The Straight Dope 05/16/2003

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The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 05/16/2003

Dear Cecil:

I know that this really isn't the type of thing that
is asked about frequently, but I gotta ask. When
someone smokes marijuana, they get the much-fabled
"munchies." I know that this occurs, I am just at a
loss as to why it does occur. What are the physiological
reasons for this to occur? --Out of My Skull at Ohio
University

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Cecil replies:

You need to slack off on the ganja, bro. What you
meant to ask was what the physiological reasons are.
Also, you used "occur" three times in two sentences.
Besides interfering with cognitive function,
marijuana impairs short-term memory. Looks like
yours can be measured in milliseconds.

Last time the subject of the munchies came up, in
1977--I've been writing this column longer than a lot
of you sumbitches have been alive--all I could tell
you was that scientists had ruled out dope-induced
fluctuations in blood sugar as a cause. Since then,
I'm pleased to inform you, great strides have been
made. As it turns out, far from being a mere curiosity,
the munchies provide a clue to the workings of one of
the body's primary methods of hunger regulation, the
endogenous cannabinoid system.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030516.html


STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

Who invented the notation that's used on sheet music
today and how has that notation changed going back
in time to who first created a way to write music
down? --Scott Stewart

Guest contributor Nate Wooley replies:

Ah, yes. The question that hordes of eight-year-olds
forced to learn trumpet have asked themselves: "What
the heck is this? Could they possibly have made it
more complicated to read music?" I speak from
experience here, Scott.

Western musical notation has been an evolving system
dating back at least to Greece and Rome. The Roman
writer and statesman Boethius assigned 15 letters to
2 octaves' worth of tones around 500 AD. The fact that
Boethius was later executed for treason is completely
unrelated, I'm certain. 

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


STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 10/08/1976

Dear Cecil: 

What are the chances of a huge meteor hurtling through
space and smashing us flat? What precautions should I,
as a concerned citizen, take? What are the authorities
doing about it? Answer quickly--I'm worried.
--Larry W., Chicago

Cecil replies:

Larry, man, I gotta tell you. It's time to lay off the
weed. In the first place, meteors don't smash anything,
flat or otherwise. By definition, a meteor is a meteor
only when it's burning itself up. Before it enters the
Earth's atmosphere, the particle is called a meteoroid;
ripping through the upper atmosphere at about 40 miles
a second, it vaporizes and becomes visible as a meteor,
commonly known as a "shooting star." From any one
vantage point, five to ten meteors are visible every
morning, adding up to about 200,000 visible meteors
worldwide each day. The vaporized matter that passes
through the atmosphere adds about ten tons daily to
the weight of the earth; "micrometeors"--particles
about the size of a grain of salt and too small to be
seen--account for another 100 tons of acquired mass
every day.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_202.html

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