The Straight Dope 12/22/2006

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 12/22/2006

Dear Cecil:

What's the Straight Dope™ on trans fat? My friend the medical
student says the latest studies show that even a minuscule
amount of trans fat causes a huge increase in heart disease
and sudden heart attacks. Meanwhile, the FDA allows foods
that list partially hydrogenated oils among their ingredients to
claim to have zero grams of trans fat, as long as they have less
than half a gram. Is any trans fat safe? If not, why is the FDA 
allowing companies like Frito-Lay to weasel?--Miranda, via e-mail

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Cecil replies:

Judging from what I'm seeing in blogs and such, people just aren't
getting this trans fat thing, despite the uproar surrounding New York's
recent ban of manufactured trans fats in restaurants. It's not about Big
Brother, you dopes. ("Will they ban sugar and salt next?" Sheesh.) We're
talking about an industrial product used in food preparation because
it's cheap and convenient, not because it makes anything taste better.
In the old days, when nobody knew trans fats from transvestites, the
stuff seemed harmless. Now several big studies strongly suggest trans
fat is even worse than saturated fat, formerly the hemlock of American
cuisine.

Let's take it from the top. . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/061222.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 - 12/26/1997

Dear Cecil:

Over one hundred years ago, on September 21, 1897, a little girl with
great doubts asked the editor of the New York Sun for the answer to a
question that had been bothering her. There was no Straight Dope then,
so she had to settle. The Sun came up with an answer, a good answer, the
correct answer. But folks have forgotten it, or no longer believe it.
The man who answered her question was just a staff writer who got the
assignment from his boss. He wasn't the World's Smartest Human, like you
are. He didn't command the respect that you do. So, I hope you won't
mind settling this question once and for all, for all the little Annies,
Ryans, Joshes, Megans, and Tammys in the world. If I may paraphrase: 

Dear Cecil: I am 47 years old. Some of my friends on the Straight Dope
Message Board say there is no Santa Claus. JKFabian says, "If you see it
in the Straight Dope it's so." Please tell me the truth. Is there a
Santa Claus? --Ranger Jeff, The Idol of American Youth 

Dear Jeff: 

Let's just say his existence can't be definitely ruled out. 

I'm not saying there aren't improbable aspects to the story. You have x
number of kids (even leaving out the Muslims, Shintoists, Hindus,
animists, etc., who one presumes get shafted, giftwise), you have y time
per visit, you have z average distance between domiciles, you have an
earth of known diameter, and you have 24 hours in the day. It doesn't
add up. You have the problem of access to the gift-giving venue in the
absence of chimneys with fireplaces, unless we're assuming that Santa
Claus oozes through the keyholes in the manner of the critter in The
Abyss, which is not a pretty picture. You have the problem of what in
all likelihood is the earth's single largest concentration of toy
manufacturing facilities in a polar region remote from resources of
every type (cold excepted), that's so carefully camouflaged as to be
invisible to satellite surveillance, and that produces no detectable
emissions. Although now that one thinks about it, there's that ozone
hole over the south pole. Hmm. 

On the other hand, consider the following: 

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #2 - 08/10/1990

Dear Cecil: 

Do you know anything about broadcast power? This has nothing to do with
radio or TV. As I understand it, broadcast power involves turning
electricity into a signal which is transmitted and then converted back
into electricity by a special device fitted to any common appliance. I
saw a demonstration of this in college about 12 years ago, when a
visiting artist was using these devices in his kinetic sculptures. Could
broadcast power be used for non-polluting electric vehicles? Do you know
of any experts who could speak knowledgeably on this subject who would
not be biased in favor of the oil companies? -- Rodney F., Madison,
Wisconsin

Cecil replies:

You've been spending too much time reading Popular Science, Flash. Also,
I don't know that I'd place much faith in the technological insight of
kinetic sculptors--most of those guys barely know how to operate a can
opener. It's possible to transmit power through space using a microwave
beam, but that's not "broadcast" power in the sense you mean. True
broadcast power would involve incredible waste and probably kill
everybody besides. Scientists nowadays worry about the possible
injurious effects of the electric fields around wires--imagine what
might happen if the juice was just poured into the air.

Most likely you heard something about the satellite power system (SPS),
one of the wilder ideas to float around the federal bureaucracy in the
late 70s. The plan was to build a giant array of solar cells the size of
Manhattan in orbit around the earth, beam the collected solar power via
microwave to a giant receiving dish on earth, convert it into standard
juice, and feed it into the regular power system.

Several government agencies looked into SPS and concluded . . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_274.html

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