The Straight Dope 08/29/2003

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The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 08/29/2003

Dear Cecil:

If nuclear fallout takes thousands of years to dissipate,
how did the Japanese return to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
three months after the nuclear bombs exploded? Doesn't
the area stay radioactive and uninhabitable for
thousands of years? --Dawna Boehmer, via the Internet  

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Cecil replies:

Not necessarily, obviously. As nuclear explosions go, the
blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were pretty clean. In
fact, in the weeks following the bombings, American
authorities trying to keep a lid on the deteriorating PR
situation portrayed A-bomb damage as being just like that
from conventional weapons, except that there was more of
it. Those already dying of "atomic sickness" knew better.
Only gradually did the world realize that, even if you can
safely walk through the ruins of a bombed city soon
afterward, the effects of a nuclear attack continue to show
up for years. 

Atom bombs like the ones dropped on Japan produce two types
of radiation . . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030829.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

I never took Econ 101, and though the Wall Street
Journal business pages ppear to be written in English,
I can't fathom the jargon. Also, I am perennially broke.
I look to you for enlightenment so I might begin to
understand the world of high finance.

What is the connection between the price of a stock on
the stock market and the actual "health" of a business?
I understand that an IPO raises money for a company, and
that shareholders then have some sort of say-so in
managing the business, but after the stock is owned by
someone else, why should its price on the stock market,
high or low, have any bearing on whether or not the
company is profitable and pays its bills? Does WidgetCo
have to declare bankruptcy just because their stock
tanks--couldn't the business be doing just fine? And
finally, how do you become rich simply owning stock
rather than speculating? Aren't the yearly dividends a 
pittance compared with the purchase price?

If these questions don't make sense, maybe this short,
pithy question would be better. What constitutes an
"economy," and does it need a stock market? --KC 

Guest contributor friedo replies:

Wow, KC, you sure know how to ask Big Questions. The 
answers to all of them could fill several books, but
I'll try to give a broad answer to your questions. 
Nitpickers beware. 

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 10/27/1978

Dear Cecil: 

Is it possible to roll or loop a 747 or DC-10 loaded or
empty? I have a bet with my roommate and he says the
wings would shear off. I say it could because otherwise
they wouldn't allow it to fly people. 
--Todd J., Evanston 

Dear Todd:

No one has ever tried to get fancy with one of the Big
Birds, but there once was a Boeing test pilot who, in a
moment of frivolity, took it into his head to execute a
barrel roll in a 707. He made it, but he didn't exactly
endear himself to his superiors.  The consensus at Boeing
seems to be that a 747 would probably survive a barrel
roll, but to try it would be, and I quote, "an extremely
foolish action."

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_262.html

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