The Straight Dope 11/05/2004

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 11/05/2004

Dear Cecil:

I read an article claiming that as weapon-control laws in England become
ever tighter, the crime rate is increasing--that over the past 80 or so
years the British government has enacted policies making it harder for
individuals to carry any kind of weapon for self-defense, with the
result, it was claimed, that you are now six times more likely to be
mugged in London than in New York. In addition, you can receive a stiff
sentence for defending yourself even if a burglar has invaded your home.
One case cited was that of Tony Martin, who lived alone in a rural area.
He had been robbed six times before. Mr. Martin's home was broken into
again, and he shot and killed one burglar and wounded the other. He was
jailed for harming the burglars and later was denied parole because he
posed a danger to burglars. Given that the author was an American, and
the article in a somewhat conservative periodical, I wondered how much
spin had been put on the facts. Is England indeed becoming a haven for
burglars while aged pensioners cower in their cottages?
--ZCamelopardalis, via e-mail

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Cecil replies:

Complicated topic. We proceed in our usual methodical manner:

(1) No doubt about it, crimewise the UK has pretty much gone to the
dogs. Violent crime jumped by two-thirds between 1998 and 2003. Crime is
higher in the UK than the U.S. in every category except rape and murder.

(2) Some say Britain's increase in crime is a result of disarming the
populace. One advocate of this view is U.S. history professor Joyce Lee
Malcolm, author of the article you saw as well as the book Guns and
Violence: The English Experience (2002). Malcolm claims the British
government has virtually eliminated the right to self-defense.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041105.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

What kind of cheese is blue cheese without the blue? Does it develop
from the beginning or is it a type of cheese that gets moldy? --DB

SDSTAFF Una replies:

Your suspicions are correct, DB. Blue and blue-green cheeses can be made
from most cheese bases, whether the milk is from a cow, sheep, or goat.
The main thing that makes a blue cheese blue is mold.

Cheese making generally consists of three basic steps. The first step is
precipitation of the milk into curds, the second is concentration of the
curds and removal of the whey by pressing and draining, and the third is
aging or "ripening." The purpose of ripening is to allow bacteria and
other microbes to act on the curds and transform them into the final
product. It's during this last step that an ordinary cheese can become a
blue cheese, using a blue-green mold such as Penicillium roqueforti.
This mold grows within the cheese and breaks down complex organic
molecules into simpler ones, smoothing out the fibrous structure of the
cheese and providing the sharp flavor and smell associated with blue
cheeses.

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 06/07/1985

Dear Cecil: 

Ahem. This is coming several years late, but once I finally get this in
the mail I'll be able to rest easier, knowing that another great issue
has been laid to rest. I read your column regularly during 1978-80, and
suppose it was during 1979 that the great pigeon controversy appeared in
the Straight Dope. It went on for several weeks, and revolved around why
pigeons bob their heads as they walk. The proposals included the need to
maintain center of gravity over the one foot on the ground, stability of
head position for clear vision while the body moved forward, and many
other creative and well thought out alternatives. The question was never
resolved. I don't propose to resolve it here.  

The reason for this letter is a question which followed soon after--that is, 
why does the shower curtain come inward and cling to your legs when you
would expect it to be forced outward by the rushing water? Your answer 
boiled down to, "I don't know." I was shocked to find that a group
intellectually curious and creative enough to debate pigeon head-bobbing
for weeks would let you get away with this lame response. In order to 
rectify this failure of six year's standing, and in the hopes that the 
original questioner has not pined away and died of intellectual
malnutrition in the meantime, I offer the following:  

The shower curtain attacks you for the same reason airplanes can fly. You 
all remember those drawings of airplane wing cross-sections. The air 
travelling over the top of the wing has farther to go, therefore it travels
faster, resulting in lower air pressure. This provides the wing's lift. 
Similarly, the air inside the shower is being driven past the shower curtain
by the water, resulting in localized lower air pressure relative to the still 
air on the other side. The shower curtain quite naturally flies into your
legs. The result is annoying, but if it didn't happen we would still require
two weeks to get to Europe by boat, so it has its compensations. In the
hopes this puts other troubled minds at ease (and next time don't give
up so easily!), I remain, yours truly . . . --D.C., Fremont, California 

Cecil replies:  There are several issues I wish to address here, D.: (1)
your unspeakable impertinence, (2) your whereabouts, and (3) your
question. We will take these one at a time. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_104.html

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