# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=95 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 96 --- ## [Hey, thanks!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-thanks/523297)
**Author:** [@Blow\_Zach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blow_Zach)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-thanks/523297 "2010-01-02T16:27:02Z")
Really, thank you for the easy-to-understand article about why you can’t survive on seawater (What would happen to you if you drank seawater? - The Straight Dope). After reading several exhausting forums and websites, yo… --- ## [Radiation hormesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radiation-hormesis/523320)
**Author:** [@Hank\_May](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_May)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radiation-hormesis/523320 "2010-01-01T19:24:27Z")
In the Straight Dope Classic #1, posted in the 1/01/2010 newsletter, you made the statement that, "There is unquestionably some risk involved in the use of a radioactive substance, but it is small . . . . ). This isn’t … --- ## [Nostalgia propter se](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostalgia-propter-se/522101)
**Author:** [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostalgia-propter-se/522101 "2009-12-30T16:27:04Z")
This passage from the 1992 column on nostalgia for Victorianism points to something that goes beyond \[post=11904726\]general December merchandising stupidity\[/post\]: \[QUOTE=Cecil\] Longing for the past dates from the ear… --- ## [Baldness and gene shuffling](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldness-and-gene-shuffling/317851)
**Author:** [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldness-and-gene-shuffling/317851 "2009-12-30T14:51:07Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050819.html Quoth Cecil: “Nöthen and company emphasize that this variant isn’t the sole cause of baldness–other recent research suggests that baldness on your father’s side of the fam… --- ## [Psst! Hey Buddy- wanna buy a Manhattan Rolex?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-wanna-buy-a-manhattan-rolex/522831)
**Author:** [@Leading\_Horse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leading_Horse)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psst-hey-buddy-wanna-buy-a-manhattan-rolex/522831 "2009-12-29T20:41:12Z")
Just stumbled in to see what my condition was in ir re to some research about Menathie or the island now called Manhattan. Was checking on the Kanarsee and the event and one comes to mind the story that I too have heard … --- ## [can humans eat meat naturally?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-humans-eat-meat-naturally/522309)
**Author:** [@kitxox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitxox)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-humans-eat-meat-naturally/522309 "2009-12-29T18:06:25Z")
i agree, i think we’re probably omnivores. But as i read Are humans meat eaters or vegetarians by nature? - The Straight Dope i began to think that maybe we haven’t answered the right questions yet; can we eat raw me… --- ## [Who Is CF Frost? I knew him](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cf-frost-i-knew-him/522751)
**Author:** [@meridian3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meridian3)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cf-frost-i-knew-him/522751 "2009-12-29T06:42:23Z")
And he went by Charlie not Chuck. Charlie Frost was an account exec on the AmEx account at O&M as you state (great that you found that out!). During the years I knew him (mid-late 1970s), Charlie would often come to our… --- ## [No blue or green hair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-blue-or-green-hair/522810)
**Author:** [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-blue-or-green-hair/522810 "2009-12-28T22:55:55Z")
It’s worth noting that not only have humans never evolved green or blue hair, neither has any other mammal (at least that lives today). Green especially seems like it would be a great camouflage in some environments (g… --- ## [The Cheshire Cat Grin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheshire-cat-grin/522645)
**Author:** [@General\_Derangement](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/General_Derangement)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cheshire-cat-grin/522645 "2009-12-28T20:32:37Z")
In response to the article about Cheshire cats grinning, I feel the need to add that when the article says Cheshire cats come from a “grinning cat” mold that Cheshire used for their cheese, it’s overlooking a related and… --- ## [Multiple questions per column is better](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-questions-per-column-is-better/522303)
**Author:** [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-questions-per-column-is-better/522303 "2009-12-28T17:45:43Z")
Yeah, that’s pretty much it. I really like it when I get multiple questions, and would like to encourage this practice. I was afraid it had gone out of style, but I was happy to see it in the 12/18/09 column. --- ## [How do non english speakers make animal noises](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-non-english-speakers-make-animal-noises/522743)
**Author:** [@Le74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le74)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-non-english-speakers-make-animal-noises/522743 "2009-12-28T13:59:45Z")
Hi Cecil, Being a real blond Dutchie I’d like to let you know that we pronounce “oe” as your “oo”, which makes the sound of our dutch cows (“Boe”) actually pretty close to yours (eventhough they look pretty bored and mi… --- ## [Sucker Bets 101: Illinois lies east of the Mississippi](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucker-bets-101-illinois-lies-east-of-the-mississippi/509229)
**Author:** [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sucker-bets-101-illinois-lies-east-of-the-mississippi/509229 "2009-12-26T21:17:48Z")
Column There even more such instances along the Arkansas/Louisiana/Mississippi border (oxbow lakes galore representing where the river formerly delineated the state boundaries). I wonder if the states in question will … --- ## [can you really send a brick "no postage necessary"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-send-a-brick-no-postage-necessary/522510)
**Author:** [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-send-a-brick-no-postage-necessary/522510 "2009-12-26T17:01:25Z")
I find this suggestion pretty exciting http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/bulkmailer/ . Will this really work? Should the Post Office introduce regulations to specifically prevent this situation? --- ## [Pogo's Twelve Days of Crispness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pogos-twelve-days-of-crispness/521562)
**Author:** [@dhaswkly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhaswkly)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 24, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pogos-twelve-days-of-crispness/521562 "2009-12-24T21:11:33Z")
Regarding your wonderful report on Walt Kelly’s “Twelve Days of Crispness”: Straight Dope Staff Report on The Twelve Days of Crispness I seem to remember a line somewhere about “A Parsnip in a Persiflage”. Anyone else… --- ## [Nuke under the desk..nitpick](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-under-the-desk-nitpick/521586)
**Author:** [@foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolscap)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 24, 2009, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-under-the-desk-nitpick/521586 "2009-12-24T10:17:52Z")
In one of Cecil’s editorials he states that nuclear reprocessing plants create plutonium. This is not true, plutonium is created inside the breeder reactor. The reprocessing plant extracts daughter elements from the s… --- ## [Kane Kramer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kane-kramer/522109)
**Author:** [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 23, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kane-kramer/522109 "2009-12-23T18:47:54Z")
Referencing the second item in this column: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2913/can-high-blood-pressure-be-reduced-through-bloodletting I think Cecil’s answer is incomplete at best and probably misleading. I … --- ## [Whole (Full) Nine Yards ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-full-nine-yards/520100)
**Author:** [@fishinclipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishinclipper)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [December 23, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whole-full-nine-yards/520100 "2009-12-23T15:19:42Z")
Nice conversation guys, all the above can be proved and unproved…the Real Deal is…no recorded evidence. And most stuff is not measured in yards, except fabric, as much as I love and admire our military, and as many sayin… --- ## ['wave gaily' at the facts indeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wave-gaily-at-the-facts-indeed/520994)
**Author:** [@pecosmoore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pecosmoore)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 23, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wave-gaily-at-the-facts-indeed/520994 "2009-12-23T15:16:32Z")
“wave gaily at the facts en route to a more entertaining sociopolitical perspective. This is the Fox News system, and you can see it works for them.” Come, come now. Nice phrase. That’s pretty – one could almost say … --- ## [Can I mail a brick back to a junk-mail firm using the business reply envelope?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mail-a-brick-back-to-a-junk-mail-firm-using-the-business-reply-envelope/522081)
**Author:** [@Pascal666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pascal666)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mail-a-brick-back-to-a-junk-mail-firm-using-the-business-reply-envelope/522081 "2009-12-21T16:37:56Z")
Can I mail a brick back to a junk-mail firm using the business reply envelope? Rule 917.243(b) appears to no longer exist in the Domestic Mail Manual. --- ## [Dowsing on photos - Test](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dowsing-on-photos-test/512774)
**Author:** [@pramanujan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pramanujan)\ **Replies:** 128\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dowsing-on-photos-test/512774 "2009-12-21T16:32:05Z")
This has reference to the various threads on “Water witching” and the test I had undertaken on the 50 photos sent by RJKUgly. Let’s start a fresh thread on this. Link to column: Does dowsing for water really work? - T… --- ## [Jesus "H" Christ](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-h-christ/522061)
**Author:** [@Cold\_Moon\_Legend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cold_Moon_Legend)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-h-christ/522061 "2009-12-21T15:28:44Z")
Am a bit surprised that this is such a mystery. Early use of His name in the English translation was often spelled both “Christ” and “Crist”. When the former had gained widespread acceptance as the “correct” way, verba… --- ## [nuclear sub breach](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-sub-breach/521728)
**Author:** [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-sub-breach/521728 "2009-12-18T11:04:50Z")
The nuclear submarine \*USS Thresher \*sank on April 10, 1963. The US Navy periodically monitors the site, and so far no contamination has been detected. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t/thresher.htm The USS Scor… --- ## [La Cucaracha origin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-cucaracha-origin/515643)
**Author:** [@JTB69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JTB69)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-cucaracha-origin/515643 "2009-12-17T02:24:19Z")
There is probably no way to verify this, but this is what my grandmother told me about this song. When I was very little, my mother (who is from Spain) would sing this to me in bed before I fell asleep and when I would … --- ## [Major Tom](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-tom/498736)
**Author:** [@Garethsspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garethsspace)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/major-tom/498736 "2009-12-16T17:39:29Z")
I just read your article about major tom and have found some evidence that major tom is real. It turns out that when the song was origionally wrote, Thomas Stafford was flying missions for NASA. But it turns out that h… --- ## [Decapitated Heads Remain Conscience?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitated-heads-remain-conscience/519170)
**Author:** [@Santa\_Cruz\_n](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santa_Cruz_n)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decapitated-heads-remain-conscience/519170 "2009-12-15T15:03:41Z")
After reading your reply, Cecil, I remembered a story I’d heard a long time ago about the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was, sad to say, beheaded during the French Revolution. According to the story, prior to h… --- ## [Smoke a Cigar without dropping the ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-a-cigar-without-dropping-the-ashes/519977)
**Author:** [@carlos\_casarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlos_casarin)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-a-cigar-without-dropping-the-ashes/519977 "2009-12-15T03:21:21Z")
First of all English is not my native language, so please feel free to edit any errors in style or spelling. After reading the column about Clarence Darrow smoking a cigar in a courtroom without dropping the ashes, it c… --- ## [Nuke chicago?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-chicago/520009)
**Author:** [@TheMadWoodpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadWoodpusher)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuke-chicago/520009 "2009-12-15T00:16:25Z")
Just out of sheer curiosity. If Nikita Khrushchev claimed the Ruzzians had a 100 megaton warhead, how would that compare to what Enola Gay was carrying? --- ## [Fox Slam](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-slam/520873)
**Author:** [@hdshank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hdshank)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-slam/520873 "2009-12-14T22:19:26Z")
:mad: I assume you have something besides your own opinion to back up your allegation that Fox News “wave\[s\] cheerily at the facts en route to a more entertaining sociopolitical perspective.” My overwhelming experience … --- ## [What is the opposite of FIRE ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of-fire/519379)
**Author:** [@QuestionMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuestionMark)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-opposite-of-fire/519379 "2009-12-14T11:54:10Z")
On What exactly is fire? - The Straight Dope I found your answer on what is fire. But I would like to know: —\>What is the opposite of FIRE ? (Thinking of a car’s engine). --- ## [Does Zinc Cure Colds](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-zinc-cure-colds/520792)
**Author:** [@jcmjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcmjim)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 12, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-zinc-cure-colds/520792 "2009-12-12T00:07:45Z")
I read Cecil’s straight dope on Zinc being a cure for colds. I can say this on the subject…I seem to have a pretty weak immunity to the common cold. I used to catch a couple of colds every year, and they’d last for over… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=94) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=96)