I’ve heard that during times of heavy demand, natural gas suppliers compensate by introducing an inert, nonflammable gas just to keep the seals tight and the pressure steady. Is this true? Do we pay natural gas prices for the substitute stuff? Your home meter doesn’t know the difference! –Jack Ballard, Springfield, Virginia
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Cecil is not going to tell you, in this suspicious age, that no gas company ever tried to con the proletariat. In general, however, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Utilities do introduce substitute gases at times of peak demand when the pressure threatens to drop. But the substitute gases burn just like the regular stuff does, with the same heat value per cubic foot. Typical substitutes are gasified propane and synthetic natural gas, which is made from petroleum feedstocks.
Every so often we see a work crew dig four or five squares in a row out of the street, cover them with a marker for a day, then surprise, fill them in with cement. What is the point of this? –David Drazin, Chicago
“Venereal disease appears to be a rarity in all wild species. Not so fortunate are domestic animals, especially those given artificial insemination [or worse]. It is presumed that animals in the wild are protected because the VD organisms are not in constant transmission (VD cells are short-lived or frail until they multiply in the protection of a body) due, in part, to harem-style mating and the female having a briefer sexual time span.” More than you need to know, if you ask me.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
