The Straight Dope 01/19/2007

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 01/19/2007

Dear Cecil:

I recently moved to southern California from the Chicago area. I know
about the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear accidents, but now I'm
also hearing rumors of a reactor meltdown in China Flats, in the hills
between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles. What
gives?--Steve Johnson, Thousand Oaks, California

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Cecil replies:

You heard right, cowboy. There was a meltdown at the Santa Susana Field
Laboratory in 1959, one of several accidents at that site over its
checkered history. Though nobody died, at least right away, as many as
1,800 cases of cancer may have resulted from the '59 incident alone.
Fact is, we know of at least a half-dozen nuclear meltdowns over the
years, though none recently. I don't say this to scare you off nukes  
given the inexorable depletion of other energy sources, I might as well
beef about the perils of the sun   but rather to make the point that,
with nuclear power as with any emerging technology involving vast
forces, you have these little oopsies in which things melt, stuff
explodes, and sometimes people get hurt.

What's a meltdown? 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070119.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

A few days ago I watched The Man on The Moon in which Jim Carrey
portrays Andy Kaufman. Thinking all the while that Tony Clifton was a
made-up role I was surprised to see him show up at the end of the movie
and sing a song. Kaufman was supposed to be dead by this time. I've
searched the Internet for answers to this, but everyone's website has
become an extension of of Kaufman, making it difficult to separate fact
from fiction. Thoroughly confused, I could think of no one to turn to
but the Straight Dope. So, is Tony Clifton real? Was he a real
Vegas/Reno entertainer from whom Kaufman drew his inspiration?--Gary
Futral, Houston, Texas

SDSTAFF Bricker responds: 

I'm often amazed at the crazy ideas people have--moon landings filmed
on a sound stage, Jews warned to stay home from the World Trade
Center, the abundance of sharpshooters on the grassy knoll. But when
the subject is Andy Kaufman, crazy ideas are to be expected. The man's
motto could well have been "Keep 'em guessing," and he participated in
so many stunts designed to fool his audience that asking whether one
of his characters was real is actually pretty reasonable--and a tribute to
a comic who kept his act on the cutting edge for a long time.  

Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman was born in New York City on January 17,
1949, to Stanley and Janice Kaufman. By age seven he'd shown himself 
to be a natural in front of an audience. He craved attention and found
comedy suited him well; he hated to be stuck in predictable routines or
situations. He dropped out of junior college after only a year, trying his
hand at stand-up comedy by cadging microphone time at small clubs up
and down the east coast.   

He never saw himself as a traditional stand-up comic--indeed, he called
himself a song-and-dance man, and didn't "tell jokes" in the traditional
sense on stage. Kaufman was more ...

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mandykaufman.htm

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 07/21/1989

Dear Cecil: 

Why do so many public buildings want you to use the revolving doors
rather than the regular doors?--Seamus McC., Hoboken, New Jersey 

Dear Seamus:  

As with many things, there are two reasons--the ostensible
reason and the real reason. The ostensible reason is that the revolving
doors create an air trap. Since the interior of the building is never
directly exposed to the outdoors, there's less chance of all that
expensively heated or cooled air getting out and running up your utility
bill.  

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_288b.html

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