The Straight Dope 03/05/2004

The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

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THE STRAIGHT DOPE 03/05/2004

Dear Cecil:

Cecil, I think you're not casting a critical enough eye on Jennifer
Toth's book The Mole People (Are there really "Mole People" living under
the streets of New York City?, January 9). Certainly some parts are
true, but there's a lot more myth mixed with the few facts than there
should be. I'm amazed you didn't mention a single critic. One source
that comments on her physical descriptions is Joseph Brennan's Web page
"Fantasy in The Mole People." I know it's not the only critique. --Eric
Mathiasen, Chicago

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Cecil replies:

Argh. Let's recap: The Mole People (1993) is a sensational account of
homeless people living in New York's subway and railroad tunnels. Among
Toth's claims: (1) She encountered underground communities with elected
"mayors," kids, even hot showers; (2) she saw a tunnel dweller kill,
cook, and eat a rat; (3) in a tunnel under Harlem she stumbled on a gang
of toughs who boasted that they were contract killers.

I know, I know. But some of the story is true: In the early 90s hundreds
if not thousands of homeless people were in fact living beneath New
York. When I first spoke to Toth she seemed credible, or at least
guileless. Although her grasp of the history and layout of the tunnels
was shaky and she'd clearly accepted some wild tales uncritically, I
decided it was safe to believe what she said she'd seen with her own
eyes.

Well. . .

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040305.html

STAFF REPORT

Dear Straight Dope:

How did the stork become associated with the birth of babies? --James
Tinsley, Poplar Bluff, Missouri

SDSTAFF Colibri replies:

The European white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is one of the most
recognizable of all birds. Tall and stately, pure white except for its
black flight feathers and bright red bill and legs, it has played an
important symbolic role in many cultures, including those of ancient
Egypt, Greece, China, and Israel. The stork has been revered in Europe
at least since the Middle Ages, and its association with babies seems to
seems to have originated in northern Germany centuries ago. While we
can't be certain about the origins of this belief, several aspects of
the stork's natural history suggest how it might have come about.

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

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 04/23/1976

Dear Cecil: 

Please answer a question that came up over a (three-fourths empty)
bourbon bottle the other night. What's the difference between "age" and
"maturity" in hard liquor? --Ed Davis, Chicago

Dear Ed:

So what if this is a Playboy Advisor kind of question. This is stuff you
need to know. Freshly distilled whiskey is unfit for drinking--about as
palatable as crude oil. Once it comes out of the still it goes into
storage, and only properly becomes whiskey with the passing of time and
completion of a series of chemical changes.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_347.html

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