The Straight Dope 06/06/2003

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 06/06/2003

Dear Cecil:

I'll get right to the point. Why is the Islamic world
so backward and ignorant? A thousand years ago, we
hear, Arab culture put Europe in the shade, with
great achievements in mathematics, astronomy, and
architecture. Now it all seems to have boiled down to
sadists and fanatics. I know this is a lot to explain
in a column where they don't even let you jump to an
inside page, Cecil, but give it a whiz: Where did our
Muslim brothers go wrong? -- Bud Clarke

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Cecil replies:

Let's watch the glib generalizations, Bud. The Islamic
world isn't uniformly "backward and ignorant." (And
these days less than a fifth of its population is
Arab.) Among the relatively nonignorant, nonbackward
parts are Turkey and Malaysia, which, while not without
their problems, have made considerable strides toward
what Americans understand as modernity. But I'll grant
you that those countries are exceptions. I'll grant
you another point too: Throughout the Crusades, which
began in 1095 when Pope Urban II called upon Christians
to wrest the Holy Land from Muslim control, one side
might reasonably have been described as civilized,
tolerant, and progressive, while the other was by and
large a bunch of backward, ignorant, bloodthirsty
fanatics. Hint: It wasn't the Muslims who, upon
capturing Jerusalem in 1099, gleefully slaughtered
everyone there.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030606.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

I have heard some of the crazy stories about the Roman
emperor Caligula, his horse, and everything. I haven't
seen the movie, unfortunately, but the stories
circulate pretty well just by word of mouth. Anyway,
recently I heard that, for the most part, this is all
nonsense. I was wondering what is true about Gaius
Caligula, and where these nutty stories came from.
--Kyle, Wilmette, IL

SDSTAFF bibliophage replies:

For years I've been hearing bizarre stories about the
1979 movie Caligula starring Malcolm McDowell, so when
this question came in, I finally let curiosity get the
best of me. Watching porn so you don't have to is just
part of our commitment to customer service. Sometimes,
though, this attitude takes us above and beyond the
call of duty. Nothing personal, Kyle, but now I wish
you had never asked this question. 

In his book I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie (2000),
Roger Ebert writes, "Caligula is not good art, it is not
good cinema, it is not good porn." I couldn't agree
more, and can only add that it isn't such great history
either. But its history isn't quite as bad as you might
suspect, considering that your average pellicula 
cinematographica obscena is not known for adherence to
historical fact. I was surprised how many incidents in
the film were based on ancient sources. That doesn't
necessarily make it good history, though. Most modern
historians believe that all the ancient sources about
Caligula need to be taken cum grano salis. 

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 01/06/1979

Dear Cecil: 

I am a member of a small group which meets Sunday
afternoons to read aloud the novels of Charles Dickens.
Last week we reached chapter 32 of Bleak House. In
this chapter, a rather low character by the name of
Krook dies by--get this--spontaneous combustion. All
that remains of him is a small heap of cinder and ash.

I was delighted, but since then I have been looked at
rather pathetically by everyone I've reported it to.
No one believes it to be possible. Well, Cecil, if it
is an actual phenomenon, then why hasn't anyone heard
of it? If it isn't, how did the notion start and how
was our dear Mr. Dickens led astray? --Scott E., Chicago

Dear Scott:

Spontaneous human combustion (SHC for short) is one of
those twilight zone-type phenomena that people tend to
lump with ectoplasm and telekinesis, so discussion has
been confined largely to the nutcake journals.
Nonetheless, a considerable body of evidence suggests
that something like SHC actually occurs. 
  
For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_205b.html
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