# Seven deadly sins error **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 18, 2001, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185 "2001-06-18T03:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/21 "2001-07-27T02:32:49Z")
> [@](#): > > By the way, would it be asking too much if you could enlighten not just I, but the Teeming Millions, as to the stature of your penis? Wait, he already answered this in his first book. Don’t be a cheap bastard. If you really want to know about the man’s penis, cough up the dough. _“I guess I’ll have to learn about the Cecil Adams penis on the street”_ ---
**Author:** ![Keko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@Keko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keko)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/22 "2001-07-27T07:04:03Z")
One wonders what it’s like to be Mr. Adams and have everyone try to kiss your ass. Then again, one wouldn’t want to be in that position 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/23 "2001-07-27T13:22:36Z")
**Monster** , He actually addressed you DIRECTLY!!! Oh my…the giddy elation…the joy that must have pulsed through your viens…it must have been like urinating on the third rail, without the burns and sparks. I envy you, Monster. I envy you. ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/24 "2001-07-27T13:28:38Z")
**Cecil** also made a mistake with conditional probability. [He admitted it too](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_189.html) pan ---
**Author:** ![Cecil\_Adams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cecil\_Adams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cecil_Adams)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/25 "2001-07-27T15:58:17Z")
> [@](#): > > By the way, would it be asking too much if you could enlighten not just I, but the Teeming Millions, as to the stature of your penis? At first I thought to reply: “I don’t know. I don’t often get a chance to see it. Usually there’s some woman in the way.” But then I thought, this is more than they need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/26 "2001-07-27T16:27:46Z")
I gotta store that one away - God knows when I may be able to use it, but there’s _gotta_ be an opportunity sometime this life. [sub]joins the “Post After Cecil” club[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/27 "2001-07-27T17:24:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Keko \* > One wonders what it’s like to be Mr. Adams and have everyone try to kiss your ass. While the reaction of many posters is to smooch his behind, it’s not exactly _de rigeur_ around here. For instance, in [Why the lame columns lately?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37435), Cecil received a fair amount of criticism from a number of posters. (Including me, naturally - I’m just like that, I guess. But as a result, Cecil [singled me out](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=763574#post763574) from all the other Dopers. :)) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/28 "2001-07-27T17:41:42Z")
Concerning Cecilian error, the Master had this to say: “The mark of a truly great mind isn’t whether you’re right or wrong. It’s how well you can weasel out of a jam.” (No, I can’t remember what column I pulled that from. But suffice it to say that Cecil gets out of jams quite well - with weaseling rarely necessary - and admits mistakes when he makes them.) BTW, does anyone else think of the Guru Maharaj Ji when they see Cecil’s “Perfect Master” title? Or am I showing my age? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/29 "2001-07-27T19:02:45Z")
Quoth **Mercutio** : > [@](#): > > Wait, he already answered this in his first book. Don’t be a cheap bastard. If you really want to know about the man’s penis, cough up the dough. From memory: I believe that the question was asking whether unusually well-endowed men pass out when aroused, as a result of the quantity of blood flowing to the member. Cecil’s answer was something along the lines of “All I can say, is that it’s never happened to me, bub”. There was also his column on [average penis size among various ethnic groups](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_193.html), but he doesn’t mention any of his own vital stats there (except that we can presume that he’s somewhere between 2 and 13 inches). ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2001, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/30 "2001-07-29T20:03:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > \*\*Concerning Cecilian error, the Master had this to say: > > “The mark of a truly great mind isn’t whether you’re right or wrong. It’s how well you can weasel out of a jam.” Oh my, **RTF** , does this mean that **Cecil** is really **a DITWD _sock puppet_**??? :eek: The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![GusKing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8baadc/32.png) [@GusKing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusKing)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/31 "2002-04-12T21:53:48Z")
Er…I think maybe that the Ignorance Eradicator DID make a mistake once (or this could be attributed to his joke writer, if he has one) In [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_038.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_038.html) Unc Cece talks of silent monks “anodizing…animal figurines” whose “loose lips…zinc sheeps” The problem is, of course, that anodizing involves growing a thick layer of oxide on aluminum. Zincing sheep would be a galvanizing event. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/32 "2002-04-12T22:18:47Z")
[Anodizing zinc](http://www.eazall.com/TechLit/Zinc%20Anodizing.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/33 "2002-04-13T00:06:26Z")
Well, M. there are certain “conventions” around here with respect to Cecil Adams. The first you should be aware of is that it is a fanciful pen name for someone else who wishes to remain anonymous. The U.S. PTO (patent and trademark office) has an old application which more or less states this under oath. The second is that Cecil does not admit he is wrong, but weasels learned “clarifications” in the place of retractions, etc. These can be rather amusing in the contortions, and are usually even better than the facts. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185/34 "2002-04-14T04:56:22Z")
There’s one mistake that has bugged me for a while. I mentioned it before, I think. In the column about pi, Cecil was taken to task about how many zeroes would be in the radius of the universe, I believe, and Cecil admitted his mistake. The only problem is, he did not make a mistake–his original answer was more or less correct. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-deadly-sins-error/69185.md?page=1)