The Straight Dope 08/01/2003

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The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 08/01/2003

Dear Cecil:

Did John Dillinger really die outside the Biograph movie
theater in Chicago in 1934? And does his allegedly
prodigious pecker really reside pickled in a secluded
corner of the Smithsonian or some other hallowed ground?
--Horace Naismith, via the Internet

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Cecil replies:

I'm answering these questions mainly to get people to quit
asking them. Answer number one: Yes. Answer number two: No.
Hoping for something a little more expansive, were you? Try
this: Of course not, you nitwit. Details below.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030801.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

Are you supposed to shave AGAINST the grain, or WITH
the grain? The latest Gillette Mach3 Turbo is advertised
to work well BOTH ways, but doesn't say which way people
were shaving before. I have always shaved against the
grain because I feel it gives me a closer shave, but it
does give worse razor rash than with the grain. Am I the
only one shaving against the grain, or is everybody else
doing it that way too? Which way provides the superior
shave and why? Thank you for your help with this most
prickly of questions. --Christian Jacobsen,
Budapest, Hungary

Dear Straight Dope:

When shaving facial hair, is it better to rinse your razor
with hot water or cold water? A friend maintains that one
must use cold water in the tropics to hinder bacterial
problems on newly scraped skin. Does cold water tighten
pores? Is that a good thing? --Ross

SDSTAFF Dex replies:

I get accused of giving very long answers, so here's a short
one. Shaving against the direction of hair growth gives a
closer shave, but has two drawbacks:

1. It's a good way to donate blood, and
2. You run a high risk of cutting off a hair below skin
level, causing an ingrown hair--the whisker grows into the
surrounding tissue instead of out of the pore, resulting in
inflammation and possible infection.

To avoid these problems . . .

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 04/11/1980

Dear Cecil:

Living with a future ecologist is driving me crazy. She'll
shut off the water while I'm brushing my teeth or turn off
the lights while I'm in a five-minute shower. Isn't it
harder on the generator to shut off a light for five
minutes and then turn it back than just leaving it on? Also,
isn't it true that it takes more electricity to turn the
lights on and off frequently than just to leave them on?
Any info is welcome, as I am... --Infuriated, Chicago

Dear Infuriated:  Junior eco-buffs are a curse. I had a
friend once who used to make me feel like I was squandering
the nation's resources every time I spent more than 20
minutes in the shower. My feeling was, some people
squandered more resources than me just by breathing.
Now then. . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_249.html
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