The Straight Dope 02/10/2006

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 02/10/2006

Dear Cecil:

Last year my town made it illegal to use a "hands-on" cell phone while
driving--hands-free phones are still OK. Since laws here tend to get
passed on the basis of what will look good in the newspapers, I'm
wondering: How dangerous is cell phone use in cars really? You see
drivers all the time drinking coffee, putting on makeup, chatting with
passengers, etc. As distractions go, the only obvious difference with
cell phones is that they're relatively new and thus a target for
legislative busybodies and the easily alarmed--there was all that noise
a while back about cell phones causing brain cancer. What's the Straight
Dope, Cecil? For that matter, what's up with cell phones and cancer?
--Fritz R., Chicago

~~~~~~
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:

Wish I could tell you it was all crap, companero, but uh-uh.
Accumulating evidence suggests gabbing on the phone while driving is
definitely dangerous, probably more so than other distractions. What's
more, hands-free phones don't solve the problem. What gets you into
trouble, it seems, isn't so much fumbling with the phone (though that
doesn't help) as the apparent fact that driving and conducting a
conversation at the same time consumes more mental processing power than
most people can spare. A few data points:

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060210.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

We always hear that "criminals are not allowed to profit from their
crimes." How do the authorities make sure this doesn't happen? If a
criminal writes a book about his crimes, who gets the money? What if he
sells his personal items, which may have increased in value due to his
notoriety? What if he writes a book, does a TV appearance, or is
interviewed for a newspaper or magazine story many years after he is
released from prison? And what about O.J.? Since he wasn't convicted of
any crime, could he keep the profits if he wrote a book about how he
killed Nicole? --Anonymous 

Guest contributor gfactor replies:

The rule isn't universal, but judges generally do try to prevent people
from profiting from their own wrongs. A classic case in this respect is
Riggs v. Palmer, 22 N.E. 188 (1889). Palmer had poisoned his grandfather
because his grandfather intended to disinherit him. Under New York
inheritance statutes, Palmer was entitled to inherit all but a small
portion of his grandfather's estate. The statutes required valid wills
to be enforced, and provided no exception that would prevent a killer
from inheriting from his victim. The validity of a will is determined at
the time it is executed (signed). When the will was executed, Palmer had
done nothing wrong. 

The court looked to the maxims of equity for an escape from a result it
saw as unjust. The court noted, "He now claims the property, and the
sole question for our determination is, can he have it?" The court
decided he could not. The court noted that on top of ordinary law, there
were "fundamental maxims of the common law." The court elaborated, "No
one shall be permitted to profit by his own fraud, or to take advantage
of his own wrong, or to found any claim upon his own iniquity, or to
acquire property by his own crime. These maxims are dictated by public
policy, have their foundation in universal law administered in all
civilized countries, and have nowhere been superseded by statutes." In
other words, the court decided that public policy required it to read
the statute to bar Palmer's claim.

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 06/12/1992

Dear Cecil: 

One of the highlights of my year is an all-girl backpacking trip with a
group of friends. I mentioned this at a party recently, only to have
some (male) geek give me dire warnings about women camping while on
their periods. He claimed bears are irresistibly attracted to the scent. 
I checked with one of my more experienced camping buddies, who said
she'd heard the same story but attributed it to another fiendish male
plot to keep us in the kitchen. Since this year's trip is planned for
Yosemite, which is known for its bear population, I thought I'd better
get the straight dope. Should we be concerned? Or just more careful
about whom we converse with at parties? --Kate Reneau, Santa Monica,
California  

Cecil replies:  

Oh, I dunno. Even dweebs have their entertainment value. 
Dubious as this business about bears being attracted to 
menstruating women may sound, however, it can't be entirely
dismissed. Two menstruating women were killed by grizzly bears in
Glacier National Park in 1967, and the authorities have been warning
women to stay out of bear territory during their periods ever since.
There's been a fair amount of research, some of it conducted by women,
suggesting that omnivores and carnivores (e.g., bears) are inspired to
attack by the smell of human blood, while herbivores (e.g., deer) are
repelled by it.  

The key here is blood, not necessarily menstrual blood. Research 
shows that deer are repelled by male blood, too. It's just that
over time many animal breeds have learned humans mean trouble, some
researchers believe, and women have the characteristic scent of human
blood on them more often than men do. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_039.html

____________________________________________
Here's how you can get your OWN FREE Subscription:
Send a blank mailto:[email protected]
____________________________________________
Copyright 1995 - 2006 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]