The Straight Dope 04/13/2007

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 04/13/2007

Dear Cecil:

Is there any proof that breast-feeding is better for a baby than formula
or vice-versa? Benefits of breast-feeding are said to include bonding
between mother and child, and the fact that the mother is passing
immunities to her child through her milk. The main arguments I have
heard for formula are that the vitamin content is just right for the
baby, whereas breast milk lacks nutrients a baby needs such as vitamin
D, and that formula digests more slowly than breast milk so the baby
sleeps longer.--Collin Rodolitz, New York, New York

~~~~~~
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:

Interesting subject, Collin. Most arguments against breast-feeding,
including the ones you mention, are so feeble they barely need refuting.
What numbskull could believe a process that sustained our mammalian
ancestors for 200 million years is missing vital nutrients? Or that
breast- fed babies don't sleep enough? But the lameness of these
objections obscures an important truth. While medical experts are
virtually unanimous in agreeing breast-feeding is best for most babies,
it's not best for all.

For centuries mothers unable to breast-feed have used animals' milk
instead, cow being the most common due to its availability.
Unsurprisingly, none is as good for a human baby as its mom's. Research
has shown breast milk contains levels of protein and lactose better
suited to infants, promotes the growth of helpful bacteria in the
digestive tract, and passes along protective antibodies.

True, breast milk is low in vitamin D, but in normal circumstances
infants synthesize their own with the help of sunlight. Granted,
circumstances aren't always normal. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070413.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 - 01/10/1992

Dear Straight Dope:

I was looking in the mirror the other day without wearing my glasses,
which I occasionally use because I'm nearsighted. I noticed that things
that were far away, even when reflected in the mirror, were blurry. When
I put my glasses on and looked in the mirror again, everything was in
focus. I found this strange. I thought everything should have been in
focus without my glasses, because the mirror was close to my eyes and so
(I thought) were the reflections. I guess that's why people don't use
mirrors for vision correction, huh?--Kirsten Munson, Santa Barbara,
California

Cecil replies:

You got it, babe. The reflection is out of focus, even though you're close
to the mirror, because you're not looking at the mirror. You're looking at
the image in the mirror, a different matter entirely.

You can prove this by a simple experiment. Look at a mirror from a
distance of 6-12 inches. With your glasses off, focus as best you can on
some distant object reflected in the mirror--say, a bathroom towel on the
wall behind you. No doubt the image of the towel is pretty fuzzy, and not
just because you haven't cleaned the lint screen on the dryer. Now look at
something on the surface of the mirror, such as a dust speck. You'll
observe that (1) it requires a noticeable effort to adjust your eyes--in
other words, you're refocusing--but that when all is said and done (2) the
speck, unlike the towel, is in reasonably sharp focus. This clearly
demonstrates (to me, anyway) that when you look at a reflection in the
mirror, you're not looking at the mirror's surface.

For more, see: 
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_349b.html

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #2 - 11/29/1991

Dear Cecil: 

Visa cards are printed with little holographic doves as forgery
protection, and I've seen similar holographic images printed on things
no thicker than a piece of construction paper. Soon there will be
chocolate bars with holographic decorations etched on the surface (this
according to Scientific American). How are these little holographic
pictures made and how do they fool the eye into seeing depth where there
really is none? --Susannah Faulhaber, Alameda, California

Cecil replies:  

As is often the case with technical subjects, Susannah, we are
presented with an unfortunate choice: an explanation that is accurate
but incomprehensible, or comprehensible but wrong. Being a journalist
and therefore shameless, we naturally opt for the latter. What follows
is the Ollie North explanation of holography -- it might get you past a
congressional committee, but don't try it on your Ph.D. board.  

A reflection hologram, the kind found on a credit card, is a high tech
version of those plastic novelty pictures we used to buy at the
dimestore -- the kind where the image changes when you tilt it. The
hologram's surface is an emulsion that can be thought of as consisting
of many tiny facets, each containing a fraction of a larger image. As
you look at the hologram you see a set of facets that together
constitutes one perspective of the holographed scene. As you tilt the
hologram, a different set of facets comes into view showing the scene
from a slightly different perspective. The changing perspective creates
the illusion of three dimensions.  

Simple, no? OK, now for a Jack Anderson-like expose of the many lies and
omissions in the preceding.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_347b.html

____________________________________________
Here's how you can get your OWN FREE Subscription:
Send a blank mailto:[email protected]
____________________________________________
Copyright 1995 - 2007 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]