The Straight Dope 07/30/2004

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 07/30/2004

Dear Cecil:

I've heard a rumor that eating charred hot dogs or
hamburgers (or anything else) cooked on a charcoal grill
(not a gas grill) can cause cancer. Apparently there is a
chemical reaction that takes place when the meat is burned.
Have you heard anything supporting this? --Chad, via e-mail

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Cecil replies:

Always the way, ain't it? It's not enough that you eat
right, don't smoke, exercise, etc. Now they say you can get
cancer if you burn the frigging burgers. What next--carcinoma
from cracking your knuckles? Tumors from not flossing?

I'm not ruling anything out. But let's not get too excited. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040730.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

What is the temperature in space? I can imagine that it
changes in our solar system relative to the distance from
the sun but what about outside our solar system or galaxy,
in the middle of nowhere? Does the universe have an average
temperature? Does it get colder as the universe expands? Do
solar systems keep heat in? Just a thought. --Henk

SDSTAFF Karen replies:

The temperature of the universe is 2.725 +/- 0.002 degrees
Kelvin. The Kelvin scale, for those who slept through high
school physics, is the same as the Celsius scale, only it
starts at absolute zero. In short, the universe is pretty
cold. Fortunately, our Milky Way galaxy is about 0.0001 K
toastier. 

Measuring the temperature of the universe isn't as easy as
you might think--you don't just stick a thermometer into
space and see the mercury shrink to the 3 K tick mark. 

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 10/25/1985

Dear Cecil: 

Years ago, British television produced a brilliant series
called The Prisoner. It starred Patrick McGoohan as a
recently resigned secret agent. He is kidnapped and taken to
a place called "the Village" where some apparently
evil-minded no-gooders try and tap the knowledge he has
acquired in his years as a spy. What I want to know is, what
exactly was the show all about? What exactly was The
Village? Who was Number One, the Village's top man? What
were they trying to get out of McGoohan? And most of all,
what the hell was going on in that crazy final episode that
sees the escape of McGoohan and the demise of the Village?
--Tony B., Washington, D.C.  

Dear Tony:  

Why people get  worked up over this absurd show I will never 
know, but it has attracted a cult following since it first aired as a
summer replacement on CBS in 1968.  The purpose of the
Village (in reality the Welsh resort town of Portmeirion),
who operated it, and what exactly they were trying to pry
out of McGoohan were kept purposely vague in order to
heighten the Kafkaesque quality of the show. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_022c.html

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