# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=89 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 90 --- ## [Canadian Club Time Warp!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-club-time-warp/513889)
**Author:** [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-club-time-warp/513889 "2010-05-12T21:44:45Z")
In the Classic column about hidden cases of Canadian Club Whiskey, Cecil proves that his omniscience includes the ability to see into the future. The column is dated February 2, 1979, yet the final paragraph references … --- ## [Eggs, Schmeggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-schmeggs/537855)
**Author:** [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eggs-schmeggs/537855 "2010-05-12T17:09:50Z")
In Can Rock Music Cook Eggs? Cecil concludes with: I saw Iron Butterfly in concert in 1969. They did a half-hour version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” of which the drum solo alone was about 17 minutes, following which the dr… --- ## [Left Handed Catchers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-handed-catchers/537021)
**Author:** [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-handed-catchers/537021 "2010-05-12T16:23:09Z")
I thought the reason was because even the slowest runners could walk into third due to the fact that a left-handed catcher would have to turn 45 degrees against his body to begin making the throw; not necessarily that a … --- ## [Runaway train](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runaway-train/539154)
**Author:** [@NickStansberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NickStansberry)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 12, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runaway-train/539154 "2010-05-12T13:25:53Z")
Cecil, I read your collum about the odds/success of finding runaway, missing, lost, stolen children and have a question… When I was a teenager I remember a song coming out called “Runaway Train” that had a video with q… --- ## [Re: What's the origin of the suit designations on playing cards?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-whats-the-origin-of-the-suit-designations-on-playing-cards/538154)
**Author:** [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 11, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-whats-the-origin-of-the-suit-designations-on-playing-cards/538154 "2010-05-11T18:16:59Z")
In the column What’s the origin of the suit designations on playing cards?, Cecil espoused: I wonder if this has to do with the fact that English nobility at that time was closely related to French nobility. After all,… --- ## [Wow, that D&D article does NOT hold up.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-that-d-d-article-does-not-hold-up/537883)
**Author:** [@grovberg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grovberg)\ **Replies:** 96\ **Last updated:** [May 10, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-that-d-d-article-does-not-hold-up/537883 "2010-05-10T15:21:14Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/278/whats-the-deal-with-dungeons-and-dragons I’m just sort of amazed by how far geek culture has come since this article was written. The tone of the article (these crazy outside… --- ## [Artist's Sketches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-sketches/538627)
**Author:** [@jjdubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjdubs)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-sketches/538627 "2010-05-09T00:21:45Z")
In the article about artist’s sketches matching the actual perp you bring up Ted Kaczynski. If I remember correctly, the Unibomber sketch was not an eye-witness sketch but a sketch of what profilers thought he SHOULD lo… --- ## [25 or 6 to 4](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-or-6-to-4/538004)
**Author:** [@lunachik77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lunachik77)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/25-or-6-to-4/538004 "2010-05-07T18:20:29Z")
The Chicago song “25 or 6 to 4” actually refers to The Kent State Shootings in 1970. This defines the 25 reference. In September 1970, twenty-four students and one faculty member were indicted on charges connected with … --- ## [Pinball machines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pinball-machines/538398)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pinball-machines/538398 "2010-05-07T01:40:47Z")
Was Cecil right? How are pinball machines doing nowadays, anyway? I presume that with videogames, Wii, iPhone games, etc., they’re hurting, but I don’t know. --- ## [Ampersands, Cecil](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersands-cecil/538500)
**Author:** [@itid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/itid)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 6, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ampersands-cecil/538500 "2010-05-06T23:31:47Z")
Hullo. I thought someone had saved me the trouble of writing, when I saw a post titled “Something or other D&D”. The way the ampersand (&) appeared in the typeface, it looked a lot like “e”. Now, that’s not surprising.… --- ## [Cats In Trees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-in-trees/538356)
**Author:** [@SLOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SLOW)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-in-trees/538356 "2010-05-05T17:32:07Z")
When I was a kid, I had a cat that was a great adventurer. It got into fights all the time, brought home hunting trophies, and even went on a three-week, 30-mile safari after we’d moved to another part of town (okay, I’m… --- ## [Giving you crap about 50,000 watts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-you-crap-about-50-000-watts/538300)
**Author:** [@decalservice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/decalservice)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-you-crap-about-50-000-watts/538300 "2010-05-05T13:00:51Z")
(Regarding your “Can Rock Music Cook Eggs” column) Well, let me say: There is a huge difference between your home system and a 50,000 watt stadium system. The issue is not the dB level, but I would say, the amount of a… --- ## [Wild Bill and The Deadman's Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-bill-and-the-deadmans-hand/538377)
**Author:** [@balley22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/balley22)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-bill-and-the-deadmans-hand/538377 "2010-05-05T04:12:38Z")
I live in Deadwood and work at the Saloon #10. This is the bar that Wild Bill was shot in, however the original burned down three years after his death. I have to answer questions about Wild Bill Hickok all day long. … --- ## [Mercurochrome doesn't sting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome-doesnt-sting/538068)
**Author:** [@kharasch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kharasch)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mercurochrome-doesnt-sting/538068 "2010-05-04T15:09:03Z")
Just a point of order here. Merthiolate, in its original form, did NOT sting and did NOT color the skin red. These were added by Lilly because people “didn’t believe it worked” unless they could see the markings and… --- ## [Slug's illustration for Dead Man's Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slugs-illustration-for-dead-mans-hand/537651)
**Author:** [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slugs-illustration-for-dead-mans-hand/537651 "2010-05-03T15:56:02Z")
What’s the deal with Slug’s illustration here? I gather he is holding a “black ace” (flying ace) but what’s with the chicken drumstick? --- ## [Hello, this is a response to "Followup: wasn't manna placed in the Ark of the Covenant?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-this-is-a-response-to-followup-wasnt-manna-placed-in-the-ark-of-the-covenant/536903)
**Author:** [@ChristVolo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChristVolo1)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-this-is-a-response-to-followup-wasnt-manna-placed-in-the-ark-of-the-covenant/536903 "2010-05-03T15:47:07Z")
Hello, I was actually just reading this section yesterday, and it did say that when the day before the Sabbath came, they were to collect extra, and eat what they needed that day, and set aside the rest for the Sabbath.… --- ## [72 Virgins in Islam Paradise](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/72-virgins-in-islam-paradise/536856)
**Author:** [@fulene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fulene)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 3, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/72-virgins-in-islam-paradise/536856 "2010-05-03T15:39:54Z")
I have only read about a third of the Qu’ran so far, but paradise sounds like a lovely place and fittingly describes an oasis…a shady garden with flowing streams,raised couches and golden goblets…the only reference I h… --- ## [Dew Bath](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dew-bath/538008)
**Author:** [@99papadoc99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/99papadoc99)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 2, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dew-bath/538008 "2010-05-02T14:43:03Z")
An old trick, I’ve been told by several women in my life, to whiten sheets and linen, etc., is to throw them out over bushes and leave them there for some time. The thought is that the oxygen being generated by plants (m… --- ## [Enough with the baseball already](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baseball-already/536973)
**Author:** [@CreamKr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CreamKr)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baseball-already/536973 "2010-04-30T22:39:18Z")
There has been six columns about baseball lately and frankly, it is getting annoying. Us international readers don’t give a flying u-know-what about the most boring game since cricket and curling. The game seems to be ba… --- ## [Why is Cecil surprised about exponential SPF?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cecil-surprised-about-exponential-spf/536397)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cecil-surprised-about-exponential-spf/536397 "2010-04-29T15:18:11Z")
I guess I’m the first to comment on Cecil’s (half-) column on multiple layers of sunscreen. At the end of the article, he says Why would it be hard to believe? That’s exactly the effect you’d expect from multiple lay… --- ## [Alternatives to Polygraphs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-polygraphs/537133)
**Author:** [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-polygraphs/537133 "2010-04-28T22:43:36Z")
How accurate are lie-detector tests? There is another technique that appears to be more limited, but much more limited than tradition lie detector called Brain Fingerprinting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain\_fingerp… --- ## [olives in glass jars](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olives-in-glass-jars/533668)
**Author:** [@wyfarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wyfarm)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olives-in-glass-jars/533668 "2010-04-28T06:18:13Z")
In the column on why green olives came in glass jars and black olives came in cans, you said that glass wouldn’t stand the heat of processing. I don’t think that is true as my parents used glass jars to can everything … --- ## [Spelling William Faulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-william-faulkner/537567)
**Author:** [@subrosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/subrosa)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-william-faulkner/537567 "2010-04-27T22:53:39Z")
How is Friar Tuuck funny? --- ## [Does a refrigerator cool more efficiently when full?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-refrigerator-cool-more-efficiently-when-full/537306)
**Author:** [@quiet2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiet2)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-refrigerator-cool-more-efficiently-when-full/537306 "2010-04-27T17:41:46Z")
Cecil’s answersays keep the fridge full, since the energy lost from cooling warm air which enters an empty fridge each time it opens, would be worse than the energy lost cooling food or water which is put in to fill up t… --- ## [How did bedbugs make a comeback?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327)
**Author:** [@uttam54](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uttam54)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bedbugs-make-a-comeback/536327 "2010-04-27T17:08:50Z")
In India we put our mattresses on the roof to get a thorough sunning. You don’t mention this practice nor do the sites you’ve given. I think it works, but would appreciate a scientific confirmation. --- ## [What was the first Straight Dope column?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-straight-dope-column/537203)
**Author:** [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-straight-dope-column/537203 "2010-04-27T03:11:32Z")
I mean in the newspaper, before books were collected. I see that lately, they have been adding of featuring some of the older(1973 and 1974) columns by Cecil. What was the first one and what was the question and date? T… --- ## [Were there really vomitoriums in ancient Rome?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368)
**Author:** [@SeaQuay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaQuay)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-really-vomitoriums-in-ancient-rome/537368 "2010-04-26T16:52:13Z")
I disagree with your answer. I have visisted Pompeii and have seen rooms adjacent to the dining room which are about six feet wide, ten feet long and have a slant downwards in the floor beginning about four feet from the… --- ## [Salt substitute](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-substitute/537332)
**Author:** [@Annalist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annalist)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-substitute/537332 "2010-04-26T16:29:40Z")
I am glad I read your article on, “No salt,” I was about to make an on-line purchase, Whew! Is there any such thing as a “safe” salt substitute? --- ## [Naval Uniforms](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-uniforms/537204)
**Author:** [@FionnFile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FionnFile)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-uniforms/537204 "2010-04-24T16:34:42Z")
You mention that the brick battleship Illinois was manned by seanmen wearing “old-time uniforms.” If the ship was a replica of a naval vessel contemporary with the Columbian Exposition, wouldn’t the uniforms have been s… --- ## [Fan killed by foul ball in 1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508)
**Author:** [@dakotaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakotaba)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-killed-by-foul-ball-in-1970/535508 "2010-04-23T20:38:23Z")
In 1970, a foul ball off the bat of the Dodgers’ Manny Mota killed a 14-year-old boy in Los Angeles. That was the only death from a foul ball in the majors, according to research by Gorman and Weeks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=88) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=90)