The Straight Dope 05/05/2006

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 05/05/2006

Dear Cecil:

After watching countless spy movies, westerns, and TV cop shows, I
wonder: how easy is it to knock someone out by smacking them on the back
of the head with a pistol, club, etc? Since I'm not willing to act as a
test subject, although I'm pretty sure I'd have plenty of volunteers
willing to do the smacking, I'm asking you as the next-best source.
--Dave Arnold, Ashland, Kansas

I was wondering: When you get hit in the head really hard, you get
knocked out. Why? What causes a person to lose consciousness? This is
probably gonna be a tough one. --Beaner, 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:

Could be. See what you make of this:

"Immediately after biomechanical injury to the brain, abrupt,
indiscriminant release of neurotransmitters and unchecked ionic fluxes
occur. The binding of excitatory transmitters, such as glutamate, to the
N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor leads to further neuronal
depolarization with efflux of potassium and influx of calcium. These
ionic shifts lead to acute and subacute changes in cellular physiology."

After two more paragraphs in this vein, the authors (Giza and Hovda,
2001) remark, "This overview represents a simplified framework of the
neurometabolic cascade [involved in a knockout]." They then launch into
the non-dumbed-down version. I get the drift, but the average reader is
apt to think he just got hit on the head.

Is there a simpler explanation? Sorta, but be warned--

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060505.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

Ever since I was a young boy, I have fought a battle against swarms of
ants that invade the kitchen counter every summer. I have always noticed
that when smashed, usually in large numbers, the ants smell somewhat
like lemons and soap, yet more pungent. What does this smell come from?
--Andrew

SDSTAFF Doug replies:

What you're getting a whiff of when you crush an ant is just a few of
the more volatile components of the potpourri of chemicals that ants
produce. The body of an ant (depending on genus and species) has, on
average, around ten different glands producing different chemicals,
serving a variety of functions including defense, communication, alarm,
trail-marking, and antibacterial and antifungal uses. The communication
and alarm chemicals are generally the ones humans can smell because they
need to be volatile in order to serve their purpose, and the alarm
compounds are going to predominate when you're crushing and killing
them. In most cases, the ants can voluntarily release the alarm
chemicals, but some alarm chemicals can only be released when the ant is
being killed. Either way, these compounds--or combinations of them--warn
nearby ants that there's something in the area that's causing serious
mayhem. Ants near the spot where another ant is killed suddenly become
hyperactive and alert. Some species fell in blind panic,.while in some
species will become highly aggressive to the point of suicide. That's
all triggered by some of those chemicals you smell, one of the more
common ones being citronellal, a lemony-smelling chemical related to
what's in citronella candles.

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 03/25/1988

Dear Cecil: 

I'm enclosing a bag of salted-in-the-shell peanuts because I think it
makes a statement, although I'm not sure by whom or about what. Please
note the warning on the back of the bag:  CAUTION: Remove shell before
consuming nutmeats  I'm speechless. Is this some kind of joke? Is this
an indication of what peanut distributors think of the mentality of the
people who consume their product? Is it a reflection of the paranoia
corporate America has been pushed into by the lawsuit-happy American
public? Or have we really gotten to the point where it is now necessary
to tell the Teeming Millions how to eat peanuts? --Bob Madel, Chicago 

Cecil replies:  

All of the above, Jake. I talked to the people responsible for the warning, 
Ace Pecan Company of suburban Chicago, and while they were guarded
on the phone, it's clear they're dealing with some real losers out there.  

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_102b.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]