Quick question:
Has Cecil ever answered a question with just a simple yes or no? And has he printed it just like that? Like for a very stupid question or something? I think it would be funny if somebody had written like a long stupid question and then when you get to the answer part all he says is like no.Yes
From page 3 of the first The Straight Dope collection:
An online copy of this column is at http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_003b.html . But I found it by leafing through the book. And if I may be allowed to editorialize, this is yet another example of why it is important that each and everyone of us purchase our own copies of the entire Straight Dope series, which allows us to find answers that are difficult to find online, not to mention our only contact to the wisdom of Uncle Cecil during power failures. Just something to think about during the upcoming gift-giving season.
Generally, Cecil is paid to fill up a column. A simple yes/no answer won’t do it. Cecil rejects some questions because the answer is too long, and he rejects some questions because the answer is too short. From time to time, he can combine several short answer questions to fill up a column, but this is infrequent.
For instance: Why does the Canadian flag have a cannabis leaf on it?
Plus, usually, a simple yes/no question just isn’t very interesting… or can readily be found elsewhere.