The Straight Dope: Were there Nike missile sites on the Chicago lakefront?

[Send questions for Cecil Adams: cecil@straightdope.com](mailto:cecil@straightdope.com) FOLLOW CECIL ADAMS ON [TWITTER]( AND [FACEBOOK](! [050513.gif] THREADSPOTTING: THE BEST OF THE STRAIGHT DOPE MESSAGE BOARD — 11/30/2018 Identify this mystery object, win no prize. And RUN! [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 05/13/2005 Dear Cecil: Many years ago I was told there were Nike missile sites along the Chicago lakefront. Supposedly they were scattered from Grant Park to somewhere north of Lincoln Park, and consisted of underground bunkers that would open to let the launching platform rise up and fire the missile. Was that a cold war urban legend? — Larry Cywin, Gainesville, Florida Cecil replies: Nope, that was cold war reality. Chicago’s lakeside rockets were more conspicuous than most, but in the 1950s and ’60s more than 50 U.S. cities, military bases, etc., were surrounded by Nike missile batteries, the better to fend off Soviet bombers. Soviet bombers, you say? What about the USSR’s far more fearsome intercontinental ballistic missiles? Just so, which explains why few remember Nike missiles today. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE STAFF REPORT — 06/08/2003 Dear Straight Dope: You use the word "copacetic" in your columns, but, where does this strange word actually come from? I thought it was African-American slang, but, then again, it sounds Greek or Egyptian (i.e. were the Coptics copacetic?). — ken SDStaff Eutychus replies: Another bag of worms has officially been opened. According to most sources, the word was popularized by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson way back in 1919. He claimed to have coined the word when he was a shoeshine boy back in Richmond, Virginia. However according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was first used in that same year by Irving Bacheller in his book Man for the Ages, a biography of Abraham Lincoln. That’s where any agreement on the word starts to break down. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #2 — 08/22/1980 Dear Cecil: This has been bugging me for years and now I've finally run out of patience. If you don't tell me the answer I'll go nuts and start voting for Republicans. Can you tell this ignorant slut who still calls films "movies" just what in the world is a "mise-en-scene"? This will make film criticism a trifle less impenetrable and make me more confident at parties that feature white wine. — C.L.A., Chicago Cecil replies: Don’t fret about it, honey. The only guy I ever knew who understood what mise-en-scene meant also used to use the word “albeit” in casual conversation. Talk about your alien beings. [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]( © 2018 Straight Dope, LLC. 30 N Racine Ave. Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60607