The Straight Dope 11/29/2002

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 11/29/2002

Dear Cecil:

It has been over ten years since the U.S. government mandated that all cars 
be equipped with a "center high-mounted stop lamp" or "CHMSL," as it is 
referred to in my vehicle's shop manual. The CHMSL, of course, is the little 
red brake light that is mounted in the rear window of a car to catch the 
attention of drivers who might not notice your side-mounted brake lights. Has 
this invention reduced the incidence of rear-end collisions? --Tom Meyer, 
Trenton, NJ

~~~~~~
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:

Believe it or not, there are people whose job it is to keep track of stuff 
like this. Every year the federal government publishes thousands of pages of 
regulations covering everything from auto emissions to the privatization of 
the National Helium Reserve in Amarillo, Texas. Business types have long 
complained that all this red tape drives up prices and, even worse, doesn't 
do any good. So the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and 
Executive Order 12866 now require federal agencies such as the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration to periodically review the 
effectiveness of their regulations (such as those requiring CHMSLs, commonly 
pronounced CHIM-sulls), with a view to getting rid of those that are useless 
or counterproductive. Too bad this rule doesn't apply to people, too. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021129.html


STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

I checked your archive and I couldn't find anything about this, so I thought 
I'd ask you. Years ago I remember reading that scientists were extremely 
vexed about the evolutionary appearance of Venus flytraps. The article I read 
said that the little evil-looking plants simply appeared some time in our 
planet's history without any apparent relatives, and the creepiest thing is 
that their (very small) native area is right in the middle of where a meteor 
hit the earth years ago. Is this true? It sounds very "Little Shop of 
Horrors" to me. Additionally, how do the plants "know" when an insect is in 
their maws? I didn't think plants had nerves. I patiently await your reply. 
--Tim

SDSTAFF Doug replies:

There are no scientists puzzled about the Venus flytrap, only "scientists." 
The VFT is the only member of its genus, Dionaea, but it has several 
relatives in the genus Drosera, which also happen to be carnivorous plants, 
known as "sundews." Together, these two genera make up the plant family 
Droseraceae. Sundews occur all over the world, while the VFT is limited to 
bogs throughout North and South Carolina--and, despite any X-Files episodes 
to the contrary, neither of the Carolinas used to be a meteor crater.

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


STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 03/30/1984

Dear Cecil: 

If cold is simply the absence of heat, i.e., the absence of rapidly moving 
molecules of water or air, then how come vacuum-packed canned food doesn't 
come out frozen, or at least very cold? And then if you walked a hundred feet 
out of your spaceship with a glass of water, would the water freeze because 
of the vacuum, or would it boil since there's no air pressure or barometric 
pressure to overcome? --Barry H., Chicago

Cecil replies:  Christ Almighty, Barry, you're asking for a short course in 
thermodynamics. Don't you guys want to know about Neil Sedaka anymore? 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_127.html

____________________________________________
Here's how you can get your OWN FREE Subscription:
Send a blank mailto:[email protected]
____________________________________________
Copyright 1995 - 2002 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]