The Straight Dope 08/27/2004

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 08/27/2004

Dear Cecil:

What's the deal with not taking a shower, using the phone, or standing
too close to the TV during a thunderstorm? If people were electrocuted
by lightning in their homes on anything like a regular basis surely we
would hear about it more often than we do. Is this just one of those
stories our parents tell us over the years so now I can terrify my own
son? --Jim L., Windsor, New York

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Cecil replies:

A skeptic, are we? You probably thought those warnings about waiting an
hour after eating before swimming were silly, too. Well, they were.
Lightning, unfortunately, is a different story. A few cautionary tales
from the medical journals:

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040827.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

Would you please explain what happened during the "payola" radio scam in
the 1950s? -- Nimah Mazaheri 

Guest contributor MsRobyn replies:

I knew there was a reason I kept my Introduction to Mass Communication
textbook! Prepare for a look at the seamy underbelly of the music
industry.

Paying somebody to place a song before the public dates to the early
days of the modern popular music industry. At the height of the scandal
Billboard magazine claimed that payola in various forms had been common
during the big band era of the 1930s and 40s and in the vaudeville
business in the 1920s. Be that as it may, payola on the scale that
became apparent during the 50s was the product of a unique conjunction
of circumstances . . .

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 05/17/1985

Dear Cecil: 

NutraSweet artificial sweetener has, in my humble opinion, brought an
improved taste to diet drinks. But additionally, it seems to me that the
chemical has also increased the volume of foam produced, compared to
other, non-NutraSweet diet drinks when the drink is poured into a glass
of ice. This is also welcome, as I greatly enjoy sucking up as much
froth as can be produced. But am I just imagining these greater suds, or
are they actually caused by NutraSweet? --Ken Z., Chicago  

Cecil replies:  

You may not believe this, Ken, but Coke, Pepsi, and the G.D.
Searle company, the maker of NutraSweet, all deny any knowledge of the
foam-producing properties you describe. However, scientific tests
conducted at the legendary Straight Dope labs have proved conclusively
that they do in fact exist. Moreover, it is clear that not only do
NutraSweetened beverages produce more foam, but the foam lasts longer.
The ecological significance of this development is too awful to
contemplate. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_043.html

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