# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=86 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 87 --- ## [Snipers and the Coriolis effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snipers-and-the-coriolis-effect/544400)
**Author:** [@elmugre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmugre)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snipers-and-the-coriolis-effect/544400 "2010-07-15T00:21:37Z")
Cecil quotes an author named Telander as asserting “…as a rifle is fired, its barrel heats up, the metal contracts and the bullets are propelled faster.” I believe heating metal causes it to expand. And heating a rifle… --- ## [I'm getting heavier, and so is the Earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-heavier-and-so-is-the-earth/544796)
**Author:** [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-getting-heavier-and-so-is-the-earth/544796 "2010-07-13T23:28:39Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/815/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter I am getting old \*, and I’m much heavier than I used to be when I was twenty. I thought about this in the shower this morning and I s… --- ## [Clean coal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clean-coal/546095)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clean-coal/546095 "2010-07-13T19:43:26Z")
From column: What is “activated carbon”, and how is it different than, say, coal? I’m not sure I follow. If we have less space than we think we do, then it will take space three and a half times the size of Texas? … --- ## [Mailing bricks to junk mailers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mailing-bricks-to-junk-mailers/544850)
**Author:** [@Stephen304](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephen304)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mailing-bricks-to-junk-mailers/544850 "2010-07-13T17:08:55Z")
I was reading something on here about mailing bricks to junk mailers and it was concluded that the post office would throw it out. What would happen if it were disguised, say as a box of papers? Would they look at you fu… --- ## [Oil Spill and Rush Limbaugh](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-spill-and-rush-limbaugh/543675)
**Author:** [@bradfregger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradfregger)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-spill-and-rush-limbaugh/543675 "2010-07-13T03:26:31Z")
Cecil, I hate to see a smart guy like you falling for the mass media tripe and lies about Rush Limbaugh. If you actually listened to his program, you’d have heard that he said almost exactly what you’ve said. This inclu… --- ## [Regarding Mosquito Preferences](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-mosquito-preferences/546289)
**Author:** [@melloe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melloe)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-mosquito-preferences/546289 "2010-07-13T03:26:03Z")
In reference to this article, Do Mosquitoes Prefer Certain Blood Types, I was sad to see that blood type ABs were not addressed. Is there no research on this, or do I sense some mosquito-like blood-type discrimination go… --- ## [origin of boilermakers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boilermakers/235273)
**Author:** [@EgregiousOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EgregiousOne)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-boilermakers/235273 "2010-07-13T03:17:08Z")
Okay, let me start by saying that I was raised by a man who probably knew every possible combination of alcohol known to modern man. Not a bartender, but a bartender’s customer. My father, who used to take me around to e… --- ## [My Dad was a Drunken Plumber \[boilermakers\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dad-was-a-drunken-plumber-boilermakers/546453)
**Author:** [@ibmwesq\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ibmwesq_aol.com)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dad-was-a-drunken-plumber-boilermakers/546453 "2010-07-13T00:25:10Z")
Indeed, the recipe for a boilermaker demands the foulest brownest whisky shot is dropped in a flat tap beer on the stickiest bar for ten miles. The art is in drinking the mess in one motion with the shot slowly slipping… --- ## [Orange oranges](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orange-oranges/544354)
**Author:** [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orange-oranges/544354 "2010-07-12T23:54:00Z")
From the article: Wait. What? So, what did people in England call orange things before then? Perhaps, that’s just the earliest recorded usage. But still, can we possibly know where basic adjectives – red, orange, … --- ## [Origins of the word "OK"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-word-ok/546107)
**Author:** [@j\_iliz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_iliz)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-the-word-ok/546107 "2010-07-12T15:49:29Z")
While living in Germany I came across a reputable reference as to the origin of this word. The dating of it is traced back to the 9th century and it specifically references the initials of King Otto (Otto Konig) of what … --- ## [Regarding Dr Bronner](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-dr-bronner/546266)
**Author:** [@Arrowwind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrowwind)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-dr-bronner/546266 "2010-07-12T14:29:15Z")
Your article on Dr Bronner was of interest to me as I knew the man. It sounded a bit harsh and sarcastic to me You forgot to mention that he spent the last half of his life blind. He wore glasses with lenses as thick a… --- ## [Hot & Spicy Food](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-spicy-food/545987)
**Author:** [@johnt037](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnt037)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-spicy-food/545987 "2010-07-10T01:21:33Z")
If anybody (especiall Thai) has ever eaten Hot & Spicy Food Thai food, they would tell you that the best thing to eat to cool your mouth down (especially after eating a Thai pepper) is lettuce and/or cucumbers. These re… --- ## [Kosher Pickles Don't Have to be Kosher](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-pickles-dont-have-to-be-kosher/545040)
**Author:** [@MC\_HFCS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_HFCS)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher-pickles-dont-have-to-be-kosher/545040 "2010-07-09T00:32:46Z")
The ‘Kosher’ of Kosher Pickles refers more to the specific flavoring made popular in the kosher delis of New York City: garlic. A dill pickle recipe is made “kosher” by the addition of plenty of garlic cloves in the pick… --- ## [Tipping makes no sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-makes-no-sense/542466)
**Author:** [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-makes-no-sense/542466 "2010-07-08T18:48:49Z")
Based on this recently-posted question to Cecil. No doubt this has been thrashed out on SD before, but let’s have it again: tipping is daft – it slows down countless transactions and is often unfair (e.g. tipping the ba… --- ## [Tequila, Salt and Lime](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tequila-salt-and-lime/545900)
**Author:** [@Jim\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Johnson)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tequila-salt-and-lime/545900 "2010-07-08T15:10:23Z")
Dear Cecil, Hmmmmmm…regarding your answer to why salt and lime accompanies downing a shot of tequila. We have visited quite a few tequila factories in Mexico, and they all tell us two things: 1. Never, ever say the nam… --- ## [Sugar in car fuel tank](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-in-car-fuel-tank/545912)
**Author:** [@ccordner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccordner)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-in-car-fuel-tank/545912 "2010-07-07T23:57:16Z")
Having read the post on sugar in the fuel tank wrecking a car’s engine, perhaps worth mentioning the Mythbusters episode, ‘Car Capers’ in which they tried this. Whilst I am sure there may be long term effects, the engin… --- ## [Digitus Impudicus - Middle Finger Salute](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digitus-impudicus-middle-finger-salute/545595)
**Author:** [@RGMakin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RGMakin)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/digitus-impudicus-middle-finger-salute/545595 "2010-07-07T19:41:28Z")
Cecil is correct that the middle finger salute has a history long preceding the Battle of Agincourt (1415). But that battle represents a singular moment for the symbol. It’s the first time in history - ever - that the … --- ## [Best Groucho Marx line ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-groucho-marx-line-ever/545808)
**Author:** [@John\_Crowley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Crowley)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-groucho-marx-line-ever/545808 "2010-07-07T04:44:37Z")
First of all, this line by Groucho was in fact aired on television. I personally saw it, laughed uncontrollably, and repeated the line many times afterwards, always with an attribution to Groucho. Secondly, it is not … --- ## [What does "risk of cancer" mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-risk-of-cancer-mean/545647)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kerchak\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kerchak_1)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 6, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-risk-of-cancer-mean/545647 "2010-07-06T18:03:03Z")
A 2001 Danish study of 7,000 women showed a 50 percent higher risk of breast cancer if they’d worked nights at least six months. link to column. I’ve seen various ‘risks of’ for various diseases. What does it mean? O… --- ## [Doing it wrong with pencils](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-it-wrong-with-pencils/544687)
**Author:** [@decoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/decoy)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 5, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-it-wrong-with-pencils/544687 "2010-07-05T21:10:25Z")
I’ve been reading through SD archives, and bumped into the discussion of pencil hardnesses How come you see #2 pencils but no #1 pencils? - The Straight Dope . For some weird reason I’ve always been a packrat with writin… --- ## [RE: Star Trek "Star dates"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-star-trek-star-dates/545341)
**Author:** [@Niteowl255](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niteowl255)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 5, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-star-trek-star-dates/545341 "2010-07-05T18:19:58Z")
Concerning Cecil response to the Star Trek “Star date” question I was wondering. IF and when we finally the ability to engage in maned long term deep space exploration how exactly with they be able to keep track of time … --- ## [Can you lose weight by keeping the thermostat turned down? May 2, 1986](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-lose-weight-by-keeping-the-thermostat-turned-down-may-2-1986/528914)
**Author:** [@gominuthe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gominuthe)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-lose-weight-by-keeping-the-thermostat-turned-down-may-2-1986/528914 "2010-07-03T19:07:47Z")
(I can’t find another on this topic, so I’ll start one.) This reads like “it’s a fundamentally worthless idea”, but I don’t see why. Maybe the effect is higher in the first few minutes as your skin adapts to prevent… --- ## [Fatigue and the risks of late-night activity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatigue-and-the-risks-of-late-night-activity/545382)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatigue-and-the-risks-of-late-night-activity/545382 "2010-07-03T02:25:57Z")
In his latest column, Will working the graveyard shift put you in one sooner? Cecil writes, “Common sense suggests night work is stressful; studies show the risk of on-the-job accidents is 30 percent higher at night.” T… --- ## [Fresh whiskey](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-whiskey/545170)
**Author:** [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresh-whiskey/545170 "2010-07-03T01:24:26Z")
From Cecil’s column titled What’s the diff between age and maturity in liquor? “Freshly distilled whiskey is unfit for drinking–about as palatable as crude oil.” I don’t drink crude oil, but I’m guessing this statement… --- ## [Bakwe (backward) cigarette smoking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakwe-backward-cigarette-smoking/540639)
**Author:** [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakwe-backward-cigarette-smoking/540639 "2010-07-02T18:46:00Z")
In the 1978 column called “Is it possible to swallow a lit cigarette, then take it out and resume smoking?”, it is mentioned that the practice of smoking a cigarette with the lit end inside the mouth is called “bakwe” in… --- ## [Is mass transit a waste of energy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mass-transit-a-waste-of-energy/525052)
**Author:** [@eck138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eck138)\ **Replies:** 153\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mass-transit-a-waste-of-energy/525052 "2010-06-28T19:01:50Z")
I currently drive 90 miles a day in my battery-powered SUV. I wouldn’t characterize it as a high-tech golf cart. It is a useful, clean, and quiet form of transportation. Although I have to admit that I don’t cruise a… --- ## [Oil spill](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-spill/544657)
**Author:** [@jlb4nc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlb4nc)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 27, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-spill/544657 "2010-06-27T05:18:22Z")
I want to thank you for upholding what apparently is becoming an all-to-rare tennent of responsible communication…REFERENCES!!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! It seems like it’s becoming next to impossible to find refe… --- ## [Are weathermen checked for forecast accuracy? Have advances in technology improved the accuracy of w](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-weathermen-checked-for-forecast-accuracy-have-advances-in-technology-improved-the-accuracy-of-w/544371)
**Author:** [@ryeman1234](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryeman1234)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-weathermen-checked-for-forecast-accuracy-have-advances-in-technology-improved-the-accuracy-of-w/544371 "2010-06-25T16:27:41Z")
per the last line of the column…i was curious and found this…kinda sounds fun LINK TO COLUMN: Are weathermen checked for forecast accuracy? Have advances in technology improved the accuracy of weather forecasting? - … --- ## [I want me some spruce gum!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-me-some-spruce-gum/543686)
**Author:** [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-me-some-spruce-gum/543686 "2010-06-24T21:15:39Z")
Can anyone confirm this? A website that sells it, perhaps? I want my breath to have a rich, sprucy aroma! --- ## [The best antidote to chilli overdoses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-antidote-to-chilli-overdoses/543837)
**Author:** [@Alexov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alexov)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-antidote-to-chilli-overdoses/543837 "2010-06-24T14:09:44Z")
It may seem a bit silly to create a thread to comment on one of Cecil’s classics from 1983, but it was included in the latest weekly email and other readers may have clicked on the link to read the rest of the story, s… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=85) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=87)