
A Note from Cecil Adams about the Straight Dope - severine
https://www.straightdope.com/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/
======
drawkbox
The Straight Dope from Cecil Adams is like lots of that neat content that was
essentially the internet before the internet.

Books and mags like MAD Magazine, Nintendo Power, comic books and more were
where you learned about life and it's cynicism, sarcasm and fun aspects, some
with great write-ins.

Malls/bookstores where you socialized, record stores and movie theaters where
you got your pop culture.

Arcades, convenience stores like 7/11 and video/game rentals to entertain
yourself and play with others, bike your way over to the nearest adventure.

Bulletin boards, mailing lists, IRC and message boards of the early internet
were really great and in-depth.

All of that greatness is turning to vaporwave nostalgia.

So long Cecil.

~~~
kbp
> The Straight Dope from Cecil Adams is like lots of that neat content that
> was essentially the internet before the internet.

You start with this, and then go into more examples of "content that was
essentially the internet before the internet" like going to 7/11 with friends,
reading Nintendo Power, and riding your bike. That sounds a lot more like
missing your childhood than any cultural changes, especially when your pre-
internet internet includes things like IRC and message boards. It seems like
you're just using "internet" as a synonym for "the present".

> All of that greatness is turning to vaporwave nostalgia.

The only criteria for being included in "that greatness" is that you enjoyed
it and it's not popular anymore: it isn't turning to nostalgia, it's nostalgia
by definition.

Replace Cecil Adams and the Straight Dope with whatever you like, and this is
just as fitting of a sappy eulogy.

~~~
b1daly
The grandparent comment makes a nice point. Humans imbue their lived
environment with meaning and functionality.

Our lived environment now includes a whole different element, that of being
ever connected in the present to a global information network.

This means that there is a real loss, to society, of the utility of previously
physical common spaces. People derived meaning and value there, and it has
gone away.

Losing something meaningful and valuable is sad. The fact that it happens a
lot doesn’t make it less so.

Obviously, the WWW offers all sorts of opportunities to create meaning and
value, perhaps more.

But something fundamental has changed, in that we now engage in important
social activities through telecommunications and mediated is experiences. This
is devaluing sone types of social infrastructure that previously provided
these functions.

I think we have crossed a “social singularity,” from which there is no going
back. Similar to other technologies that changed human societies profoundly,
and permanently.

The other I was trying to recall what it felt like to “not have the internet,”
and I couldn’t get the feeling back, even though I lived half my life like
that.

------
mherdeg
The author's point should be well taken about the unique value of forums like
the Straight Dope Message Board.

A lot of Internet culture comes from, or grows on, newsgroups, web forums, and
subreddits. It's hard to quantify what good thing we get out of the existence
of these communities -- there is not some metric I can point and say "this --
this is what these forums are worth". But I know it's a big deal.

Nice to see that they recognized the value and are keeping this particular
community up and running.

------
gedy
It's really cool he's been doing this for 45 years. I stumbled on The Straight
Dope book in the 80s, and it's hard to describe how cool this was to read,
pre-Internet. So much cool info in clever and hilarious format, I read it for
hours and over and over. A big salute to Cecil Adams.

~~~
zantana
Yes, I devoured trivia troves like the Straight Dope, the bathroom reader
series and predecessors, which for me were the Book of Lists.

It is funny to go back now and see ones which have obvious errors. They will
always have a place in my heart, I'm tempted to pick up all the books now so I
will have them to reminisce.

------
tombert
My dad had the entire collection of Straight Dope books, so when he found out
that I was frequenting Snopes.com when I was 11, he told me that they would be
right up my alley.

He was right. I immediately fell in love with the combination of trivia and
dry humor.

I quickly read through the set, and even sent a letter to Cecil (he did not
respond and my letter wasn't published, but I did get a letter back from one
of his assistants answering my question).

All things must come to an end, but I'm sad to see it go.

------
axaxs
I think anyone who has been around the internet a while will hold SD fondly. I
wish it had become what Snopes is used for, minus the shady owner and
partisanship.

------
ars
I'll be forever annoyed at him for the incorrect answer here:
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1260/how-does-
one-s...](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1260/how-does-one-suck-in-
a-piece-of-spaghetti/)

(And yes, I emailed him but got no reply.)

The simple answer is yes, air pressure can push even something limp like
spaghetti. And yes, if you increase the pressure the limp spaghetti will be
forced in.

Think of a limp bag of water. If you push on the end it just buckles. But if
you squeeze everywhere but one, water will come out of that spot.

But despite that, it's a great resource!

Anyone else remember imponderables (the books)?

~~~
hoistbypetard
> Anyone else remember imponderables (the books)?

I used to read those voraciously in the late 80s/early 90s. Going to the book
store and seeing that there was a new one was such a treat.

I wonder what experience will be similar for my kids.

------
sparky_z
So, I just checked his wikipedia page, and was shocked to find out that Cecil
Adams is not a real individual person. He's a pseudonym for a rotating
collection of ghostwriters, like Franklin W Dixon.

~~~
stingraycharles
I’ve looked at his Wikipedia page, but can’t find where it says it is a
collection of writers. All I see is that it is a pseudonym.

~~~
okket
It is also not confirmed that it is a sole author... "The true identity of
Adams, whether a single individual or a group of authors, has remained
unknown."

Keeping an authorship pseudonymous successfully for 40+ years is rather
unusual. I'd argue saying it is a sole author is at least as speculative as
saying it is a group.

~~~
greggarious
I think it's rather obvious...

Cecil Adams is Satoshi Nakamoto.

~~~
bookofjoe
Both are John Galt.

------
andrewl
The book _Return of the Straight Dope_ (copyright 1994) has this question "Why
do so many public buildings want you to use the revolving doors rather than
the regular doors?" After a brief discussion about protecting against loss of
air conditioned or heated air, Adams concludes with:

So much for the rationalizations. The _real_ reason you're told to use the
revolving doors is so the real estate operators of the world can test your
willingness to play ball. Do you follow directions and use the revolving door,
or are you one of those independent types who insist on doing their own thing
and entering through the swinging version? If the latter, be forewarned: when
Donald Trump takes over, you're history.

I thought it was funny at the time.

------
ddingus
Whoever "owns" the SD is about to realize they dont actually own the value.
It's a dynamic thing. Readers, writers, community with norms, culture, etc...

If I were them, I would work with the people who value TSD to find a successor
and carry on a good thing.

------
okket
For those wondering...
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Adams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Adams)

~~~
bitexploder
Well, it is obviously not one person, but Ed Zotti is the 'editor in chief'
and has been for a long time. He is definitely the "heart" of Cecil Adams as I
know him. Sure others are involved, but, Ed has admitted he writes most of
Cecil's words.

