No, seriously. He seems very intelligent and eloquent, but I haven’t read any amazing material by him. Seems to me he’s just a very smart man who does a lot of research.
Am I wrong? Is there something truly amazing about him other than the fact that he can nail down urban legends?
Please, no mindless Cecil worshipping, only coherent answers.
Go read his books and them come back to this forum. Here’s what you’ll find:
(1) he has an incredibly broad and deep knowledge;
(2) he’s never wrong
(3) his writing style is hilarious.
Seems to me that he was able to take an idea(a fun one), run with it, and end up with not only a column, books, and website, but with a message board where people question his greatness.
Of course, it could just be all the LSD.
Well I’m the only one I’ve seen questioning his greatness, while many others preach it. He is a very amusing writer and he really knows his shit, but his shit is his job.
I don’t think he’s anywhere near the world’s most intelligent man, even in a hyperbolic sense (like, duh).
Please, no mindless Cecil worshiping, only coherent answers.]
Excuse me, but this is Unca Cece’s message board, so he gets to makes the rules, and “mindless Cecil worship” is not only permitted, it is strongly encouraged, if not absolutely mandatory. Heretic!
I can only believe that you’re the kind of person who, when visiting someone else’s house, says things like “what were you thinking when you bought those drapes”. When you set up your own message board, where people aren’t expected to be impressed by Cecil’s unparalleled superhuman intellect, please let us know.
All hail Uncle Cecil!
Karma, how would you like it if I came into your house and started questioning your intelligence, or your style or who you are?
This is a website devoted to the concept of a column written by Cecil Adams. The people who congregate here generally like his writing and use that common element to then discuss, debate, question, and so forth other areas of life.
If you want to question the intelligence of the Man and that does include Mr. Zotti (the Board Man), then why not just leave. If we are all devotes to Cecil and our worship of him seems silly to you, then go somewhere that the people make more sense. Try alt.wwf.wrestlemania or alt.conspiracy.theory.
In case the above post was over your wee head, it is generally considered bad manners to come into one’s residence or the temple of a great one and show disrespect and a questioning of the believers.
BTW, don’t let the cyberdoor hit your butt on the way out.
Jeffery
I don’t think he ever claimed to be. He just knows everything. Thank the deities that somebody doess, because I sure don’t.
Cristi, Slayer of Peeps
I made my husband join a bridge club. He jumps next Tuesday.
(title & sig courtesy of UncleBeer and WallyM7!)
Okay, quickly now – Name one other person named Cecil who is widely admired.
If only in the view of folks named ‘Cecil’ the world over, this singular accomplishment qualifies him for greatness.
Dr. Watson
“Not actually named ‘Cecil’, but unashamed.”
(Boy am I in for it now . . . )
Please, no mindless Cecil worshipping, only coherent answers.
Okay, we’ll move on to hagiology:
*All hail Uncle Cecil!
Inspiration to us all!
The World’s Greatest Intellect!
Knower of it all!
Kudos Unca Cece!
Hearer of our call!
Unmatched in the universe!
Never one to fall!
Hurrah for Cecil Adams!
Books are in the mall!
Buy each Straight Dope edition!
Got to “catch them all”!*
He healed my diabetes.
Every night for a month I slept with all of his books under my pillow, and at the end of that time, I was completely healed. The doctors were amazed.
I will praise his name, forever.
[this post is available in special format for the Sarcasm Impaired–see the Straight Dope Home Page.]
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
And he pays well, too. Right now, I’m drinking Earl Grey tea from a handsome “Straight Dope” coffee mug with a wonderful illustration by Slug on the side sent to me by Cecil himself. I mean, you can’t buy that sort of …
Oh, wait.
Never mind.
Saint Eutychus H.M.S.H.
" ‘He is a prince’ , the minstrels sing.
Among men, yes. Among fools he is a king."
Disney Shorts
The Eutychus Papers
Cecil is without doubt the smartest person in the world, but even he doesn’t know the origin of the term “Street el”.
Peace,
mangeorge
Teach your kids to bungee jump.
One them might have to cross a bridge someday.
The very day I started reading Cecil’s Words Of Wisdom, my…boy part…grew three inches almost overnight.
The more I teaches you, the dumber you gets.
Before I started reading Cecil, I was the guy getting sand kicked in my face, as seen in the classic Charles Atlas ads. Now whenever Joe Bodybuilder comes over to harrass me, I confuse him with the real lyrics to “Louie, Louie”, or by telling him the nutrional value of sperm.
*A new dawn dawned
and Cecil Adams spoke and
Mike Lenehan wrote and
Enlightenment began to flow, in weekly doses
Cecil, Cecil hear our plea!
Ignorance encircles we!
Cecil, Cecil hear our call!
Fight ignorance like a whack-a-mole!*
Karma, with all respect due you, I suggest you quit while you’re ahead. Afterall, Cecil is soley responsible for my being able to throw the Rogaine and Viagra away, and dust off my little black book!
Tuck your tail between your legs and *run,[/]!
VB
I’ve performed a complete diagnosis of your car. It’s broken.
Damned UBB Codes!
VB
I’ve performed a complete diagnosis of your car. It’s broken.
Karma, let me explain the level of faux pas you have committed.
Imagine walking into a Beatle fan club and saying, “Well, yeah, Lennon wrote some pretty catch tunes. But I don’t think he was anything great.”
I can guarantee that the only way you’d get out of that latter situation alive would be if the marijuana-induced lethargy caused the fan-club members not to comprehend what you had stated until you had gotten a good running start.
Let me ask you this- what do you consider amazing? Does Cecil need to rescue a small baby from the middle of a raging river? Unlock the secret to the Unified Field Theory? Dance the can-can on top of a flag-pole in the middle of Times Square?
The man has a range of knowledge and sources vastly outweighing that of any other person in this world, possibly more than his next two rivals combined. And rather than merely presenting his facts in a dry and staid manner, he reveals them with a style and wit of sublime grace.
He is a Woodward and Bernstein for all seasons. He is an Einstein of the everyman. He’s the top…- wait, someone already did that one. Sorry.
Anyways, three cheers for Cecil!
JMCJ
“Y’know, I would invite y’all to go feltch a dead goat, but that would be abuse of a perfectly good dead goat and an insult to all those who engage in that practice for fun.” -weirddave, set to maximum flame
Karma, You didn’t really think you’d get away with this, did you?
VB
I’ve performed a complete diagnosis of your car. It’s broken.