The Straight Dope 08/16/2002

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

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 08/16/2002

Dear Cecil:

In 1994 I read an article in the British music journal The
Wire that claimed that compact discs have a life expectancy
of ten years. I have seen references to an article in
Scientific American making the same claim and heard that
this has been confirmed many times by other studies. The
only thing is, uh, I've had a few CDs for more than ten
years, and they play fine. So what exactly is the deal? Does
the speed of degradation have to do with how often the CD is
played? I mean, most of the time, my CDs are sitting in
their cases on my shelf. Please tell me whether I should be
getting my Sonny Rollins fix from some other recording
technology (like, say, vinyl). --Michael R., Chicago

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Cecil replies:

I got a lot of letters along these lines in the late 1980s
and didn't dismiss the idea of "CD rot" out of hand. But I
suspected that predictions of imminent CD meltdown were
exaggerated--and time has shown they were. Physical survival
of recordings is only part of the story, though. The real
threat is loss of the technology needed to play them back.
Most people think they'll be able to enjoy their CDs for a
lifetime, and maybe they will. But good luck playing your
eight-track tapes.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020816.html


STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

I have often wondered why sailors hail other vessels with
"ship ahoy!" I understand the ship part, but why "ahoy?"
--Joe Mirman 

SDSTAFF Dex replies:

It's difficult to trace the origin of interjections or
exclamations, which tend not to appear in formal writing.
It's even more difficult to do so without throwing in lots
of other interesting facts found along the way. So I may not
answer your question exactly, but I think we've got some
interesting information anyhow.

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


STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 08/21/1981

Dear Cecil: 

You may not think the following question is too cosmic, but
let's face it, the topics you address in your column seldom
are. How come some belly-buttons are "innies" and some are
"outies"? -- M.E.L., Los Angeles  

Cecil replies:  

You may think this column is trivial, M. I think you just don't
grasp the implications. Assuming the attending physician
didn't bungle the job, the incidence of "innies" and
"outies" appears to be random.  

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_089.html

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