Cecil Adams is the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

ous

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of ''

The Straight Dope "The Straight Dope" was a question-and-answer newspaper column written under the pseudonym Cecil Adams. Contributions were made by multiple authors, and it was illustrated (also pseudonymously) by Slug Signorino. It was first published in 1973 in ...

'', a popular question and answer column published in ''

The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' 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." As of 2008,

Ed Zotti Ed Zotti (born 1951) is a journalist and urban transit planner in Chicago, Illinois. He is credited as being the "editor and confidant" of Cecil Adams, the pseudonym of the writer of the column " The Straight Dope" (published by the ''Chicago Rea ...

was the editor of the column. Cecil Adams is affectionately known to readers and fans (and sometimes refers to himself) as Uncle Cece. The column was syndicated in 31

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s in the

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and

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and has been continued as a website. 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", 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 An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

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 An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

. On June 27, 2018, Adams announced that the "Straight Dope" column would be ending after 45 years and over 3400 columns. A subsidiary column concerning questions of local interest in Adams' home city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

has been added.

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

, who fulfilled Adams's publicity engagements. 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. He has a brother. He is an accomplished traveler, and currently resides in Chicago's 47th Ward. He is also

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

and may be balding and

colorblind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...

. He mentions having taken a class with

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

English professor

Bergen Evans Bergen Baldwin Evans (September 19, 1904 – February 4, 1978) was a Northwestern University professor of English and a television host. He received a George Foster Peabody Award in 1957 for excellence in broadcasting for his CBS TV series ''The La ...

, mentions once working as an electrician's

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

, and a railroad machinist's helper. He also mentions attending a Catholic school. He is of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent, and relaxes with Pink Floyd and Baileys.

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) * ''Triumph of the Straight Dope'' (1994) * ''The Straight Dope Tells All'' (1998) Zotti has also published a children's collection in ''The Straight Dope'' style entitled ''Know It All''. 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''. 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 Mortar Board is an American national honor society for college seniors. Mortar Board has 233 chartered collegiate chapters nationwide and 15 alumni chapters. History Mortar Board was the first national honor society for college senior women ...

or, occasionally, as a man in underwear with a paper bag over his head.

References

External links

The Straight Dope
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Cecil American columnists American humorists Chicago Reader people Unidentified people Living people Year of birth missing (living people)