# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=81 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 82 --- ## [What is Cecil's religion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cecils-religion/560956)
**Author:** [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cecils-religion/560956 "2010-12-03T03:18:24Z")
In the recent classic column, Cecil says: However, the slugs don’t scream, for the simple reason that they don’t have any vocal apparatus. No doubt what you hear is your own guilty conscience, which is tormenting you… --- ## [re:Are ants disease-carriers? April 20, 2006](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ants-disease-carriers-april-20-2006/562648)
**Author:** [@garyg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garyg)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ants-disease-carriers-april-20-2006/562648 "2010-12-03T02:17:59Z")
good information, quite puts my mind at ease, being one with terrific invasions twice or thice yearly. Would feel better if you could give some references. thanks for your great work. LINK: Are ants disease-carriers? -… --- ## [Standing an Egg on End](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-an-egg-on-end/561971)
**Author:** [@tenorcnj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenorcnj)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standing-an-egg-on-end/561971 "2010-12-01T01:30:13Z")
The Straight Dope Classic this week: has also been addressed by Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy --- ## [Medicare and Against Medical Advice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicare-and-against-medical-advice/562362)
**Author:** [@paulphylherr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulphylherr)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicare-and-against-medical-advice/562362 "2010-11-30T22:55:18Z")
After a 2-day hospital stay for disagnostic purposes during which my primary care physician informed me that he was satisfied that he had determined the reason for my condition (dizzy spells and inner ear issues respecti… --- ## [Lawnmower vs Car Pollution levels](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawnmower-vs-car-pollution-levels/560427)
**Author:** [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawnmower-vs-car-pollution-levels/560427 "2010-11-29T21:41:21Z")
Original Column Ok, I’ll bite: Do cars burn fuel so much more effeciently than lawn mowers that the difference in noxious emissions is that great? Isn’t there X amount of crap in a measurement of gasoline that can be … --- ## [How many people have lived on earth since the dawn of time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-have-lived-on-earth-since-the-dawn-of-time/561660)
**Author:** [@MarcCarpentier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcCarpentier)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-have-lived-on-earth-since-the-dawn-of-time/561660 "2010-11-29T15:22:19Z")
That low? I thought that many live in China alone today! --- ## [Pit Bulls Dangerous? (fr/ 5-1-09)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls-dangerous-fr-5-1-09/561982)
**Author:** [@koakako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koakako)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pit-bulls-dangerous-fr-5-1-09/561982 "2010-11-28T05:08:51Z")
This is a response to “Are pit bulls really all that dangerous?”, from May 1, 2009. Your article regarding dog injury numbers was interesting, and obviously well researched, but it occurs to me that there is a side to t… --- ## [fruit seeds contain cyanide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-seeds-contain-cyanide/287881)
**Author:** [@soldier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soldier)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-seeds-contain-cyanide/287881 "2010-11-28T00:48:03Z")
Cecil, you’re only half right, well actually 1/3 right. As you said several different types of plants have not only cyanide, but benzeldehyde also! This itself is poisonous, but the two are more than one hundred times … --- ## [Bows and Arrows](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bows-and-arrows/557998)
**Author:** [@jdbeatty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdbeatty)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [November 26, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bows-and-arrows/557998 "2010-11-26T16:57:21Z")
Though Franklin did propose using them in the Revolution, there was no chance of it. Though thee British contemplated going back to the longbow in 1815 after Waterloo’s abysmal small arms performance, Napoleon’s nation … --- ## [Dogs can't see 2D images](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-cant-see-2d-images/561115)
**Author:** [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 25, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-cant-see-2d-images/561115 "2010-11-25T04:11:51Z")
From the thread Are dogs unable to see 2-D images (mirrors, photos, TV)?. This classic column kinda bugged me, as it’s one where Cecil just says “Nah, it’s the opposite of what you think”, without even giving a serious … --- ## [Some remote Mesopotamian village](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-remote-mesopotamian-village/561732)
**Author:** [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2010, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-remote-mesopotamian-village/561732 "2010-11-24T09:39:02Z")
I know this column is from 1987, and that old columns do not generally get updated before they are posted, and all that, but surely even back in the dark ages of the 1980s it was known that the first humans lived in Afr… --- ## [Doubling Ancestors](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doubling-ancestors/561216)
**Author:** [@jmastrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmastrus)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doubling-ancestors/561216 "2010-11-24T00:00:43Z")
The recently re-posted puzzle of doubling ancestors was answered with an explanation of the theory of pedigree collapse which, albeit a valid point, disregarded a rather obvious mathematical fact. When a mating human pai… --- ## [Japanese Tentacle Porn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-tentacle-porn/561241)
**Author:** [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-tentacle-porn/561241 "2010-11-23T04:30:02Z")
I told Cecil, when he passed on a draft for me to look at, that I feared what Slug’s imagination would come up with for the illustration on this. There’s so many ways Slug could have gone with this one, but he did a pre… --- ## [Swallowing Chewing Gum Isn't Harmful (up to a point)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum-isnt-harmful-up-to-a-point/561319)
**Author:** [@honeycombe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/honeycombe)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum-isnt-harmful-up-to-a-point/561319 "2010-11-20T18:10:41Z")
The answer to the post about whether swallowing chewing gum is harmful was spot on. It’s not. I’ve swallowed chewing gum all my life and can attest to that fact. My mother even took me to the dr. when I was a kid to a… --- ## [Very Funny!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-funny/561288)
**Author:** [@Odartse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odartse)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-funny/561288 "2010-11-20T01:28:26Z")
Omg, you guys are so funny! This entire dialog should be made into a comic strip. I love this! I haven’t had such a good laugh in a long time. In fact I registered just to thank you guys for making my day. :wink: --- ## [Does the Avg. American Student Have a Smaller Vocabulary . . .](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-avg-american-student-have-a-smaller-vocabulary/559879)
**Author:** [@GuyfromLansing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuyfromLansing)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 19, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-avg-american-student-have-a-smaller-vocabulary/559879 "2010-11-19T23:25:01Z")
In the second paragraph of the answer, I think the author meant to write “etymologists,” those who study words and word origins. The writer wrote “entomologists,” or those who study insects. "Despite being plainly abs… --- ## [Electronic pest repellers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-pest-repellers/560180)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electronic-pest-repellers/560180 "2010-11-18T23:37:44Z")
Applicable thread. The pests aren’t electronic, of course, just the device. I had some experience with these devices in Africa about 15 years ago. The DCM’s (deputy chief of mission) house was surrounded by palm trees… --- ## [Bullet drop and the Coriolis effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-drop-and-the-coriolis-effect/560359)
**Author:** [@aerophex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerophex)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullet-drop-and-the-coriolis-effect/560359 "2010-11-17T18:25:27Z")
“More important things can go wrong, and besides, assuming your target is standing, what’s a couple inches up or down?” Really, Cecil? I was shocked at this one line of pathetic ineptitude in an otherwise well written … --- ## [Sugar-based Coca-Cola](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-based-coca-cola/556843)
**Author:** [@rlsentell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rlsentell)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 16, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-based-coca-cola/556843 "2010-11-16T19:29:14Z")
I was under the impression that sugar-based Coca-Cola can still be had in America if you purchase Coca-Cola that is certified Kosher for Passover (it’s available in areas with larger Jewish populations at that time of ye… --- ## [Slug's drawing (airport security scanners)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slugs-drawing-airport-security-scanners/560333)
**Author:** [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [November 13, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slugs-drawing-airport-security-scanners/560333 "2010-11-13T05:00:51Z")
What is the airport security guy looking at inside of the woman in Slug’s drawing this week? --- ## [Airport scanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-scanners/559570)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kerchak\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kerchak_1)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-scanners/559570 "2010-11-11T20:50:57Z")
Is radiation from the new airport security scanners endangering my health? The revolution has begun (I hope)… Pilot refuses scan --- ## [Mole People Debate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mole-people-debate/558210)
**Author:** [@Ignatz\_from\_Jersey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz_from_Jersey)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mole-people-debate/558210 "2010-11-10T14:15:19Z")
Having worked in NYC often as a vendor to ConEd, I can tell you unequivocably, that there are many “mole people” living under the streets of NYC. The accounts made in Toth’s book are not only true, but actually not even … --- ## [Pink ribbon skeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-ribbon-skeptic/558749)
**Author:** [@Inisfad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inisfad)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-ribbon-skeptic/558749 "2010-11-06T19:58:27Z")
Who in their right mind cannot be a pink ribbon, or cancer research, skeptic? When you consider the billions that have been raised for this cause over the years, the duplication of research by various entities, and the … --- ## [Milk and Potatoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-potatoes/559293)
**Author:** [@undeadeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/undeadeath)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milk-and-potatoes/559293 "2010-11-05T14:13:25Z")
I want to propose a follow-up question to the article about being able to subsist on nothing but whole milk and potatoes. Cecil mentioned that you would need to add oats to get the molybdenum that your body needs for the… --- ## [Why are there no new Staff Reports?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-new-staff-reports/559007)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-new-staff-reports/559007 "2010-11-03T16:22:52Z")
Just curious why the SD Page is All Cecil? Are Staff Reports gone? --- ## [Getting Anisakis from raw fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-anisakis-from-raw-fish/559224)
**Author:** [@onigame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/onigame)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-anisakis-from-raw-fish/559224 "2010-11-02T16:33:49Z")
Cecil’s 1985 column seems to over-exaggerate the danger of Anisakis a bit. From the FDA’s website at http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodborneIllness/FoodborneIllnessFoodbornePathogensNaturalToxins/BadBugBook/ucm0707… --- ## [cider vs. apple juice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cider-vs-apple-juice/557791)
**Author:** [@stevieboy601](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stevieboy601)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cider-vs-apple-juice/557791 "2010-11-02T01:01:04Z")
To quote Ned Flanders: “If it’s clear and yellow, you’ve got juice there fellow! If it’s tangy and brown, you’re in cider town!” Okly-dokely? --- ## [Covering the taste of rotten meat with pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covering-the-taste-of-rotten-meat-with-pepper/557996)
**Author:** [@Nick\_Pappas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nick_Pappas)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covering-the-taste-of-rotten-meat-with-pepper/557996 "2010-11-01T23:28:37Z")
Dear Cecil, In writing about salt and pepper you attributed the popularity of pepper to its use in masking the taste of rotten meat. I realize you are re-running an old column, but I believe this is now a discredited t… --- ## [About Counting and time units](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-counting-and-time-units/558646)
**Author:** [@Tiago44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiago44)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-counting-and-time-units/558646 "2010-10-29T15:30:46Z")
:smack:A child is born, he is in his first year until his first birthday, at this time he is one year old, and has begun his second year. A century is culminated at the end of the 100th year, and in the morning the next… --- ## [Loose lips and sinking ships](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loose-lips-and-sinking-ships/556476)
**Author:** [@jdbeatty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdbeatty)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loose-lips-and-sinking-ships/556476 "2010-10-28T14:29:50Z")
In WWII Life magazine published an article about the US Navy’s submarines in the Pacific, saying that Japanese depth charges were set too shallow. Unfortunately it was true, and the Japanese learned to reset the charges… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=80) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=82)