# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=65 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 66 --- ## [Varmints in the Christmas Tree](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/varmints-in-the-christmas-tree/607239)
**Author:** [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/varmints-in-the-christmas-tree/607239 "2011-12-28T22:24:26Z")
I’d just like to say that Cecil penned an excellent column this week; perhaps the finest ever. It’ll probably end up in the schoolbooks of boys and girls for generations to come. Also, completely unrelated—not even sur… --- ## [Mistletoe kissing origins?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistletoe-kissing-origins/91)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistletoe-kissing-origins/91 "2011-12-26T09:27:51Z")
In the column from January 6, 1995 (yes, it’s an OLD column, but I only recently discovered the Straight Dope & am now working my way forward slowly…), Cecil states: “The pitiless Loki, however, shot an arrow of mistle… --- ## [Mercedes-Benz, Krupps et al. war crims](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercedes-benz-krupps-et-al-war-crims/606923)
**Author:** [@growley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/growley)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 23, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercedes-benz-krupps-et-al-war-crims/606923 "2011-12-23T04:37:49Z")
Let us not forget, either, Hugo Boss, who made his fortune and his company, literally on the backs of the SS. He designed the uniforms so beloved of those cheeky little Nazi psychos. Funny how this is never mentioned in … --- ## [Nostalgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostalgia/606985)
**Author:** [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 23, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostalgia/606985 "2011-12-23T00:02:26Z")
From Joshua 5:2: My annotated Bible says the following: Actually, one can look at Genesis (and the downfall of Man) as metaphorical for Man’s changing over from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture and herding.… --- ## [Are human beings still evolving?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-human-beings-still-evolving/604685)
**Author:** [@Odia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odia)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-human-beings-still-evolving/604685 "2011-12-22T14:22:45Z")
Hello Cecil, While I sympathise with your headdress conundrum, I suspect that it can easily be resolved by a visit to the barber :). Regarding your comment about sickle-cell anaemia in black people being the result of … --- ## [Driving on the Left](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/603246)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/603246 "2011-12-21T21:45:15Z")
Why do the British Driving on the Left? There was a popular Norwegian joke about the Swedes switching over. In order to ease the transition, the Swedes decided that trucks would switch over on Sunday, November 3 while … --- ## [Feeling uncomfortable at 85-90 degrees.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeling-uncomfortable-at-85-90-degrees/606599)
**Author:** [@cyborg2828](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cyborg2828)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feeling-uncomfortable-at-85-90-degrees/606599 "2011-12-21T21:44:14Z")
When I bought a waterbed, the salesman told me that while the body temperature is 98.6 the average skin temperature is around 80 degrees. Since the skin is around 80, any temperature above 80 feels hot and anything below… --- ## [Regarding snakebite](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-snakebite/606426)
**Author:** [@Ishmael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ishmael)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-snakebite/606426 "2011-12-20T14:15:14Z")
Here is the title of your most recent column: “Is setting yourself on fire a good way to treat snakebite?” December 16, 2011. Undoubtedly, Cecil is correct in describing the mucho macho response to snakebite that is ou… --- ## [Civil Air Patrol sinks two U-Boats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-air-patrol-sinks-two-u-boats/560572)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/civil-air-patrol-sinks-two-u-boats/560572 "2011-12-19T23:31:45Z")
Link. Not only did the Civil Air Patrol spot 173 U-Boats, they attacked 57 of them, resulting in two kills, reported 91 ships in distress, assisted in rescuing 363 survivors of U-Boat attacks, and reportd 17 floating m… --- ## [Hearing Radio through your teeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-radio-through-your-teeth/605526)
**Author:** [@Corny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corny)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-radio-through-your-teeth/605526 "2011-12-19T23:24:33Z")
I don’t think teeth have anything to do with it. I hear faint radio frequently. It’s simply a function of a little tinnitis. Some people get ringing in their ears from tinnitis, and some people hear what sounds like a… --- ## [Non de plume...non de why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-de-plume-non-de-why/605788)
**Author:** [@Dennis\_Arthur\_PERRETT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dennis_Arthur_PERRETT)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-de-plume-non-de-why/605788 "2011-12-17T18:18:11Z")
What is it with psuedonyms? If one stands for truth and is willing to fight ignorance then why must one feel to use or have a psuedonym?. I realise privacy must be protected from the teeming billions, we dont want any st… --- ## [Why does head hair grow indefinitely...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-head-hair-grow-indefinitely/605874)
**Author:** [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-head-hair-grow-indefinitely/605874 "2011-12-17T18:02:34Z")
Why does head hair grow indefinitely but other body hair doesn’t? Cecil does a little smoke and mirrors routine in this column I think. Sure, he corrected the ‘scalp hair grows indefinitely’ misstatement, but dodges the… --- ## [Amusing name-calling...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-name-calling/606536)
**Author:** [@SDMBKL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SDMBKL)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-name-calling/606536 "2011-12-17T17:24:52Z")
I would like to give a comment on Cecil Adam’s name-calling, which I find very amusing. Names that Cecil Adams have used: \[ul\] \[li\]birdbrain\[/li\]\[li\]chum (used in a sarcastic manner)\[/li\]\[li\]muttonhead\[/li\]\[/ul\] The … --- ## [cork-screw pig penis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cork-screw-pig-penis/112123)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cork-screw-pig-penis/112123 "2011-12-17T07:18:39Z")
So this classic column reran. The original date is February 24, 1984. I began to wonder if a more recent search would be more successful. http://137.222.110.150/calnet/abdpel11/page2.htm This site appears to be an an… --- ## [Without a trace... The Bermuda Triangle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-a-trace-the-bermuda-triangle/606210)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-a-trace-the-bermuda-triangle/606210 "2011-12-15T22:53:39Z")
Why we haven’t heard of the Bermuda Triangle recently… As you can logically deduce, the Bermuda Triangle is located in the Bermuda Triangle itself. That means, it is entirely possible that the Bermuda Triangle itself w… --- ## [Why is there no blue food?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-blue-food/605970)
**Author:** [@PAUL\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PAUL_S)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-no-blue-food/605970 "2011-12-13T18:14:38Z")
Dear Cecil, This is not to contradict anything in your piece but just in case anyone else here likes useless bits of information (what do I mean, “in case”??). I remember reading in an interview with or article on the l… --- ## [Thanksgiving Day and FDR](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-day-and-fdr/604098)
**Author:** [@Bearcat69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearcat69)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-day-and-fdr/604098 "2011-12-13T04:28:15Z")
Cecil has just reposted his November 29, 1985 column “Is it true Thanksgiving was invented by the editor of Harper’s Bazaar?” I must correct one fact. Cecil claims that in FDR’s 1939 Thanksgiving proclamation, he change… --- ## [The Rarity of Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rarity-of-blue/605647)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 12, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rarity-of-blue/605647 "2011-12-12T15:52:24Z")
Blue is a rare color in nature, and because it is, many creatures use blue to attract their mates. Many species of Bowerbirds heavily decorate their bowers in blue even if it means needing a little help from mankind. Bow… --- ## [Geometry problem Jan. 4, 1991](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-problem-jan-4-1991/604232)
**Author:** [@Corresponder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corresponder)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geometry-problem-jan-4-1991/604232 "2011-12-11T23:51:02Z")
I noticed this old post and came up with a different proof. The challenge was: With triangle ABC extend the base line AB in either direction. Let the angle bisector at A intersect the EXTERNAL angle bisector at B at p… --- ## [Race?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race/604865)
**Author:** [@DORFMONT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DORFMONT)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race/604865 "2011-12-11T12:35:35Z")
My usual answer to that question is: anything but motorcycles. :wink: LINK TO COLUMN: What percentage of black parentage do you need to be considered black? - The Straight Dope --- ## [Incorrect Assumptions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-assumptions/605404)
**Author:** [@Zatdrawkcab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zatdrawkcab)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 7, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incorrect-assumptions/605404 "2011-12-07T22:43:20Z")
In your support of your belief that the U.S. leadership was not aware prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, you mentioned several inadeqacies or assumptions. First, you state that there was simply no way of knowing where… --- ## [When does life begin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-life-begin/604692)
**Author:** [@Fireboat52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fireboat52)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 7, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-life-begin/604692 "2011-12-07T13:26:41Z")
Like so many questions, this one has a false premise. Life began a long time ago. Life is a continuim from one individual person to another as they literally, physically divide. What we are really asking is “When does an… --- ## [Boiling water in a microwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water-in-a-microwave/44578)
**Author:** [@Kupek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kupek)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiling-water-in-a-microwave/44578 "2011-12-05T19:54:23Z")
In regards to: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmicroboil.html Alright, I’m going to have to completely disagree with the reasoning that the ceramic mugs don’t provide nucleation sites, and thus don’t allow the wate… --- ## [The history of the snowglobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-history-of-the-snowglobe/605030)
**Author:** [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-history-of-the-snowglobe/605030 "2011-12-05T18:43:10Z")
In reference to this Straight Dope classic: An article in The Daily recounts the history of the snowglobe. It does not, however, definitively answer the question of its name. While employing numerous synonyms, it does… --- ## [Is There a God?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-god/601832)
**Author:** [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Replies:** 171\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-god/601832 "2011-12-03T13:56:49Z")
Article here. While the cosmological argument is a good start, it’s been given a savaging from Kant and Russell (here for example). Not to mention that the idea that the idea that there could be an infinite chain of ca… --- ## [Beef jerkey packets correction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-jerkey-packets-correction/601274)
**Author:** [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beef-jerkey-packets-correction/601274 "2011-12-03T02:21:33Z")
Article here. “Inhabits” should be “inhibits” I believe (eee, pedantry :(). I wonder if anyone has eaten them and what the results would be? I was always advised by my parents to never even touch the little packets fou… --- ## [Radio Broadcasts Through Teeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-broadcasts-through-teeth/604825)
**Author:** [@newport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newport)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-broadcasts-through-teeth/604825 "2011-12-02T22:35:14Z")
I live in Cincinnati, and have always heard stories about how people could hear WLW through their teeth when they were broadcasting at 500,000 watts. It was said that people would hear it in pipes and metal fences. I d… --- ## [Yards as measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yards-as-measure/602914)
**Author:** [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yards-as-measure/602914 "2011-12-02T21:55:22Z")
One factor not mentioned in the column is that, as any reader of the Robin Hood stories will recall, the arrows used with a longbow were often referred to as being a yard long. Tie that in with the Old English derivatio… --- ## ["Seeing stars"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-stars/604854)
**Author:** [@Woodrow\_W\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woodrow_W_Smith)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-stars/604854 "2011-12-02T16:40:46Z")
Suddenly seeing a lot of little black dots may not necessarily be something to worry about…but if they are accompanied by occasional, infrequent flashes of white light at the very edges of your peripheral vision, see an … --- ## [Mosquitoe article comment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoe-article-comment/604803)
**Author:** [@Aeons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeons)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoe-article-comment/604803 "2011-12-02T05:25:31Z")
\*This one: \* “Do mosquitoes prefer certain blood types?” I was curious, my type is A-, but mosquitoes seem to love me! :rolleyes: The article says type A people tend to get bit less than type O though…did I miss it, … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=64) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=66)