The Straight Dope 01/24/2003

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 01/24/2003

Dear Cecil:

Cecil, is it true that half (or one-third, depending 
on whom you talk to) of marriages in the U.S. end
in divorce? I've heard various numbers on the
subject, none citing a source, and I'd like the
straight dope. --Tim, Nashville, TN

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Cecil replies:

One wants to put an optimistic spin on things, so here's
the best I can do: Half of U.S. marriages haven't ended
in divorce yet. But we're definitely headed in that
direction. Some people are in denial about this. They
say the apparently high marriage failure rate is based
on a misinterpretation of statistics. Here's a quote I
found on several Christian Web sites, attributed to
J. Allan Petersen, who publishes a newsletter called
"Better Families":

"Pollster Louis Harris has written, 'The idea that half
of American marriages are doomed is one of the most
specious pieces of statistical nonsense ever perpetuated
in modern times.' It all began when the Census Bureau
noted that during one year, there were 2.4 million
marriages and 1.2 million divorces. Someone did the math
without calculating the 54 million marriages already in
existence, and presto . . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030124.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

I've got a somewhat perverse question that's been
nagging me for a while now. Let me just cut to
the chase: how is that porn stars can keep
"working" for so long? Climaxes for men in these
films seem to take an unnaturally long time to occur,
if they ever do. I realize that (most) pornography
is supposed to be about the act of sex, not its end,
but I've always been curious about the why and how
of the male porn star's seemingly limitless
stamina. --A Curious College Student in Florida

SDSTAFF Euty replies:
Ah, my friend, you've been misled as have so many
others by the magic of Hollywood. Because when you
get right down to it, porn is created in exactly the
same way that any other movie is. 

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


STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 12/16/1983

Dear Cecil: 
    
My social security card says that my social security
number is not to be used for identification, yet the
state requires it for driver's licenses and the city
needs it for voter's registration. Do they have any
federal authority to do this or did this practice
just start? --John C., Evanston, Illinois

Dear John:

Let's get with the program here. They didn't mean
your social security number couldn't be used for
identification purposes, just that the card itself
couldn't be presented as proof of identity. 

The reason for the warning was that prior to 1972
having a social security card didn't prove much of
anything, certainly not your identity. Obtaining a
card was ridiculously easy--all you had to do was
stroll into any local social security office, fill
out a form or two, and they'd assign you a number
there and then. Some of my lowlife high school
classmates took advantage of this lax procedure
to obtain cards under several names. 

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_154.html

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