# Fighting Ignorance Since 1973 **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 24, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736 "2008-04-24T21:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/1 "2008-04-24T21:15:03Z")
Did the first Straight Dope newspaper column carry the taglines _Fighting Ignorance Since 1973_ and/or _It’s taking longer than we thought_? Personally I think it’s unlikely, and if I’m right I’d like to know when these phrases were incorporated into the column banner. Many thanks. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/2 "2008-04-24T23:54:20Z")
**Chez** –you did right, GQ was probably OK for starting this thread. But I’m moving it to ATMB just so people who _might_ know the answer are more likely to find it. At least, IMHO. **samclem** ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/3 "2008-04-25T19:48:04Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] Did the first Straight Dope newspaper column carry the taglines _Fighting Ignorance Since 1973_ and/or _It’s taking longer than we thought_? Personally I think it’s unlikely, and if I’m right I’d like to know when these phrases were incorporated into the column banner. Many thanks. [/QUOTE] To follow up on that with a question of my own–I’ve seen a copy of the Chicago Reader, but I didn’t even bother to notice that there was/was not a banner with these sayings. Any readers in Chicago have a handle on the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/4 "2008-04-27T08:41:00Z")
The _Chicago Reader_ online archives carry Cecil’s columns from January 1988 to the back end of 2007. [Here’s one](https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Archive/abridged2.bat?path=1988/880115/CECIL&search=Cecil%20Adams) from 1988 (in which the author briefly discusses the coefficient of drag while swimming nude) and the taglines are absent. It’s just possible they are stripped from the article for archiving purposes but I’m now equally curious to know the answer to **Sam** ’s question. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/5 "2008-04-27T13:10:23Z")
I’ll bring this to Ed’s attention. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/6 "2008-04-27T13:59:02Z")
Now what would be _awesome_ to see is a 1972 column with that phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/7 "2008-04-27T14:33:22Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] Did the first Straight Dope newspaper column carry the taglines _Fighting Ignorance Since 1973_ and/or _It’s taking longer than we thought_? Personally I think it’s unlikely, and if I’m right I’d like to know when these phrases were incorporated into the column banner. [/QUOTE] As near as I can recall, I wrote this slogan for the T-shirts we started selling when the Straight Dope began appearing on America Online in 1995. Matt Jetmore, who ran a separate Straight Dope website at the time with our permission, picked it up at some point for the home page we took over when AOL kicked us out around 1999. It’s one of only two things I have ever written that Cecil has liked, the other being Perfect Master, his user title on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-ignorance-since-1973/446736/8 "2008-04-28T09:27:31Z")
[QUOTE=Ed Zotti] It’s one of only two things I have ever written that Cecil has liked, the other being Perfect Master, his user title on the SDMB. [/QUOTE] Your modesty does you credit. Either that, or Cecil is a hard man to please. Thanks for the reply.