The Straight Dope 06/02/2006

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 06/02/2006

Dear Cecil:

I hate shaving every day. What would happen if I used one of those
temporary hair-removal products on my face? What about the permanent
ones? --Dan, Merrick, New York, via e-mail

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Cecil replies:

For a minute there I thought I had the perfect solution--castration! No
more shaving, and as a bonus you don't go bald and are happy to ask for
driving directions when lost. However, on calmer consideration I
realized that while castration prevents the development of male sex
characteristics, it generally doesn't reverse those you've already got,
facial hair in your case apparently being one. So we're forced to turn
to plan B, namely the topical treatments you refer to, which
unfortunately are just as likely to involve a lot of pain, money, and
fuss.

Temporary chemical hair-removal products like Nair--depilatories,
they're called--can dissolve some of the hair on your face . . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060602.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

I was wondering--who invented tampons and maxi pads and how did they use
them? -- Heather in Sacramento

SDSTAFF gfactor replies:

Tampons go way back. The word tampon is probably derived from the Old
French word tampion, meaning "a plug or cover for the muzzle of a cannon
or gun to keep out dust and moisture." Some sources describe the two
words as etymological twins, both derived from the word tapon. The word
tampon is translated into several languages here.

The tampon itself is often referred to in the scientific literature as a
pledget, the part of the applicator that goes into a woman's body is
called the penetrator or barrel, and the part that pushes the tampon
through the penetrator is called the inserter or the plunger. A tampon
without an applicator is called a digital tampon. Around 97% of European
women prefer digital tampons, while only 3-4% of American women do,
according to Elizabeth Kissling in her book Capitalizing on the Curse:
The Business of Menstruation (2006). Now that we've covered the
terminology, we can talk about the history.

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 05/29/1992

Dear Cecil: 

Can you solve a mystery for us? Why is it that every so often as you're
driving along there's just one shoe lying there on the road? There's
never the other shoe in the pair, just that one shoe.   Does someone
throw their shoe out the window in disgust? Do kids throw their parents'
shoes out the back of the station wagon? Do they sprout from seeds sewn
by bird droppings in the pavement?   This is a worldwide phenomenon:
I've seen road shoes sit there, dusty and flattened, in India, Europe,
and Mexico and on many highways and byways of North America. Any advice
will be appreciated. --Emily Baumbach, San Rafael, California 

Dear Emily:  

Well, we can nix the sprout-from-seeds hypothesis right off the
bat. You're undoubtedly thinking of shoe TREES. (Haw!)   

Many great and not-so-great minds have wrestled with this phenomenon
without arriving at any firm conclusions. I note, for instance, that my fellow
investigator David Feldman devotes seven pages to the topic in his book
When Do Fish Sleep, in the course of which he elucidates 13 theories on
lone shoe origin. Clearly, what Dave needs is to meet a nice girl. It is
high time I settled matters once and for all.  

First a few observations from the field. As usual in the case of your more
inscrutable questions, Cecil and his minions have been prospecting for 
tips on the radio. So far we have come up with the following:  

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_124b.html

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