The Straight Dope: Does the U.S. government keep alien spaceships at Area 51?

[Send questions for Cecil Adams: cecil@straightdope.com](mailto:cecil@straightdope.com) FOLLOW CECIL ADAMS ON [TWITTER]( AND [FACEBOOK](! [960823.gif] THREADSPOTTING: THE BEST OF THE STRAIGHT DOPE MESSAGE BOARD — 09/20/2019 Oh, give me a home where the residents roam. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 — 08/23/1996 Dear Cecil: As an X-Files junkie and conspiracy freak, I was watching the blockbuster Independence Day, and I got to the part where everybody goes to Area 51 and there's a big spaceship and Brent Spiner says they've been studying aliens there since Roswell. I thought, what's the deal? Area 51 was on an episode of the X-Files, it's got a video game, a band — what the hell do they have in there? Biological weapons? Plutonium? Cold fusion? The body of Jimmy Hoffa? Or the bodies of hundreds of dead aliens? I'm starved for info. — Andy Ryder, via the Internet Cecil replies: Oh, yeah, if it’s on X-Files and there’s a video game you know it’s gotta be legit. The Pentagon always notifies the entertainment industry when it gets in some fresh aliens. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE STAFF REPORT — 06/14/2001 Dear Straight Dope: What did the Catholic Church use for alter wine during Prohibition? Since all alcohol was banned and wine is a central part of the Catholic liturgy did priests have to violate the prohibition of alcohol? Or did the church get a waiver? — Brian Saunders SDStaff Songbird replies Just because it’s transubstantiated doesn’t make it “alter” wine, Brian. During Prohibition, the wine on Catholic as well as other church altars was real wine. The Eighteenth Amendment, forbidding the manufacture, sale, import or export of intoxicating liquors, was ratified by three quarters of the states January 16, 1919. The Volstead Act also passed in 1919 (over the veto of President Wilson), giving federal agents the power to investigate and prosecute violations of the amendment. But alcoholic beverages for medicinal and sacramental use were exempt under the Volstead Act, which allowed many people to avoid the spirit of the law. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #2 — 12/03/2004 Dear Cecil: Can a person request to be buried in his backyard rather than a cemetery? A guy in West Virginia said in June that he planned to be buried in his yard; the city council had to pass a new law to prevent it. I say a person (in California, where I live) can be buried anywhere he wants as long as he complies with health department laws, even if it is in his yard (front, back, or side). — Barry, via e-mail Cecil replies: You’d think a state as out-there as California wouldn’t get twitchy over a little thing like backyard burials, but you’d be wrong. California prohibits disposal of human remains (except cremated ashes) anywhere other than in a cemetery, making it one of the most restrictive jurisdictions in the country. This may disappoint those looking forward to interment under the swing set, but don’t despair — there’s a loophole. In California law one definition of a cemetery is “a place where six or more human bodies are buried,” full stop. A construction like that invites enterprise. I suggest nothing; I merely point out that the state is going to be looking for six bodies. How they get there is up to you. Let’s start with the ship [Click here]( for more. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [View this message as a webpage](. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. To advertise on The Straight Dope, contact Rich Hummel at rhummel@suntimes.com [Privacy Policy/Terms of Use]( • [Unsubscribe]( © 2019 Straight Dope, LLC. 30 N Racine Ave. Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60607