# Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=99 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 100 --- ## [Who is C. F. Frost, whose name appears on sample American Express cards?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-c-f-frost-whose-name-appears-on-sample-american-express-cards/512945)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-c-f-frost-whose-name-appears-on-sample-american-express-cards/512945 "2009-10-08T17:17:22Z")
Cecil’s Column: Who is C. F. Frost, whose name appears on sample American Express cards? Apparently there’s more to it than convenience. Legally, whichever name was shown on the card had to have actually signed a cont… --- ## [Olives?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olives/512750)
**Author:** [@SLOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SLOW)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olives/512750 "2009-10-07T04:45:38Z")
If you cook sealed cans they won’t explode, but jars will? Sorry, but I’m not getting that… Seems to me, a sealed can will burst quite nicely when heat is applied. My misspent youth taught me a few things, anyway… --- ## [Water divining - It is real](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-divining-it-is-real/512208)
**Author:** [@pramanujan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pramanujan)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-divining-it-is-real/512208 "2009-10-07T02:51:04Z")
The dowsing rod by itself does not have any power. It works with select few people. I am one such person who has been using the dowsing rod. This is used for water divining. I also use coconut for water divining. Th… --- ## [CPR and other stuff and survival rates](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cpr-and-other-stuff-and-survival-rates/508489)
**Author:** [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cpr-and-other-stuff-and-survival-rates/508489 "2009-10-07T00:46:59Z")
I am reminded reading Has widespread CPR training resulted in more lives saved? - The Straight Dope that we hear a lot of stuff like ‘learn CPR’, ‘call 911’, ‘wash you hands’ that may or may not be helpful. They are rat… --- ## [Cryogenic treating of parts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryogenic-treating-of-parts/481774)
**Author:** [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryogenic-treating-of-parts/481774 "2009-10-06T22:45:24Z")
Reference article: Can cryogenic cooling miraculously improve car parts, sports equipment, and musical instruments? - The Straight Dope Cryotreating parts was something I was tangentially involved with (read: I bought s… --- ## [Hotel California](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/511898)
**Author:** [@KublaConn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KublaConn)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-california/511898 "2009-10-06T21:45:27Z")
I too have always assumed the song was about the southern California lifestyle of the '70’s and the transition from the “Love/marijuana vibe” to the “MeMeMe/cocaine vibe” One of the infamous lines in the song that has… --- ## [Who owns my garbage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-my-garbage/511482)
**Author:** [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-my-garbage/511482 "2009-10-06T03:20:43Z")
Ooh, I get the opportunity to start a column thread. About 20 minutes before this column came up, I saw this article, relevant to Alex’s last sentence. It happens semifrequently. I like how the claimer needs to have s… --- ## [Knuckle cracking and arthritis: Ig Nobel prize-winning study concludes no link](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knuckle-cracking-and-arthritis-ig-nobel-prize-winning-study-concludes-no-link/512362)
**Author:** [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knuckle-cracking-and-arthritis-ig-nobel-prize-winning-study-concludes-no-link/512362 "2009-10-06T02:22:27Z")
Re What’s actually cracking when you crack your knuckles?: A recent letter from an MD to the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism reported that as a child, he was told that knuckle cracking would lead to arthritis. He accor… --- ## [Eurasia vs. Europe and Asia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eurasia-vs-europe-and-asia/509599)
**Author:** [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eurasia-vs-europe-and-asia/509599 "2009-10-05T16:46:57Z")
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/155/why-do-europe-and-asia-count-as-two-continents There was a question in my 7th grade science class on a test or homework or something about listing the continents. Why the in… --- ## [Dissing the New Madrid Fault](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dissing-the-new-madrid-fault/512361)
**Author:** [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dissing-the-new-madrid-fault/512361 "2009-10-02T17:08:06Z")
Cecil’s current output regarding the shaking of a steam roller Given that the New Madrid Fault produced some of the most intense earthquakes this nation has ever experienced, this is a completely silly statement. Ther… --- ## [Garbage Continent](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garbage-continent/512197)
**Author:** [@Archaeologue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archaeologue)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garbage-continent/512197 "2009-10-01T02:52:41Z")
Well, the myth gets perpetuated yet again. Tonight, Bob Woodruff, on his show Focus Earth explained that the garbage island floating in the Pacific gyre is hundreds of miles wide in places and 60 feet thick. Then Bob h… --- ## [Sugar in toothpaste?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-in-toothpaste/511868)
**Author:** [@LivingInThePast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingInThePast)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-in-toothpaste/511868 "2009-09-28T20:18:09Z")
The fear of artificial sweetener in toothpaste might be overblown, whatever they’re using these days. My toothpaste instructions say “Do not swallow.” So all the exposure you should get is whatever is absorbed while bru… --- ## [Toothpicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toothpicks/511831)
**Author:** [@Cranny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cranny)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2009, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toothpicks/511831 "2009-09-28T09:17:32Z")
I seem to remember reading as a child that another tree, not birch, was used for toothpicks until (I think) the early part of the Twentieth Century when the tree was almost wiped out. Anyone know more about this? --- ## [How can pigs find radium in the dump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-pigs-find-radium-in-the-dump/511642)
**Author:** [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-pigs-find-radium-in-the-dump/511642 "2009-09-27T16:38:15Z")
Please do not combine this with the other thread on Who owns my garbage? as it is about animals, not law. --- ## [Why are so many articles from the archive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-many-articles-from-the-archive/511439)
**Author:** [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-many-articles-from-the-archive/511439 "2009-09-26T05:13:53Z")
Everybody is on vacation during the summer? --- ## [why is my metabolism so fast?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-metabolism-so-fast/511436)
**Author:** [@scarlet91](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scarlet91)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-metabolism-so-fast/511436 "2009-09-25T01:38:22Z")
why is my metabolism sooooo fast? i havent gone over 110 lbs since i was 13. im 18 now and about 5’5"-5’6" at 105-110. i eat like i was 300lbs yet im always hungry. ill eat till im about to burst and 1-2 hrs later ill be… --- ## [How they now get stripes into toothpaste](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-they-now-get-stripes-into-toothpaste/510955)
**Author:** [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-they-now-get-stripes-into-toothpaste/510955 "2009-09-24T22:42:02Z")
re: How did they get the stripes in Stripe toothpaste?As a Classic, that was true enough in 1977, but readers should be told how it’s done today. The paste is injected into the tube with multiple nozzles with 2 or 3 diff… --- ## [Comment on: Was Einstein a plagiarist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-was-einstein-a-plagiarist/510555)
**Author:** [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comment-on-was-einstein-a-plagiarist/510555 "2009-09-24T03:46:32Z")
Original Article: Was Einstein a plagiarist? - The Straight Dope If one person discovers it, but another person develops and/or publishes the idea, does that count as plagiarism? I would point out Einstein’s paper on t… --- ## [The color of number two](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-number-two/511242)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-color-of-number-two/511242 "2009-09-24T02:51:13Z")
Why is, um, fecal matter brown? Is it my imagination, or was this article orignally entitled, “Why is shit brown?” Was it bowdlerized by the addition of \[fecal matter\] in brackets? And wasn’t it originally from a wag wh… --- ## [Force Fields?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-fields/509791)
**Author:** [@sathor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sathor)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/force-fields/509791 "2009-09-22T17:52:55Z")
I have seen the following news item the last few days: NASA levitates mice using magnets to simulate space travel | Daily Mail Online Do you think the answer to the question about force fields might need some revisiti… --- ## [America, the name](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-the-name/510870)
**Author:** [@blisstraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blisstraveler)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-the-name/510870 "2009-09-21T13:13:47Z")
The situations here are more truthful than the myths students are taught. If students were taught how things really occur, they might be prepared to make things happen in the world. --- ## [koooool](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/koooool/510924)
**Author:** [@SHAAMBHAVI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SHAAMBHAVI)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/koooool/510924 "2009-09-21T13:04:01Z")
Absolutely fanatbulous really impressed wid cecil thankz 4 such a marvellous site;) --- ## [Earlobes, heart disease, and a 'digital exam'.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earlobes-heart-disease-and-a-digital-exam/510845)
**Author:** [@Ishmael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ishmael)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earlobes-heart-disease-and-a-digital-exam/510845 "2009-09-21T00:32:25Z")
Regarding Cecile’s “Earlobes and heart disease” (Are earlobe creases a sign of heart disease? - The Straight Dope): I seem to recall that another physical ‘sign’ is the phenomenon of fingers that do NOT taper down towar… --- ## [MJ dies and now the Beatles Rock Band](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mj-dies-and-now-the-beatles-rock-band/509758)
**Author:** [@devaddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devaddy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mj-dies-and-now-the-beatles-rock-band/509758 "2009-09-20T18:47:31Z")
Man, this article is old, it was written back when I got my first 486 Mhz computer. Did they even have blogs and news articles on computers back then? Anyways, I just came back from an electronics store where they hav… --- ## [cigar ash](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cigar-ash/509665)
**Author:** [@srbeck13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srbeck13)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cigar-ash/509665 "2009-09-20T14:22:34Z")
The fact that the thinnest wire worked best in keeping a cigar ash from falling from the cigar makes me think no wire would be even better. If Una didn’t try this without a wire, her experiments don’t mean much. --- ## [How do I go about renouncing my U.S. citizenship?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-go-about-renouncing-my-u-s-citizenship/509343)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-go-about-renouncing-my-u-s-citizenship/509343 "2009-09-20T04:15:05Z")
Regarding How do I go about renouncing my U.S. citizenship? It appears there have been a number of changes in the tax law with respect to those who wish to renounce their citizenship that makes it much less onerous, eve… --- ## [to settle a bet (UV Rays through glass column)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-settle-a-bet-uv-rays-through-glass-column/509900)
**Author:** [@Sonofagun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonofagun)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-settle-a-bet-uv-rays-through-glass-column/509900 "2009-09-20T04:10:30Z")
Going back to the article aboout U V rays penetrating car glass, our desert driving, southern friend with the ’ real ’ tan says that the New Yorker’s quote " insist that absolutely no U V rays can pass through the plain… --- ## [Definition of "drawn and quartered" is radically incomplete](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definition-of-drawn-and-quartered-is-radically-incomplete/510469)
**Author:** [@Jakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jakester)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definition-of-drawn-and-quartered-is-radically-incomplete/510469 "2009-09-19T17:52:37Z")
The definition here of “drawn and quartered” is radically incomplete. It leaves out the most gruesome part of the process by leaving incomplete the description of “disemboweling.” This involved the executioner taking a r… --- ## [Sulfites in Wine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sulfites-in-wine/352687)
**Author:** [@clif39](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clif39)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sulfites-in-wine/352687 "2009-09-18T21:46:47Z")
I have experienced the wines of France and really notice a flavor difference between with and without sulfites. I prefer without. However, I am a U.S. citizen, and most of the wine I drink has been purchased in the U.S… --- ## [Challenger Disaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenger-disaster/509955)
**Author:** [@Ron\_Laytner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ron_Laytner)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenger-disaster/509955 "2009-09-18T20:17:38Z")
I own Edit International News Agency - In the past I worked for Life Magazine, New York Times, London Sunday Times and various international prestige publications. When the Challenger explosion took place I worked on the… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=98) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/comments-on-cecils-columns-staff-reports/7.md?page=100)