# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=60 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 61 --- ## [Why prices end in .99- follow-up questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-prices-end-in-99-follow-up-questions/365359)
**Author:** [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-prices-end-in-99-follow-up-questions/365359 "2012-04-24T01:22:55Z")
Regarding Cecil’s article on why prices end in .99, I’d first like to ask dopers if this is mainly an American phenomenon. From my travels in Europe, I do not recall seeing items priced in this way (usually rounded to t… --- ## [SD cite sighting today](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sd-cite-sighting-today/619688)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sd-cite-sighting-today/619688 "2012-04-23T15:45:59Z")
Cecil on peeing on subway third rails, in CBS/Chicago: --- ## [The opera ain't over ...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opera-aint-over/618659)
**Author:** [@frubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frubes)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opera-aint-over/618659 "2012-04-23T02:29:13Z")
I’ve always believed this was attributed to the great, late Casey Stengal, the long time manager of the New Yawk Yankees. --- ## [Sex before athletic events](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-athletic-events/618963)
**Author:** [@hazmatdance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazmatdance)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 20, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-before-athletic-events/618963 "2012-04-20T12:47:27Z")
I have heard this claim too, again specifically within the martial arts community, and usually in reference to men (who appear to be the majority of martial artists). Mirkin and Hoffman’s survey isn’t that specific becau… --- ## [Gruesome baseball injuries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gruesome-baseball-injuries/618608)
**Author:** [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 20, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gruesome-baseball-injuries/618608 "2012-04-20T06:41:17Z")
Former major leaguer Huck Flener lost an eye after being struck in the face with a batted ball. Not a crushed skull, but this story is not for the squeamish. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/2001-02-07/2001-02-07-m… --- ## [Replacing power cord](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacing-power-cord/618864)
**Author:** [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 20, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacing-power-cord/618864 "2012-04-20T02:06:44Z")
In staff report: Q.E.D. writes: "Inspect cords periodically for damaged insulation or exposed wire and replace those in bad condition. " Do not replace power cords by yourself but let a qulified electrician do it. I… --- ## [What's happened to the podcast?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happened-to-the-podcast/618510)
**Author:** [@Cloudster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cloudster)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happened-to-the-podcast/618510 "2012-04-19T19:30:13Z")
iTunes reports an invalid URL, and Infoble.com reports an error with the XML file that does the RSS feed. I hope it’s fixed soon, I’m missing my fix of Dope! --- ## [Baseball injuries and cricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-injuries-and-cricket/617988)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-injuries-and-cricket/617988 "2012-04-19T06:03:12Z")
Today column on deaths caused by baseballs. I thought whether there were any in cricket where there are similar dangers to spectators? I know of no spectator being killed or indeed any players, but in cricket (unlike in… --- ## [About Don Juanism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-don-juanism/618888)
**Author:** [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-don-juanism/618888 "2012-04-17T21:37:45Z")
In his article about nymphomania (What is nymphomania? - The Straight Dope) Cecil mentions Don Juanism as the male counterpart. I have an acquaitance that commited himself to Helsinki Universitys Mental Hospital because… --- ## [Ramadan beyond arctic circle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-beyond-arctic-circle/618989)
**Author:** [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-beyond-arctic-circle/618989 "2012-04-17T14:15:09Z")
Dex wrote about jewish and islamic dieatary laws in the article: I’ve had a discussion here in Finland with several muslim friends about following Ramadan beyond arctic circle. The problem lies that if Ramadan falls o… --- ## [menstrual synchronization is not a myth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-synchronization-is-not-a-myth/618739)
**Author:** [@sejuti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sejuti)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menstrual-synchronization-is-not-a-myth/618739 "2012-04-16T19:24:50Z")
I think some unlucky women are more sensitive than others to this phenomenon. I say this because my cycle length has always been influenced by women (and men) I have gotten close to, although my cycle apparently cannot i… --- ## [Domestication of animals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestication-of-animals/618481)
**Author:** [@tavaritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavaritz)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestication-of-animals/618481 "2012-04-16T16:53:39Z")
Based on the staff report on why cats are such that they are: I give you a link to a russian experiment that has gone over 40 years where they have breeded foxes for tameability and what they’ve found about what physi… --- ## [Sex = babies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-babies/618827)
**Author:** [@Jean-Pierre\_LAFAILLE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jean-Pierre_LAFAILLE)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2012, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-babies/618827 "2012-04-15T10:29:20Z")
Just for information, I want to mention the Celtic feast of “BELTAINE” (various spellings exist !) . It takes place on the “full moon of May”. It is a feast linked to the return of light and fertility. One of the rites … --- ## [Better light-bulbs do exist!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-light-bulbs-do-exist/614299)
**Author:** [@hu\_zaskin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hu_zaskin)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-light-bulbs-do-exist/614299 "2012-04-14T21:40:03Z")
For a long time CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) were a poor replacement for incandescent lightbulbs in many situations (“Why are eco-fascists trying to ban incandescent bulbs?”) And if you only settle for the cheap … --- ## [Una! Boiling Frogs!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/una-boiling-frogs/617591)
**Author:** [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/una-boiling-frogs/617591 "2012-04-14T05:49:22Z")
Dear Una, In this column about boiling frogs, Cecil recounts a conversation where you said: Did you really say that? If so, awesome! :smiley: Also, how much of these little conversational tidbits are real and how mu… --- ## [Why do telephone keypads count from the top down, while calculators count from the bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-telephone-keypads-count-from-the-top-down-while-calculators-count-from-the-bo/365348)
**Author:** [@wbenzoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wbenzoni)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-telephone-keypads-count-from-the-top-down-while-calculators-count-from-the-bo/365348 "2012-04-13T21:57:00Z")
I was told that they telephone keypad was inverted into order to slow down fast “dialers” (i.e. accountants and bookkeepers). Apparently there was some fear that the switches could not keep up. All I could find was thi… --- ## [Brinstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brinstone/618654)
**Author:** [@TheAncientOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheAncientOne)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brinstone/618654 "2012-04-13T14:28:24Z")
:slight\_smile: The Romans called it the fire of the Gods they use it in war fare it was like napalm if you got any on you it would burn all the way through you and if water hit it it would turn hard like a rock. --- ## [Bribing the North Vietnamese](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bribing-the-north-vietnamese/615792)
**Author:** [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2012, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bribing-the-north-vietnamese/615792 "2012-04-13T06:11:29Z")
I’m not sure why Cecil dismisses the 900 billion out of hand. Inflation costs may be difficult to untangle, because who knows what would have happened to the economy without a war, but the costs of later medical care … --- ## [New info on "piss shiver"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-info-on-piss-shiver/618396)
**Author:** [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-info-on-piss-shiver/618396 "2012-04-12T18:10:51Z")
Relevant column New info Turns out Cecil was “right.” It seems to be a parasympathetic nerve issue. --- ## [douser](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/douser/618380)
**Author:** [@dwb3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwb3)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/douser/618380 "2012-04-12T03:55:54Z")
I encountered a water douser three days ago on my property in South Texas. Most of what you say is true, except for two things I cannot account for: 1. Neither me or my brother had any “success” when we tried the forked … --- ## [The wonder and glory of merkins!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-and-glory-of-merkins/618376)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonder-and-glory-of-merkins/618376 "2012-04-11T20:39:06Z")
Interesting stuff. I’d heard about them but knew very little. Movie trivia: The Adlai Stevenson-eseque President of the United States in Dr. Strangelove, played by Peter Sellers, is named Merkin Muffley. … --- ## [The Conqueror and cancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-conqueror-and-cancer/617709)
**Author:** [@CoBe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoBe)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-conqueror-and-cancer/617709 "2012-04-11T16:12:44Z")
The Straight Dope column Did John Wayne die of cancer caused by a radioactive movie set? states: Yet the current rates for people to contract cancer and die of cancer are 41% and 21%, respectively (President’s Cancer P… --- ## [Allergic to sex?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-sex/617688)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-sex/617688 "2012-04-10T16:20:01Z")
Interesting column. I wish there were references to Cecil’s sources, though, and a little more specificity at least as to cities and years of previous cases. Also, the word “prototypical” is misspelled at the start o… --- ## [Do tax cuts stimulate job growth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tax-cuts-stimulate-job-growth/616531)
**Author:** [@kibitzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kibitzer)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-tax-cuts-stimulate-job-growth/616531 "2012-04-07T02:29:31Z")
Cecil, if you were a student in my econ course and you answered an exam question the way you answered this reader question, I would give you at best a C-. You hopelessly muddled three different concepts: \[ol\] \[li\]Tric… --- ## [response to: Prehistoric, It's whats for dinner: Have explorers had feasts of Wooly Mammoth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/response-to-prehistoric-its-whats-for-dinner-have-explorers-had-feasts-of-wooly-mammoth/617869)
**Author:** [@naugatuckangel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naugatuckangel)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/response-to-prehistoric-its-whats-for-dinner-have-explorers-had-feasts-of-wooly-mammoth/617869 "2012-04-06T11:45:48Z")
“Let’s keep it simple: frozen meat from tundra = specimen; frozen meat from freezer = dinner.” AMEN to that!!! I can’t agree more!!! --- ## [The "c" in the cent symbol?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-in-the-cent-symbol/617169)
**Author:** [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-in-the-cent-symbol/617169 "2012-04-06T02:13:35Z")
Any more data discovered to accurately determine what it means? --- ## [Animals transmitting VD's](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-transmitting-vds/617275)
**Author:** [@auntmag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntmag)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-transmitting-vds/617275 "2012-04-05T04:42:40Z")
\[COLOR=“DarkGreen”\]\[/COLOR\] Back in the 50’s, dairy farms were well known for their owners contracting syphillis. It came as quite a surprise to the family when grandma was entering a nursing home and her medical histor… --- ## [How do Humans get VD?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-humans-get-vd/617812)
**Author:** [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-humans-get-vd/617812 "2012-04-04T18:52:16Z")
In Can animals get VD? - The Straight Dope cecil went over how animals who have been domesticated get VD and wild animals less so. My question is how did the first human get VD? If from animals where did they first get i… --- ## [What is the unit of charge \[ref: column about static electricity?\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-unit-of-charge-ref-column-about-static-electricity/617485)
**Author:** [@kevlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevlaw)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-unit-of-charge-ref-column-about-static-electricity/617485 "2012-04-03T16:34:25Z")
Cecil, in Can static electricity kill you? says and but, if I remember my schooldays correctly, the unit of electrical charge is the Coulomb with Volts and Joules being the units for potential difference and energy r… --- ## [When" life" began](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-life-began/617568)
**Author:** [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-life-began/617568 "2012-04-03T12:13:08Z")
Cecil, Isn’t it true that life began eon’s ago, and human lives began to take shape way back to our first ancestors? Life is passed on through our ancestors, and if they didn’t procreate none of us would be here? I wou… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=59) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=61)