The Straight Dope 10/29/2004

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 10/29/2004

Dear Cecil:

So I guess everyone's agreed that John Kerry personally blew away a VC
in 'Nam 35 years ago. My question is, have we ever had a killer for
president? I'm not talking about generals like Grant and Eisenhower, who
were indirectly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Confederates
and Germans, or combatants using long-distance weapons like a Kennedy
torpedo or a Bush Sr. bomb. I'm wondering about somebody getting whacked
face to face, mano a mano, up close and personal, with a gun, knife,
club, or pointy stick. Washington in the French and Indian War? Garfield
in the Civil War? Didn't Andy Jackson fight a duel or two? --Gavin
Anderson, Salt Lake City

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Cecil replies:

No offense, Gavin, but you sound like one of those guys who slows down
to ogle car wrecks. However, now that you bring it up, the question does
hold a certain grim fascination. Given the 250-year time span and the
impossibility of counting undetected homicides, I don't claim the
following list is complete. Still, I know of three U.S. presidents who
killed people at close range, and one more accused of murder:

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041029.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

Let's assume there are eight million people in New York city, and half
of this population, four million, takes a dump each day. Let's also
assume that each dump consists of a half pound of solids. That means
that NYC produces 2 million pounds, or 1,000 tons, of the brown stuff
each day. My question is, after this 1,000 tons of poop does down the
bowl, where does it go? And dare I ask, what is done with it after it
gets there? --r.k. 

SDSTAFF Una replies:

Finally, a chance to write about toilet topics that isn't dirty. I'll
try to explain the processes used in modern sewage treatment plants, all
the while resisting the temptation to use naughty words.

The processes used for treating sewage vary somewhat from facility to
facility, but typically involve multiple steps designed to remove and
treat as many solids as possible before returning the water to the
environment. Here are the most common techniques:

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 06/22/1984

Dear Cecil: 

You may have heard the line, "tornadoes are God's way of telling us
there are too many mobile homes." Why is it that mobile homes seem to
get damaged by twisters with such regularity?  Is it that people who
live in mobile homes know when they've been hit, while the rest of us
think it was just high winds that blew off those shingles?  Or could it
be that twisters are deflected by the updrafts in cities with more
substantial buildings? --Dave G., Evanston, Illinois  

Cecil replies: 

I'm not sure I follow you, Dave. Are you suggesting somebody in a
non-mobile home could live through a tornado and NOT REALIZE IT? If so,
be assured that a tornado is not the sort of delicate phenomenon that
easily eludes notice.   Nonetheless, you're quite right in noting that
mobile homes seem to sustain an inordinate amount of damage from
twisters. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_096b.html

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