The Straight Dope 10/04/2002

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The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 10/04/2002

Dear Cecil:

A good friend of mine, a Chinese born in Nanking, China,
told me that many Chinese (including himself) do not need to
use deodorant. "We don't have sweat glands under our arms,"
he said, "We don't need to use deodorant." I'd always
thought that all humans were endowed with similar glands and
organs. We all have lungs, livers, hearts, lymph glands,
etc. Is Mr. Fu wrong? He's rarely wrong about anything,
honest. --Marshall

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Cecil replies:

Mr. Fu exaggerates, but he's not completely wrong. It's not
that Asians don't have sweat glands under their arms; the
difference is that they have markedly fewer apocrine glands
than black or white people. That doesn't mean they sweat
less--eccrine glands, the other main type of sweat gland,
are a thousand times more numerous on most bodies, and
Asians have plenty of them. But apocrine glands are the kind
that make you stink.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021004.html


STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

We are going a bit mad in the office here due to the
unexpected hot weather. Could you please tell us where the
saying "whoops-a-daisy" comes from? Speed is of the essence
as we may just explode without knowing. Thanks for your help
and please excuse the British madness. --Chris Morbey,
London 

SDSTAFF Dex replies:

With all respect to our British cousins, we think getting
into a dither about "whoops-a-daisy" bespeaks a pretty low
threshold of madness. We have taken the liberty of delaying
our reply in hopes of toughening you up. If you think
whoops-a-daisy is madness-inducing, wait till we drag you
into a war with Iraq.

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mwhoopsadaisy.html


STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 11/17/1978

Dear Cecil: 

Can you tell me if the rumor is true concerning Catherine
the Great, her unusual interest in horses, and her resulting
death? --C.S., Baltimore  

Dear C.:  

I knew if we waited
around long enough somebody was sure to ask this question,
C., and I and the entire Straight Dope staff wish to thank
you for coming through for us.   The simple answer to your
question is no, the rumor is not true. However, this won't 
stop us from repeating the rumor, to wit: that Catherine
the Great, empress of Russia in the latter part of the 18th
century, was crushed to death when attendants lost their
grip on the ropes supporting a horse that was being lowered
on her for, ahh, sexual purposes. This is without doubt the
most outrageous story I heard during my entire college
career, which is when you usually come across these little
historical tidbits. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_109.html

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