The mailbag article on silicon vs. silicone, http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msilicon.html , fails to mention one of its most useful properties:
It feels like boobies.
If THAT ain’t a boon to civilization, I don’t know what is.
I’m not flying fast, just orbiting low.
Cecil wrote, “I specifically sought out silicone pacifiers for my son …”
Oh my God, he’s reproducing!!!
No, no, baggins – the mailbag items are not written by Cecil, nor even supervised by him, but by his loyal Straight Dope Science Advisory Staff. The silicon article was written by our very own DavidB … altho’ the thought of him reproducing is probably also kinda scarey…
Tracer said:
Hmmm, well, yes, I guess I missed that one. 
Maybe that’s why my son likes it better for his pacifiers as well…
Let me point out that the answer to this mailbag question was well written and well presented. Sources are given, and an in-depth answer is offered. Kudos to David for the time and care on this one.
Yes, the answer was well thought-out and
well presented, except for:
>>correlation is not the same as causation
While that’s true, it’s not what DavidB was
talking about. He immediately goes on to
argue, in fact, that there was no
correlation. The phenomenon he was talking
about is called ‘illusory correlation,’ in
which we perceive a correlation that is not
there.
Other than that, I agree that it was well-done.
Thanks to both DSYoung and Bup!
Regarding the correlation/causation bit, I think bup is probably right – it is an apparent correlation, not a real one. I kind of implied the “apparent” part, but in the future I shall endeavor to be more specific.
Frankly, I’m a bit surprised – I thought sure there were gonna be a couple folks flaming me for the whole breast implant thing.
OK, David, anything to oblige, you obviously breast-obsessed fetishist, you.
No, no, no! That’s now what I meant. < sigh > must I do everything myself?
In general, whenever I point out that scientific studies have concluded the implants play no part in causing the claimed diseases, somebody with a lack of understanding of logic and science will jump up and say, “But I got implants and then I got this disease. See, that proves it!” Or, to paraphrase from a letter I got when doing a book review that dealt tangentially with this subject, a woman wrote to tell me that the scientific studies don’t show anything because each woman is different. So we have to look at each case. She just didn’t get it. What’s worse was that this woman was a science writer…
No, what’s worse is that when she appears before the jury, they feel sorry for her and give her a zillion dollar award, even though she can’t prove causality.
…thus causing a perfectly good company to go out of business and others to shy away from making this type of product. Wait, I covered that already in the Mailbag item itself.
David B remarked, in startlement:
“Kings die, and leave their crowns to their sons. Shmuel HaKatan took all the treasures in the world, and went away.”
Uh, no, thanks. I’m not that much of a glutton for punishment!