The Straight Dope 10/17/2003

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com
You are subscribed as: [[email protected]]
To unsubscribe CLICK on the URL below this line:
mailto:[email protected]
If you can't "click" above, then send a blank email to:
[email protected]
____________________________________________
THE STRAIGHT DOPE 10/17/2003

Dear Cecil:

I wanted to respond to your column about the worst
Catholic saint, an oxymoron if there ever was one.
In this column you depart from your high standards
and trot out that threadbare, tendentious canard
that charges Pope Pius XI and Pius XII with
anti-Semitism. To bolster your argument, you refer
to John Cornwell's 1999 book Hitler's Pope: The
Secret History of Pius XII. Many Jewish leaders who
were contemporaries of Pius XII expressed their
gratitude for Pius's help in saving many Jews in
Italy and other countries. I hope you will see fit
to revisit this issue. --John Reistroffer, Chicago

~~~~~~
Looking for the perfect gift for that wedding, birthday, or
bar mitzvah? Straight Dope books are the very thing! See
http://www.straightdope.com/store.html
~~~~~~

Cecil replies:

Don't get excited, bub. For one thing, the first pope I
said had been charged with anti-Semitism wasn't Pius XI
(1922-1939) but rather Pius IX (1846-1878), who oversaw
the kidnapping of a Jewish child who'd been secretly
baptized by his family's Catholic maid, then raised him
as his ward. As for Pius XII (1939-1958), well, readers
may judge for themselves.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/031017.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

A week or so ago, I was helping my girlfriend's father
lay mulch in his back yard when I was attacked by a
ravenous horde of territorial ants, spurred on by their
despotic queen. Having lived in Texas all of my short
life, I am quite familiar with fire ants and their itchy,
burning, stinging aftereffects. It was upon nursing my
pockmarked feet that I wondered how ants knew to bite
the surface of animal and human intruders. After all, it
seems doubtful that ants would attack soil, bush branches,
or other substances upholding what remains of the
structural integrity of their feudal keep, or that they 
would turn their envenomed fangs upon innocent blades of
grass. Do they attack foreign intruders based on texture,
smell, or some other ingenious method, or do they instead
bite everything in their path, hoping to get lucky and
deliver a stinging message to a would-be conqueror? Also,
what causes the skin outbreaks following a fire ant attack?
From high school chemistry class, I know ants have formic
acid, but some people have much more acute reactions to
ant bites than others. Are inflammations and swelling
based entirely on the acid's caustic effect on tissue, or
is it caused by an allergic reaction, and if so, are
some immune?--Sam Placette, Missouri City, TX 

SDSTAFF Doug replies:

Fire ants, like most ants, have extremely sensitive chemical
perception, and at least part of their recognition of
potential stinging targets is based on chemosensory signals.
However, given that they sting people's shoes, for example,
they do clearly use other cues, such as texture and
movement, when they decide whether or not to sting
(as opposed to biting). 

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 09/11/1983

Dear Cecil: 

Everything I read on alcoholism, even from the AMA, focuses
on social and familial trauma, with maybe a bit of liver
damage thrown in. Could you approach alcoholism from a 
physical/vanity angle? To wit, the gum damage that tells
a dentist you imbibe. The ever-drooping "alcoholic's
ass" and other physical effects. The blotchy skin and
red nose. I think such a rundown would be more effective
than the usual warnings. Which of these conditions are
reversible? Also, can you explain physiologically how
"blackout" comes to happen more often and require less
booze? Is this brain damage or lowered tolerance
or what? --Anonymous, Chicago 

Dear Anonymous:  

If it's gory details you want, Cecil is always happy
to oblige. Let's start with delirium tremens, which
is marked by tremulousness, hallucinations, and
localized or grand mal seizures, profuse sweating,
rapid heartbeat, dilation of the pupils, and fever.
Death rates among persons exhibiting these symptoms 
range as high as 15 percent. Next (and somewhat less
commonly) we have Korsakoff's psychosis, a reduction
of learning ability and memory span (particularly
short-term memory), and Wernicke's disease, a
reduction in mental acuity, characterized by
disorientation, clouding of consciousness, poor
comprehension, and weakness or paralysis of the 
eye muscles.  

Moving right along . . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_283.html
____________________________________________
Here's how you can get your OWN FREE Subscription:
Send a blank mailto:[email protected]
____________________________________________
Copyright 1995 - 2003 Chicago Reader, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
You may forward this document by email ONLY if you
include the entire document INCLUDING the information
at the bottom of this publication
____________________________________________
Visit our good friends at Joke A Day http://www.jokeaday.com
They're kind enough to mail THE STRAIGHT DOPE for us.
Join the World's Largest Daily Humor List and receive daily
laughs in your email by sending mailto:[email protected]