed by the CDC site, which I consider holy writ on matters medical and empirical. Cecil strongly implies that these meds are being overprescribed with insufficient over… --- ## [What's up with the "lost books of the Bible"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-lost-books-of-the-bible/644742)
**Author:** [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-lost-books-of-the-bible/644742 "2012-12-21T23:41:35Z")
Cecil’s article of September 4, 1992 (link) A few questions arise from this article. Are there “Gospels” of other people? Several of the books of the Bible, lost or otherwise, are known as “Gospel”, e.g. The Gospel of… --- ## [What are the dreams of the blind like?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dreams-of-the-blind-like/644510)
**Author:** [@Lauren-C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lauren-C)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-dreams-of-the-blind-like/644510 "2012-12-20T18:41:23Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/534/what-are-the-dreams-of-the-blind-like I don’t really wish to dispute what Cecil says in it, except that his answer may give some readers the erroneous impression that those w… --- ## [is it possible to be addicted to chap-stik](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-addicted-to-chap-stik/643309)
**Author:** [@ksweetman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ksweetman)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-be-addicted-to-chap-stik/643309 "2012-12-17T20:23:47Z")
Dear Cecil, Quite some time ago, I had the good fortune to find work as an extra in Kevin Costner’s film, The Postman. A lot of that work consisted of standing out in a field all day, and a lot of the people there were … --- ## [What's Really in Spam?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-really-in-spam/644014)
**Author:** [@Nozz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nozz)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-really-in-spam/644014 "2012-12-15T01:15:57Z")
As the column says ( http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1161/whats-really-in-spam ) Spam isn’t so bad. Why is the product’s reputation worse than the product? In advertisements that came out in the wake of Worl… --- ## [Types of Twins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-twins/644047)
**Author:** [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-twins/644047 "2012-12-14T23:17:16Z")
I think we discussed this when this “classic” SD column about twins originally appeared in 1996. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2532/does-the-bible-tell-people-to-handle-snakes-plus (second question) Other typ… --- ## [If the Chinese word for "crisis" doesn't mean "crisis"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-chinese-word-for-crisis-doesnt-mean-crisis/641975)
**Author:** [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-chinese-word-for-crisis-doesnt-mean-crisis/641975 "2012-12-14T08:19:57Z")
Then it’s not the Chinese word for “crisis.” --- ## [Are the earth's poles going to shift soon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earths-poles-going-to-shift-soon/643939)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earths-poles-going-to-shift-soon/643939 "2012-12-14T01:32:46Z")
From this article (currently on the home page). I remember reading this article years ago, but I think Cecil actually answered a question that wasn’t being asked while not answering the one that was asked. To me, the g… --- ## [PCMS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pcms/643298)
**Author:** [@HongKongCV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongCV)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pcms/643298 "2012-12-14T00:37:07Z")
I was reading Cecil’s column about what causes “piss shiver”… excuse me, post-micturition convulsion syndrome (PCMS). I wish to add to the speculation… and make no mistake, this is speculation. But I wonder if PCMS co… --- ## [A Comparison of Mental Dwarves](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-comparison-of-mental-dwarves/643345)
**Author:** [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 12, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-comparison-of-mental-dwarves/643345 "2012-12-12T04:43:12Z")
Let us compare the Master’s 12/7/12 article, something about the brain’s use of energy . . . (bolding mine) . . . to an earlier story submitted by Scylla on The Horror of Blimps. Can you see a resemblance? Is this … --- ## [Kopi Luwak](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kopi-luwak/643508)
**Author:** [@glm777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glm777)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kopi-luwak/643508 "2012-12-10T17:35:27Z")
I fondly remember one of Cecil’s all time classic columns about kopi luwak, coffee beans that travel through the digestive system of civets. Well, here is an update on the story, from the Toronto Star: Coffee from an el… --- ## [Who are the Gypsies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-gypsies/643562)
**Author:** [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-gypsies/643562 "2012-12-10T05:17:44Z")
With regards to this article: Some new research seems to push the dates back a bit further than reported by the SD Science Advisory Board. --- ## [Cecil a Tolkien fan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-a-tolkien-fan/643306)
**Author:** [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-a-tolkien-fan/643306 "2012-12-08T19:14:37Z")
I noted that Cecil pluralizes “dwarf” as “dwarves” in hislatest column… “dwarves” was a Tolkien neologism. (Although by now, that usage may have become common enough to be considered standard, at least pertaining to tho… --- ## [Kwanzaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kwanzaa/643200)
**Author:** [@Alben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alben)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 7, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kwanzaa/643200 "2012-12-07T20:07:39Z")
Cecil, Master Of Information, there is something that may have slipped by your keen intelligence. That is - There is no such word in Swahili as “Kwanzaa”. The Swahili word for “First Fruits” is “Malimbuko”. Also, in t… --- ## [Radioactive glow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radioactive-glow/643144)
**Author:** [@Mike\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Woodhouse)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 7, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radioactive-glow/643144 "2012-12-07T16:22:52Z")
Actinium glows blue without needing other phosphorescent materials around. --- ## [Planet X](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-x/643287)
**Author:** [@uttam54](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uttam54)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 7, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/planet-x/643287 "2012-12-07T13:31:27Z")
They keep finding tenth planets and forgetting about them. I remember there was one named after an Eskimo (or Inuit ) goddess in the 1990s, and here’s a new one: --- ## [Why aren't we knee-deep in photons?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-we-knee-deep-in-photons/642994)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 6, 2012, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-we-knee-deep-in-photons/642994 "2012-12-06T08:11:46Z")
From this column, the third entry down the page… \[QUOTE=GGlatfel, via the Internet\] Since light has a particle nature, and since photons have mass, and since our sun has been shining for 15 billion years, why aren’t we… --- ## [Why is a 2x4 not 2" by 4"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-2x4-not-2-by-4/640599)
**Author:** [@The\_WWL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_WWL)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-2x4-not-2-by-4/640599 "2012-12-05T19:33:01Z")
Cecil: I have read your columns for nearly 35 years in and outside of Chicago. And like most fine wines, you do get better with age! I work in the “lumber industry” and want to clear up some misconceptions about wood … --- ## [Why do humans have so little body hair?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-humans-have-so-little-body-hair/642563)
**Author:** [@nelsonholly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelsonholly)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-humans-have-so-little-body-hair/642563 "2012-12-05T16:50:38Z")
A fascinating bit of research from January 2011 on lice throws some light on human nakedness. "The key to the study by David Reed and colleagues, which appears in Molecular Biology And Evolution, is that there are two k… --- ## [How come it isn't "I'm a Little Teakettle?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-it-isnt-im-a-little-teakettle/641086)
**Author:** [@waddlingeagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waddlingeagle)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-it-isnt-im-a-little-teakettle/641086 "2012-12-03T22:48:33Z")
Cecil says the teakettle is where we boil the water, and the teapot is where we put the boiled water. Nice try, but common usage says we boil water in teapots. If some grammarian wants to make an imaginary distinction, f… --- ## [Has a 200 mpg carburetor been suppressed by the oil industry?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875)
**Author:** [@Nezello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nezello)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-200-mpg-carburetor-been-suppressed-by-the-oil-industry/621875 "2012-12-01T13:23:27Z")
Cecil has been sucking in decades of exhaust fumes. STEVEN SEAGAL WARNS THE WORLD ABOUT (REAL EVIL)!! ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SUPPRESSED… --- ## [Whats up with the lost books of the bible](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-lost-books-of-the-bible/642390)
**Author:** [@rsn2bhappy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsn2bhappy)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-lost-books-of-the-bible/642390 "2012-12-01T04:59:25Z")
Basically, these books, and maybe most of the official bible, amount to what we call “Fan Fiction” these days. Compare it to the universe of Star Wars fiction. There are the movies and some stories that Lucas was direc… --- ## [Starve a Cold Feed a Fever](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starve-a-cold-feed-a-fever/642336)
**Author:** [@Jan\_Isenhour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jan_Isenhour)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starve-a-cold-feed-a-fever/642336 "2012-11-30T17:16:27Z")
in answer to many questions about this old proverb It goes as follows: “Starve a Cold and Feed a Fever” It has absolutely nothing to do with food… It means: You starve a cold by staying warm and you feed a fever by st… --- ## [Can a piece of paper be folded in half...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-piece-of-paper-be-folded-in-half/639712)
**Author:** [@D\_Brugge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Brugge)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-piece-of-paper-be-folded-in-half/639712 "2012-11-29T22:23:09Z")
In reference to Can a piece of paper be folded in half no more than seven times? - The Straight Dope P-L-E-A-S-E-! There was a time when Cecil was a stickler for accuracy in research. My how times have changed. Folding… --- ## [30 Years Later, It's a Flying House](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-years-later-its-a-flying-house/641994)
**Author:** [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-years-later-its-a-flying-house/641994 "2012-11-29T15:45:53Z")
Back in 1988, Cecil wrote a column about Larry Walters, who took his lawn chair for a flight. Earlier this month,Jonathan Trappe successfully test flew a house, and is hoping to fly it across the Atlantic. I just hope … --- ## [Riddle me this: how can 68 + (3x1) = 70?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this-how-can-68-3x1-70/105306)
**Author:** [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this-how-can-68-3x1-70/105306 "2012-11-29T07:38:36Z")
Y’all are just too smart for your own good! The riddle’s so easy! The magician must cross the bridge one time with two of the pieces of gold, leave them on the other side, and retrieve the third piece of gold and bring i… --- ## [Implant Microchip](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/implant-microchip/641897)
**Author:** [@johnnyjohnjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnnyjohnjohn)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/implant-microchip/641897 "2012-11-28T23:23:37Z")
T.Swanson is crazy --- ## [Euro what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euro-what/642323)
**Author:** [@morchidium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/morchidium)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2012, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euro-what/642323 "2012-11-28T07:59:40Z")
After reading Cecil’s 19 Jan 1996 classic, Is it possible to implant a microchip in somebody’s brain to control their thoughts? and, in particular, the thoughts put forth by T. Swanson of Illinois, only one question rema… --- ## [What's the Moon Worth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-moon-worth/641228)
**Author:** [@Chicago\_Stonepro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicago_Stonepro)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-moon-worth/641228 "2012-11-27T15:34:12Z")
Cecil and Una have apparently never heard of Dr. David Criswell. Dr. Criswell is Director of Space Systems Operations, University of Houston, and a member/director of the Texas Space Grant Consortium. He advocates a sys… --- ## [How to donate body to science](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-donate-body-to-science/641076)
**Author:** [@Lydia\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lydia_X)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-donate-body-to-science/641076 "2012-11-18T15:18:35Z")
Wat a wonderful article… so informative! Thank u! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=50) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=52)