# Is Cecil Adams a real person? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2001, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673 "2001-06-21T18:54:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/41 "2001-06-23T16:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Colibri \* > \*\*BTW, what is the actual evidence for the existence of Marilyn vos Savant? Or, for that matter, Ann Landers and Dear Abby? \*\* The bios of Ann Landers and Dear Abby = twin sisters Esther Friedman Lederer and Pauline Friedman Phillips are fairly well disseminated: [http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=035F9000](http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=035F9000) Note that the “Ann Landers” column existed before Esther took it over. It is not uncommon for columns to change hands without changing names or pseudonymous authors. Marilyn vos Savant is attached to a definite person who appears publically to promote herself. She may be hired to speak at $20-30K a pop: [http://www.orlandospeakers.com/search/biography.cfm/s/4063.htm](http://www.orlandospeakers.com/search/biography.cfm/s/4063.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/42 "2001-06-23T20:52:25Z")
Who cares? What the world REALLY wants to know is if Coldfire is ever going to get circumsized. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/43 "2001-06-23T21:13:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yabob \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Colibri \* > > \*\*BTW, what is the actual evidence for the existence of Marilyn vos Savant? Or, for that matter, Ann Landers and Dear Abby? \*\* > > The bios of Ann Landers and Dear Abby = twin sisters Esther Friedman Lederer and Pauline Friedman Phillips are fairly well disseminated: > > Note that the “Ann Landers” column existed before Esther took it over. It is not uncommon for columns to change hands without changing names or pseudonymous authors. > > Marilyn vos Savant is attached to a definite person who appears publically to promote herself. She may be hired to speak at $20-30K a pop:\*\* There you have it: Dear Abby and Ann Landers don’t exist. And are you sure that the person who “appears” as Marilyn vos Savant is always played by the same individual? It could be the same deal as Bozo the Clown. As for **Coldfire** , I don’t know anybody over the age of 10 that still believes _he’s_ real. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![\_Uigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/e9a140/32.png) [@\_Uigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Uigi)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/44 "2001-06-23T21:41:18Z")
Just a thought. A post by “handy” a bit earlier got me thinking. If I were Cecil Adams, I just might enjoy throwing similar red herrings around to throw the scent off the trail of those who “want to know”. “handy” has posted 9951 times since Mar 1999 (or so it says); that’s an average of about 12 posts per day for over 800 days. As for the Mar 99 date, I suspect “Cecil” would have no probs showing any start date he/she chose (another red herring?) with the mod powers available. Does “handy” have plausible deniability? Could “handy” in reality be Cecil? For that matter, I could be CA (but I doubt it). ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/45 "2001-06-23T22:19:54Z")
It is understood that there will always be a cadre of backsliders, ne’er-do-wells and jaded sophisticates who think it appropriate – or maybe “the k3wl thing to do” – to proclaim their disbelief in the existence of Cecil – although this strikes me as hardly a fitting reward for Unca Cece’s decades of selfless service. Still, in this sacred forum, even assorted heretics, mindless cranks and wild-eyed skeptics of all varieties are welcome to post their heretical and irrational rantings that “prove” the non-existence of our beloved Cecil – Great Leader and Dear Leader combined – as long, of course, as it doesn’t degenerate into mere name-calling. * * * I like ponies. Ponies are our friends. I hope that someday they remake that movie, you know, _Equus_, although this time, with ponies instead of horses. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2001, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/46 "2001-06-23T22:32:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 'Uigi \* > **"handy" has posted 9951 times since Mar 1999 (or so it says** About 500 of those are his “Cecil Adams is a trademark” post. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/47 "2001-06-24T02:09:17Z")
Okay. Maybe none of us really exist, but . . . I came across a reference in Google to William Poundstone’s “Biggest Secrets” which apparently addresses the Cecil/Ed conspirancy. It’s going to be a while until I can get to the library. Can anybody paraphrase any of the arguments he makes? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/48 "2001-06-24T02:29:10Z")
Cecil _used to_ think more highly of Poundstone, [here](http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/5163/dcryogenics.html) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/49 "2001-06-24T02:37:03Z")
DrewG27: > [@](#): > > although I think Abby’s is, no joke, at least ten years old. It was recently updated (or at least in Newsday; maybe photo use is optional amongst syndicate members), and also includes her daughter, who now co-writes the column. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2001, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/50 "2001-06-24T04:03:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > I get enough hate mail and death threats on a site with fewer than 900 registrations, Tom, you don’t have your email enabled in this forum, so I’m posting here. What is the forum that you moderate? Can you give me a link? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/51 "2001-11-26T17:22:55Z")
“About 500 of those are his “Cecil Adams is a trademark” post.” You know, they have rules here about posting known-to-be inaccurate statements? Why are people bringing up this old topic anyway? ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/52 "2001-11-26T17:46:06Z")
**HANDY!** Check out the previous post date…6/23. Looks to me that YOU are the one bringing up this old subject. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2001, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/53 "2001-11-26T17:47:06Z")
Why are YOU bringing this up? Sheesh. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/54 "2001-11-26T18:23:46Z")
I just linked to this thread in an ATMB thread about Cecil. Sorry if I inadvertantly gave the impression that it was a current thread (I don’t think I did, but you never know). ---
**Author:** ![Nixon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@Nixon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nixon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/55 "2001-11-26T18:39:02Z")
does it really matter? I am Spartacus, you are Spartacus, we are all Spartacus. dos centavos ---
**Author:** ![ejrn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@ejrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ejrn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/56 "2001-11-26T21:27:00Z")
On page 33 of Poundstone’s **Biggest Secrets** he says: _“We hate to blow a fellow vade mecum author’s cover, but Straight Dope columnist Cecil Adams (variously described as “one of the world’s legendary recluses” and “reputedly the world’s smartest human being,” and never photographed) is a guy named Ed Zotti. Zotti is credited as Adams’s “editor and confidant.””_ That’s the sum total of comment on the subject in the book. I guess you have to believe Poundstone or not. He offers no particular proof. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/57 "2001-11-26T22:01:00Z")
Repeating what I posted yesterday in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=60371&pagenumber=2): > [@](#): > > In Great Debates we discussed [The Poundstonian Heresy](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=65861) in depth a few months back. In the thread, **C K Dexter Haven** reported that “Ed has said that Poundstone plied him liberally with libation during that interview, and that he (Ed) was as intoxicated as a mephitic weasel, and would have confessed to about anything, from the Jack the Ripper murders to the moon-landing hoax.” > > Poundstone is a fine researcher, but not perfect. For example, on page 21 of _Biggest Secrets_, he states that Katharine Hepburn’s birthday is November 8th. Actually it’s May 12th – November 8th is her brother’s birthday, although for many years she claimed it as her own. I am sure Uncle Cecil would not have made the same mistake. ---
**Author:** ![king\_of\_spain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7cd45c/32.png) [@king\_of\_spain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/king_of_spain)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/58 "2001-11-26T22:04:53Z")
Another piece of evidence: check out the dedication pages of some Straight Dope books. Often mentioned is the name “Mary,” which I hypothesize is the first name of Mrs. Adams, and a few others which must be the Little Researchers. (_Return of the Straight Dope_, the only one I have handy, says, “To Mary, still a fox after all these years, and to Ryan, Annie, and a third party to be named later, who give their father…”) Does anyone know anything about Little Ed’s family? Anyone know if one of the Chicago phone book Cecils has a wife named Mary? In addition, I’m fairly certain I remember references to the effect that Cecil is bald, left-handed, and hates cats. Anyone know how the info we have on Ed stacks up against all this? (And yes, of course, all this information could be red herrings planted by the Perfect Master to throw us off the scent.) ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2001, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/59 "2001-11-26T23:05:53Z")
What happens when we plug “Zotti” into [http://www.uspto.gov](http://www.uspto.gov) ? The result: > [@](#): > > Word Mark-- **NINO** ZOTTI > Translations-- The mark has no English translation. > Goods and Services-- IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: men’s wearing apparel and accessories, namely, ties, **bow ties** , pocket squares, and scarves. FIRST USE: 19950400. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950800 > Mark Drawing Code-- (1) TYPED DRAWING > Serial Number-- 75285033 > Filing Date-- May 1, 1997 > Filed ITU-- FILED AS ITU > Published for Opposition-- May 26, 1998 > Registration Number-- 2267603 > Registration Date-- August 3, 1999 > Owner (REGISTRANT)-- **R.L. FRANCO INTERNATIONAL FASHIONS** , INC. CORPORATION CANADA 8920 Pie IX Boulevard, Suite 300 **Montreal, Quebec** H1Z 3V1 \*\*CANADA \*\* > Attorney of Record SIMOR L MOSKOWITZ > Type of Mark-- TRADEMARK > Register-- PRINCIPAL > Other Data-- The mark does **not identify a particular living individual**. > Live/Dead Indicator-- LIVE It’s obvious to me that the Straight Dope is in fact orchestrated by a **suicidal** man named **Nino** who is a **French-Canadian maker of bow-ties**. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2001, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673/60 "2001-11-26T23:53:23Z")
This topic is being more than adequately addressed elsewhere, so I’m closing this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person/69673.md?page=4)