The Straight Dope 08/19/2005

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

You are subscribed as: [[email protected]]

To unsubscribe CLICK on the URL below this line:
mailto:[email protected]
If you can't "click" above, then send a blank email to:
[email protected]
____________________________________________
THE STRAIGHT DOPE 08/19/2005

Dear Cecil:

I've always heard that baldness in males is inherited
from their mother's father. However, I've seen plenty of
families where the father is bald, the mother's father
has plenty of hair, and the kid is bald. So, what's the
scoop on inheriting baldness? --Debbie Brown, via
e-mail

~~~~~~
Looking for the perfect gift for that wedding, birthday,
or bar mitzvah? Straight Dope books are the very thing! 
See http://www.straightdope.com/store.html
~~~~~~

Cecil replies:

Your note arrived more than a year ago, Debbie, and I
considered answering it promptly, which I realize is a
departure from usual Straight Dope practice. However, I
didn't. Most of what Little Ed turned up on an initial
reconnaissance of the Internet was expressed in terms so
brisk and confident you knew these guys had no idea,
leading me to think I'd better bide my time. Good thing.
A newly published paper suggests that much of the
conventional scientific wisdom about inheriting baldness
(specifically male pattern baldness, also known as
androgenetic alopecia, the most common type in men) is
out the window. Here's the scoop as of now.

As you note, popular belief has long held that male
baldness is inherited through the mother, and that any
lad curious about what's in store for him hairwise should
check out his mom's father and her paternal uncles. For
just as long health care types have been patiently
explaining that this belief was groundless--that instead,
as one doctor's Web site (still) puts it, "a single
dominant autosomal gene controls male pattern baldness."
In other words, baldness isn't a sex-linked
characteristic, meaning it's not transmitted via the X or
Y chromosomes that determine whether you're male or
female. Rather it's passed down via one of the
non-sex-linked chromosomes, or autosomes, which are
randomly contributed by both parents. So, according to
the old theory, you were equally likely to get baldness
from mom or dad.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050819.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

What's the deal with aged beef? Sounds suspiciously like
a euphemism for "old meat" to me. Seems like the last
thing you'd want to do with a hunk of dead animal you
intended to eat would be to let it "age" for any
appreciable amount of time. Presumably there's more to it
than just leaving it in the fridge for a few months. So
what gives? - -Ron Moses, Merrimack, NH

Dear Straight Dope: 

Certified "Angus beef" seems to be all the rage these
days. Is it just a buzzword, or is it as something
distinguished as the commercials would have me believe?
--adamemalone

SDSTAFF Una replies:

I wondered about both these questions myself, so I
decided to do some research and answer the questions for
all of us. The first thing that I looked at was why we
age beef. I agree that the idea of aging beef to improve
the taste sounds fundamentally wrong. We expect that most
foodstuffs, with notable exceptions such as wines and
cheeses, generally taste best when they are fresh.
However, it turns out that some level of aging can be
beneficial to both the taste and the texture of beef.

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 02/13/1987

Dear Cecil: 

During the coverage of Super Bowl XXI I read something
about New York City officials being concerned that people
watching the game on TV might all go to the bathroom
during the commercials and flush the toilet at the same
time, causing a catastrophic pressure drop. Was this for
real? Did anything really happen? --Listener, Paul Brian
show, WGN radio, Chicago  

Cecil replies:  

The thing you have to understand, friend, is that New York is
a giant media circus, and everybody feels like they have to get
into the act. The Friday afternoon before the Super Bowl,
Harvey Schultz, commissioner of the New York City
Department of Environmental Protection, issued a "bowl
warning" (get it?) urging Super Bowl viewers,
particularly those who planned to drink a lot of beer, to
stagger (as it were) their trips to the bathroom so as
not to put too much of a strain on the city's water
system. A city spokesperson cheerfully concedes that the
whole thing was done tongue in cheek, and that it was
specifically timed so that it would make a cute weekend
story for the media. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_371.html

____________________________________________
Here's how you can get your OWN FREE Subscription:
Send a blank mailto:[email protected]
____________________________________________
Copyright 1995 - 2005 Chicago Reader, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
You may forward this document by email ONLY if you
include the entire document INCLUDING the information
at the bottom of this publication
____________________________________________
Visit our good friends at Joke A Day
http://www.jokeaday.com
They're kind enough to mail THE STRAIGHT DOPE for us.
Join the World's Largest Daily Humor List and receive
daily laughs in your email by sending mailto:[email protected]