# Who is Cecil: is this a clue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743 "2006-05-22T13:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/1 "2006-05-22T13:52:37Z")
This thread was suggested by a paragraph in one of Cecil’s columns, but it’s not really about the column, but about Cecil. Cecil, known to every one of us, is a big mystery. In keeping with “fighting ignorance,” some of us would like to find out who Uncle Cec really is, what he looks like, what he drinks, who he bonks, etc., and the following text from the [How do they get the M’s on M&M’s?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_112.html) column gave me an idea, to wit: > [@Cecil](#): > > While addressing a Mensa convention the other day (really), Cecil told the story of the letter about the M&M expiration date, concluding with the plaintive question, “what happens at 8:06?” From the back of the room someone promptly shot back the obvious answer: “They melt in your hand.” The obvious question is, given the large percentage of Mensa-types here at the Dope (I know, they are balanced out by the Dinky Dorks and Average Joes, and here’s hoping you are one of those groups), was anyone around at that meeting in 1988? If so, did Cecil wear a disguise? Did you snap a picture? Burn a mental image? Will the Men In Chartreuse visit you if you reveal anything? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/2 "2006-05-22T14:51:33Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > This thread was suggested by a paragraph in one of Cecil’s columns, but it’s not really about the column, but about Cecil. > > Cecil, known to every one of us, is a big mystery. In keeping with “fighting ignorance,” some of us would like to find out who Uncle Cec really is, what he looks like, what he drinks, who he bonks, etc., and the following text from the [How do they get the M’s on M&M’s?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_112.html) column gave me an idea, to wit:The obvious question is, given the large percentage of Mensa-types here at the Dope (I know, they are balanced out by the Dinky Dorks and Average Joes, and here’s hoping you are one of those groups), was anyone around at that meeting in 1988? If so, did Cecil wear a disguise? Did you snap a picture? Burn a mental image? Will the Men In Chartreuse visit you if you reveal anything? You’d have to know which Mensa group he allegedly spoke to. Currently, American Mensa has 134 Local Groups with boundaries defined by ZIP Code and over 140 Special Interest Groups. Each group has meetings many times a year. The most likely one might be [Chicago Area Mensa](http://www.chicago.us.mensa.org/). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/3 "2006-05-22T14:56:18Z")
I thought everyone knew this. The clue is [here](http://tinyurl.com/jkugh). Hint: no accusations of plagiarism has ever been lodged. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/4 "2006-05-22T15:29:14Z")
It wouldn’t matter. He goes undercover at the meetings, by his secret alias of… ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/5 "2006-05-22T16:01:07Z")
_from a grassy knoll, shots ring out_ ---
**Author:** ![Minotaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Minotaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minotaurus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/6 "2006-05-22T16:02:55Z")
i think Cecil is more than one person ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/7 "2006-05-22T17:04:12Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > _from a grassy knoll, shots ring out_ Luckily \*\*Rigamarole \*\*is only grazed - dazed but unhurt. Unfortunately, it was his head that was grazed and he can’t remember what he was about to say… ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/8 "2006-05-22T20:17:09Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I thought everyone knew this. The clue is [here](http://tinyurl.com/jkugh). Hint: no accusations of plagiarism has ever been lodged. And yet… [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7056136&postcount=15](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7056136&postcount=15) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/9 "2006-05-22T22:12:04Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I thought everyone knew this. The clue is [here](http://tinyurl.com/jkugh). Hint: no accusations of plagiarism has ever been lodged. Not sure what this “clue” is supposed to prove. The author of _Know It All!_ is Ed Zotti, while the author of the _Straight Dope_ books is Unca Cece. In the introduction to _Know It All!_, Ed writes: “I edit a column called ‘The Straight Dope’ that appears in weekly papers around the country. The author of the column is the mysterious Cecil Adams, the World’s Smartest Human Being. Cecil knows everything, and he’s never wrong.” While _Know It All!_ covers many of the same topics as _The Straight Dope_, the answers were completely rewritten for a yonger audience. The _Straight Dope_ books are copyrighted to The Chicago Reader, while Ed Zotti holds the copyright to _Know It All!_ (Assuming he has not subsequently traded the rights for a bag of magic beans). On page 86 of _Know It All!_, Ed incorrectly states that tornadoes always turn counterclockwise in the Northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the Southern. (This is true for hurricanes, but not tornadoes, which can and do rotate in either direction.) In Cecil’s discussion of the topic, [Do bathtubs drain counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_161.html), he does not make the same mistake, as he only includes hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/10 "2006-05-22T22:28:51Z")
> [@Minotaurus](#): > > i think Cecil is more than one person Um, yeah, and nobody; Cecil is a trademark. A fictional character owned by the Reader. Various people have written the column at different times. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/11 "2006-05-22T22:49:47Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > It wouldn’t matter. He goes undercover at the meetings, by his secret alias of… Dangit!!! Now we’ve lost **Rigamarole!** ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/12 "2006-05-22T22:59:18Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Um, yeah, and nobody; Cecil is a trademark. A fictional character owned by the Reader. Various people have written the column at different times. Heresy! ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-cecil-is-this-a-clue/357743/13 "2006-05-23T13:20:55Z")
I believe in Cecil. I’m humming with my fingers in my ears to block out those who don’t. Dang - just like the kid in school that announced there’s no Santa. Leave my innocence alone.