Dear Teemings–I am 21 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no Cecil Adams.
Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Straight Dope, it’s so.’
Please tell me the truth, is there a Cecil Adams?
Yes, he’s real. He exists in the smile of every child, and in the hearts of good people everywhere.
I think most of the answers you receive will be along these lines.
Yes, and every time a bell rings, it’s Cecil crying.
Of course he exists, those columns didn’t write themselves ya know.
I suspect that ‘Cecil Adams’ is a sort of cover name, such as ‘The Dread Pirate Roberts’ of The Princess Bride fame. The title ‘Cecil Adams’ is passed down from one sage to the next.
How else could they explain the Cedil heiroglyphics in the Great Pyramids?
<sniff> <sniff> Do I detect a whiff of Cecil-bait? <sniff> <sniff>
Won’t work…the subject is way to wary.
I dunno… It is just, that after two years, and over a thousand posts, I have started to become a little cynical as to whether my friend Cecil Adams even exists.
sigh
THe thought just occured to me. Has anyone, anywhere captured Cecil on film?
I was reading the subject line and thought, “You know…I’ve never actually SEEN a picture of the world’s greatest sage…”
I’m sure there’s been a couple of blurry, handheld stills of Cecil in the wild, not to mention numerous hoaxes and imposters - has anyone actually SEEN the man?
I ask you, do we know his age? place of residence? Favorite color?
OK, so now that we know for certain that Cecil Adams is a trademark and not a real person, the next mystery is…
How come all those threads in which somebody asks about Cecil are answered, by different people, in the exact same form? Remark about “little friends”, “might as well not believe in _____”, etc. Look at the links in mkl12’s post. There’s a conspiracy or something going on.
Now, why would a site dedicated to fighting ignorance not just come out and give a straight answer, admit that Cecil is not a real person? And why would different longtime posters be using practically a form response to repel the questions?
yes Muad’Dib, there is a Cecil Adams.
I have a picture of Cecil Adams standing on the grassy knoll overlooking Dealey Plaza.
Of course, I took the photo in 1996.
until we see hard proof, which cannot happen online, we won’t know for sure, right?
could someone post all the other “cecil” threads somehow? we could provide some proof by skimming over these other threads for some inconsistencies!
all his columns seem to have the same sense of humor and writing technique, so it’s probably the same guy/gal, whatever their name is…
Apparently, you don’t read the New York Sun. 
According to the Google image search, thisis the most likely picture of Cecil. I think that there is more truth in that then we dare realize.
Yes, he exists.
AND HE’S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!