What was the first Straight Dope column?

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

I mean in the newspaper, before books were collected. I see that lately, they have been adding of featuring some of the older(1973 and 1974) columns by Cecil.

What was the first one and what was the question and date?

Thanks!

:slight_smile:

2

That is actually answered in the Straight Dope FAQ … oh, I guess it’s now linked to from the main straightdope.com page as “Who is Cecil Adams?” It’s from February 2, 1973, and it deals with Chicago-centric questions, including “How much business has Chicago lost as a result of those pesky Democratic conventions five years ago?” and “Do I live in the city’s highest crime neighborhood?”, and includes an offer of a free LP for the best question sent in each week.

3

Thanks. :slight_smile:

4

If that was the first Straight Dope column, where did they get the questions from? I understand people writing in now to ask because of Cecil’s stellar reputation, but who was writing in to the paper before they had a Straight Dope column to begin with? Did Cecil go to the local library and ask the reference librarian for the rejects? Do people normally write to the paper in the hopes they’ll one day hire a columnist to tell them the answers? Was the question box stuffed with inside staffer letters?

How did they get the questions for the first column?

5

There is some speculation here.