After reading the messages in the “Cecil responded to me” post, I tried to find out a little about our host. I quickly discovered I’m too lazy for this task. So, who is Cecil and why is he idolized?
Not so fast, you mucko!
Cecil Adams writes a newspaper column called “The Straight Dope” which is carried in many newspapers. In it he answers vexing questions that plague the human race.
He is idolized for his sarcastic wit and ability to ferret out strange facts and trivia.
Cecil Adams is the pseudonym for editor Ed Zotti. (ow! quit hitting me!)
While much rumored, this is not true. In fact, Cecil Adams is the nom de plume of
[This message edited by Ed Zotti]
Livin’ on Tums, vitamin E and Rogaine
Much more importantly, Cecil Adams is the reason for this message board. www.straightdope.com is his homepage, where his columns are posted and this board is hosted. At first this board was for asking and answering questions. (General Questions) Then the questions were divided into the ones that cannot be answered (Great Debates) and the ones that weren’t so much questions as chatting (MPSIMS). Then some debates and MPSIMS became flame wars, and these were moved to the new BBQ Pit forum. Today the Straight Dope Message Board also has the About this message Board forum and comments on Cecil’s columns and mailbag staff columns.
–John
tenspeed- If you don’t know who Cecil is, what brought you here? I’m not being sarcastic, I’m curious…
Then Holley held Miss Spider’s hand…
I’ll say no more, you understand.
For private moments between spiders
Should not be witnessed by outsiders.
-David Kirk- Miss Spider’s Wedding
Which Cecil post? He’s responded more than twice.
You mean [url=http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/004168.html}Irishman
just one ] wrong!
Irishman
Y’see, Cecil is a presence: a print-bound, disembodied voice of reason, high intellect, sarcasm and reluctant deflation of bullshit, faulty reasoning, popular mythology and pure bunkum. (He isn’t reluctant to reveal human stupidity as damned moronic puling; he’s just realistic about the odds of making a dent in ignorance.)
Cecil has grown in popular mythology, which has a certain backwards aptness. Some facts are known. He wrote a column in a mildly underground rag called The Chicago Reader in the halcyon days of drugs, sex and rock and roll.
His editor (or alter ego) was/is Ed Zotti. The artist assigned to put visual emphasis to his genius is…well, let’s just say he’s named after a gray, squishy, slime exuding slug. (You were expecting Monet?)
Contrary to all expectations, Cecil’s peculiar blend of erudition, funkiness and impatience survived. Certain undoubtedly disturbed personalities became devoted to his acerbic presence. With the onset of electronic communications, these addled twits (aka “Dopers”) found it much easier to get their infusion of astringently stated and impeccably footnoted “straight dope”.
In a moment of either personal weakness or corporate blackmail, Cecil provided an online forum for the multitudinous fact junkies, inquiring minds, wiseacres, misfits, crackpots and people who got kicked out of Mensa for being too argumentative, skeptical and antisocial.
That’s SDMB and this place. To place it in quasi-historical perspective, think of Cecil as a distincly peculiar Pied Piper who had a nice musical riff going, some chumps paid him to “do something with it”, so he grabbed the money and ended up with…us.
It’s the only near-convincing example I’ve seen in support of the concept of cosmic justice.