Cecil Adams: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|American humorist}} | {{short description|American humorist}} | ||
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'''Cecil Adams''', affectionately known to readers and fans and sometimes refers to himself as '''Uncle Cecil''' or '''Uncle Cece''', is the [[pseudonym]]ous author of ''[[The Straight Dope]]'', a popular question and answer column published in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' from 2 February 1973 to 2018. The true identity of Adams, whether a single individual or a group of authors, has remained secret. ''The Chicago Reader''{{'}}s 1986 trademark filing for the name "Cecil Adams" states that "Cecil Adams does not identify any particular individual but was devised as a fanciful name."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4810:wllijm.2.1 |title = Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) |publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office |access-date = 30 Aug 2013 |archive-date = 25 August 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170825193819/http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4810:wllijm.2.1 |url-status = live }}</ref> As of 2008, [[Ed Zotti]] was the editor of the column.<ref>[http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/library/HistBioMemF08.pdf Advance Publication Newsletter; Volume Seventeen, Number 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320060353/http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/library/HistBioMemF08.pdf |date=2012-03-20 }} Penguin Group (USA)</ref> The column was syndicated in 31 [[newspaper]]s in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] and has been continued as a website. | '''Cecil Adams''', affectionately known to readers and fans and sometimes refers to himself as '''Uncle Cecil''' or '''Uncle Cece''', is the [[pseudonym]]ous author of ''[[The Straight Dope]]'', a popular question and answer column published in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' from 2 February 1973 to 2018. The true identity of Adams, whether a single individual or a group of authors, has remained secret. ''The Chicago Reader''{{'}}s 1986 trademark filing for the name "Cecil Adams" states that "Cecil Adams does not identify any particular individual but was devised as a fanciful name."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4810:wllijm.2.1 |title = Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) |publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office |access-date = 30 Aug 2013 |archive-date = 25 August 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170825193819/http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4810:wllijm.2.1 |url-status = live }}</ref> As of 2008, [[Ed Zotti]] was the editor of the column.<ref>[http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/library/HistBioMemF08.pdf Advance Publication Newsletter; Volume Seventeen, Number 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320060353/http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/library/HistBioMemF08.pdf |date=2012-03-20 }} Penguin Group (USA)</ref> The column was syndicated in 31 [[newspaper]]s in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] and has been continued as a website.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.straightdope.com/ |title = The Straight Dope |access-date = 8 July 2025 }}</ref> The aim of the column, and now the website, is to spread general knowledge and everyday rational thinking, using a very strong and characteristically quirky sense of humor - some of it self-deprecating. | ||
Billed as the "World's Smartest Human",<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/196104/the-straight-dope-tells-all-by-cecil-adams/9780345420077/ | title = The Straight Dope Tells All | date = February 24, 1998 | work = Penguin Random House | access-date = February 22, 2019 | archive-date = February 22, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190222204819/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/196104/the-straight-dope-tells-all-by-cecil-adams/9780345420077/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2556/are-jet-contrails-the-latest-threat/ | title = Are jet contrails the latest threat? | date = June 16, 2000 | first = Cecil | last = Adams | work = The Straight Dope | access-date = February 22, 2019 | archive-date = February 27, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190227063858/https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2556/are-jet-contrails-the-latest-threat/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="SDfaq" /> Adams responded to often unusual inquiries with a high degree of humor (often directed against the questioner, sometimes sardonically), and at times carried out exhaustive research into obscure and arcane issues, [[urban legend]]s, and the like. On more than one occasion, Adams was forced to retract or modify an answer when confronted by "the Teeming Millions" (Adams' term for his readers), often claiming overwork and staff shortages. On rare occasions, Adams made appearances on the Straight Dope's [[Message Board]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://boards.straightdope.com/?_ga=2.140409851.997263904.1645927463-220610919.1645631827 |title = The Straight Dope |access-date = 8 July 2025 }}</ref> | |||
On June 27, 2018, Adams announced that the "Straight Dope" column would be ending after 45 years and over 3,400 columns.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.straightdope.com/21374450/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope | title=A note from Cecil Adams about The Straight Dope | date=27 June 2018 }}</ref> On January 13, 2023, it was announced that Cecil Adams would again be writing a column on The Straight Dope Message Board.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-back/978175 | title=Cecil's back! | date=13 January 2023 }}</ref> The first column, which appeared on the same day, was titled, "Is [[longtermism]] the world’s most dangerous belief system?"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-1-13-2023-is-longtermism-the-worlds-most-dangerous-belief-system/978173 | title=Straight Dope 1/13/2023: Is longtermism the world's most dangerous belief system? | date=13 January 2023 }}</ref> | On June 27, 2018, Adams announced that the "Straight Dope" column would be ending after 45 years and over 3,400 columns.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.straightdope.com/21374450/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope | title=A note from Cecil Adams about The Straight Dope | date=27 June 2018 }}</ref> On January 13, 2023, it was announced that Cecil Adams would again be writing a column on The Straight Dope Message Board.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-back/978175 | title=Cecil's back! | date=13 January 2023 }}</ref> The first column, which appeared on the same day, was titled, "Is [[longtermism]] the world’s most dangerous belief system?"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-1-13-2023-is-longtermism-the-worlds-most-dangerous-belief-system/978173 | title=Straight Dope 1/13/2023: Is longtermism the world's most dangerous belief system? | date=13 January 2023 }}</ref> | ||
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* ''More of the Straight Dope'' (1988) | * ''More of the Straight Dope'' (1988) | ||
* ''Return of the Straight Dope ''(1994) | * ''Return of the Straight Dope ''(1994) | ||
* ''The Straight Dope Tells All'' (1998) | * ''The Straight Dope Tells All'' (1998) | ||
* ''Triumph of the Straight Dope'' (1999) | |||
Zotti has also published a children's collection in ''The Straight Dope'' style entitled ''Know It All''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://isbnsearch.org/isbn/9780345362322 |title=ISBN 9780345362322 - Know It All!: The Fun Stuff You Never Learned in School }}</ref> Adams' columns are archived at the Straight Dope website. In 1996, [[A&E Network|the A&E Network]] briefly aired a show hosted by comedian [[Mike Lukas]] based on the column, also called ''The Straight Dope''.{{ | Zotti has also published a children's collection in ''The Straight Dope'' style entitled ''Know It All''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://isbnsearch.org/isbn/9780345362322 |title=ISBN 9780345362322 - Know It All!: The Fun Stuff You Never Learned in School }}</ref> Adams' columns are archived at the Straight Dope website. In 1996, [[A&E Network|the A&E Network]] briefly aired a show hosted by comedian [[Mike Lukas]] based on the column, also called ''The Straight Dope''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398574/|title=Straight Dope (TV Series) |website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> Over 600 articles have been posted to the site's online archive; some of these contain multiple questions and answers. Also included with the columns are quirky illustrations. Slug Signorino was the regular illustrator for ''The Straight Dope'' for forty-two years. In his illustrations, Cecil Adams is often depicted as a large turkey wearing a [[Square academic cap|mortar board]] or, occasionally, as a man in underwear with a paper bag over his head.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.straightdope.com/pages/faq/slug|title=The Slug Signorino FAQ|access-date=26 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905002508/http://www.straightdope.com/pages/faq/slug|archive-date=5 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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[[Category:Living people]] | [[Category:Living people]] | ||
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] | [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] | ||
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]] | |||
Latest revision as of 07:18, 4 August 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Cecil Adams, affectionately known to readers and fans and sometimes refers to himself as Uncle Cecil or Uncle Cece, is the pseudonymous author of The Straight Dope, a popular question and answer column published in the Chicago Reader from 2 February 1973 to 2018. The true identity of Adams, whether a single individual or a group of authors, has remained secret. The Chicago ReaderTemplate:'s 1986 trademark filing for the name "Cecil Adams" states that "Cecil Adams does not identify any particular individual but was devised as a fanciful name."[1] As of 2008, Ed Zotti was the editor of the column.[2] The column was syndicated in 31 newspapers in the United States and Canada and has been continued as a website.[3] The aim of the column, and now the website, is to spread general knowledge and everyday rational thinking, using a very strong and characteristically quirky sense of humor - some of it self-deprecating.
Billed as the "World's Smartest Human",[4][5][6] Adams responded to often unusual inquiries with a high degree of humor (often directed against the questioner, sometimes sardonically), and at times carried out exhaustive research into obscure and arcane issues, urban legends, and the like. On more than one occasion, Adams was forced to retract or modify an answer when confronted by "the Teeming Millions" (Adams' term for his readers), often claiming overwork and staff shortages. On rare occasions, Adams made appearances on the Straight Dope's Message Board.[7] On June 27, 2018, Adams announced that the "Straight Dope" column would be ending after 45 years and over 3,400 columns.[8] On January 13, 2023, it was announced that Cecil Adams would again be writing a column on The Straight Dope Message Board.[9] The first column, which appeared on the same day, was titled, "Is longtermism the world’s most dangerous belief system?"[10]
Personal details
Adams states that he has "never been photographed", and while there is at least one photo captioned with his name, the image is of Ed Zotti, who fulfilled Adams's publicity engagements.[11] Previous editors include Mike Lenehan and Dave Kehr. In his columns, Adams has revealed a few details of his purported personal life, including the existence of a Mrs. Adams (the FAQ section on his website states that chance references to "Mrs. Adams" may refer to his mother), that he has a brother-in-law, and that he has either children or dwarves as helpers.[6] He has a brother.[12] He is an accomplished traveler, and currently resides in Chicago's 47th Ward.[13] He is also left-handed[6] and may be balding[14] and colorblind.[15] He mentions having taken a class with Northwestern University English professor Bergen Evans,[16] mentions once working as an electrician's apprentice,[17] and a railroad machinist's helper.[18] He also mentions attending a Catholic school.[19] He is of Irish descent,[20] and relaxes with Pink Floyd and Baileys.[21]
Published works
Adams has published five collections of his The Straight Dope columns:
- The Straight Dope (1984)
- More of the Straight Dope (1988)
- Return of the Straight Dope (1994)
- The Straight Dope Tells All (1998)
- Triumph of the Straight Dope (1999)
Zotti has also published a children's collection in The Straight Dope style entitled Know It All.[22] Adams' columns are archived at the Straight Dope website. In 1996, the A&E Network briefly aired a show hosted by comedian Mike Lukas based on the column, also called The Straight Dope.[23] Over 600 articles have been posted to the site's online archive; some of these contain multiple questions and answers. Also included with the columns are quirky illustrations. Slug Signorino was the regular illustrator for The Straight Dope for forty-two years. In his illustrations, Cecil Adams is often depicted as a large turkey wearing a mortar board or, occasionally, as a man in underwear with a paper bag over his head.[24]
References
External links
- The Straight Dope
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