# GREAT Stuff! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199 "2003-05-09T21:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![USAPatriot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/97f17d/32.png) [@USAPatriot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USAPatriot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/1 "2003-05-09T21:20:30Z")
Great stuff, Cecil! I’ve been reading your archives for the last few weeks and I gotta say, you’re damned near as smart as I am! (Snicker) Seriously, can you explain to all the kind folks here what all the squiggly lines on an EKG mean? PS, not to jamb you up, but I can…I was a cardio tech for some years. I just thought people might be interested in knowing that there IS a rhyme and rhythm to it all -Rod- 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/2 "2003-05-10T23:06:15Z")
Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the Straight Dope web site. To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in thy post (make sure there is a space **before** and **after** the text of the URL). Would you be referring to this column? [Are subliminal messages secretly embedded in advertisements?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_344.html) * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/3 "2003-05-11T04:49:49Z")
What, because he mentioned “squiggly lines”? I don’t think this comment was directed at any particular column, but all the columns as a whole. He’s asking his own question about Cecil interpreting EKG lines. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/4 "2003-05-11T14:11:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Irishman \* > What, because he mentioned “squiggly lines”? And also because the column was mentioned on the front page recently. > [@](#): > > I don’t think this comment was directed at any particular column, but all the columns as a whole. Only USAPatriot can tell us that. ---
**Author:** ![USAPatriot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/97f17d/32.png) [@USAPatriot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USAPatriot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/5 "2003-05-11T15:08:56Z")
The Irishman is right 🙂 -Rod- ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/6 "2003-05-11T19:47:17Z")
… in which case, this is more appropriately in a different forum… ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/7 "2003-05-11T19:54:13Z")
General Questions? The OP already knows about an EKG. But if that’s what this thread is going to be about, it should probably have a different title than “GREAT Stuff!” ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/8 "2003-05-11T21:59:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by USAPatriot \* > \*\*Great stuff, Cecil! I’ve been reading your archives for the last few weeks and I gotta say, you’re damned near as smart as I am! (Snicker) > > Seriously, can you explain to all the kind folks here what all the squiggly lines on an EKG mean? \*\* Well USAPatriot, the SDMB is treally here to _share_ knowledge among the teeming millions, so if you were a cardio tech I imagine you’d be well up on that area of expertise, and it might be neighborly of _you_ to outline for us what they mean or you could start a thread in the IMHO forum titled “Ask the ex-cardiology technician”. > [@](#): > > \*\*PS, not to jamb you up, but I can…I was a cardio tech for some years. I just thought people might be interested in knowing that there IS a rhyme and rhythm to it all -Rod- > 😛 \*\* Your offer of “jamb” asssistance is appreciated but the open door of Cecil’s knowledge needs no further buttressing. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/9 "2003-05-12T00:15:35Z")
Hey USAPatriot!! You got a 8882 posts Administrator, a second Administrator with 5085 posts, and a regular Joe with 6279 posts, to peruse and comment on your SEVENTH POST! I am impressed, man. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/10 "2003-05-12T00:24:58Z")
**ltfire** , you are _easy_ to impress. Pull my finger. BTW; those lines are meaningless. The medical establishment just tells cardio techs that the squiggles are significant so’s they’ll feel worthwhile. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/11 "2003-05-12T00:42:02Z")
Wo, a 4364 poster…and he’s talking to ME! Which finger? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/12 "2003-05-12T00:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ltfire \* > \*\*Wo, a 4364 poster…and he’s talking to ME! > Which finger? \*\* Doesn’t matter. Results will be the same, and you _will_ be impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/13 "2003-05-12T00:50:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ltfire \* > Hey USAPatriot!! > You got a 8882 posts Administrator, a second Administrator with 5085 posts, and a regular Joe with 6279 posts, to peruse and comment on your SEVENTH POST! > I am impressed, man. I don’t want to blow your mind here, but that was **USAPatriot** ’s _first_ post. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/14 "2003-05-12T21:11:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Achernar \* > \*\*I don’t want to blow your mind here, but that was **USAPatriot** ’s _first_ post. 😛 \*\* NAH, I just went back to that first post and it clearly says 7. Should this be reported to the big dogs? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/15 "2003-05-12T21:55:39Z")
The question asked was to call out Cecil on something the OP knows, in order to see if Cecil really is all that smart. It’s also a compliment on Cecil’s writing. So it either belongs in the Pit (for challenging Cecil) or in MPSIMS (for the compliments). Or maybe it really does belong in Comments, as it’s about all the columns. But General Questions? Maybe this is a test thread, to see how the moderators each define it? Arnold: I’m a CC moderator, so everything looks like a CC to me. Dex: It’s not about a particular thread and apparently there’s a question - I don’t want, get rid of it quick. Off to GQ. Manny: Challenging Cecil! Send it to the Pit! Lynn: This isn’t an insult, it’s a compliment. It belongs in MPSIMS. Unclebeer: Hey, this has a point - it compliments the columns. Clearly this is CC material. Dex: I got rid of this once. Clearly there’s a debate over where this thread goes, so it must be a Great Debate. Ad infinitum. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/16 "2003-05-12T22:03:53Z")
David B: The topic is not a debate. We just need a poll to find out where to put it. Off to IMHO. Czarcasm: You’re joking, right? We don’t poll members for what to do with threads. But this mess is entertaining, so I’m sending it to Cafe Society. Ukelele Ike: There’s no artistic discipline here. The OP wants to help with answering questions, I’m sending it to Staff Reports. Dex: HEY!!! I thought I’d gotten rid of this thing. Fine - let TubaDiva decide what to do with it - ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-stuff/174199/17 "2003-05-12T23:18:10Z")
Heh. Tempting. But, since this is asked and answered, I’ll just close it.