What would happen if one drank his or her own urine? Would there be health complications? You, I am sure, have heard the stories about people stranded in small spaces after earthquakes who survive on their own urine. Are these true stories?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Well, there are apparently plenty of subscribers to the theory that drinking your own urine actually benefits your health. Even a former prime minister of India, Morarji Desai, is rumored to have imbibed his own urine. For details, just do a Google search on “urine therapy.” One of these sites is understandably preoccupied with plugging the nose: “If you find it difficult to drink warm, plug your nose and hold it closed for a while after drinking. The urine can also be chilled, but holding your nose is usually all it takes to get the job done. Rinse the mouth with water afterwards and remember, the longer your nose is plugged the better. It may even be worthwhile using a nose plug so both hands are free while waiting for any residual taste and odor to disappear.” http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/treat/T45177.html

Although AP can’t find any information on the therapeutic value of urine in standard medical sources, it does seem to be a recognized form of therapy in many cultures around the world. AP has also heard about it as a survival trick, and I guess it must be true if you’re to believe newspaper accounts, but I suspect it was an extreme last resort (only after hallucinations began), and maybe didn’t aid in survival. Some survival web sites say flat out not to do this as it will dehydrate you more. Anyway, would you really be urinating much if you were that dehydrated? I believe the kidneys remove material from your blood (water or excess vitamins) that aren’t needed, which wouldn’t seem to be the case if you were dying of thirst. For definitive answers on safety, like with all medical questions, AP will ask that you seek the advice of a trained medical professional.

There are four comfortable arm chairs in the Lilly Chinese reading room. (I forget the official name of this room–maybe the Thomas room, or something like that?) But there are only three ottomans to go with them. I suspect that the fourth was destroyed or stolen by some freshman in years past. Nonetheless, might it be replaced?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The answer is, yes! The head of Lilly Library tells us that “the fourth ottoman has been missing for some time. Its disappearance is a bit shrouded in mystery, but one staff member has a vague recollection that the legs were damaged, so it had to be discarded. This question comes up at a very good time. We are planning to reupholster the furniture in the Thomas Room this semester, so we will ask for an ottoman replacement at the same time.” The room, incidentally, is known as the Thomas Room.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: A mild-mannered librarian. I change into this role in an abandoned carrel back in the old levels of the library.

What is the secret to a long distance romantic relationship? Forget the secret, what are some tips to making it work?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Save up lots and lots of money and travel back and forth frequently to see one another. Emails and phone calls and camera phones are fine, although you don’t want to seem like you’re “checking on” the other person too much, either. A handwritten letter now and then with lots of X’s is pretty romantic (AP, at least, finds retro expressions of affection to be romantic, maybe the last person to feel that way). Make the situation as temporary as possible; at least, have an end in sight in the foreseeable future. You can tell that AP is a cynic, but I wish you the best of luck!

What is the best recipe in the world for pumpkin pie?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: That sounds like the sort of question that Laura Bush or Teresa Kerry would be asked, so I suggest you check with them. If you’re shy about that, Nancy Reagan’s and Mamie Eisenhower’s pp recipes can be found on this celebrity recipe list: http://www.recipegoldmine.com/celeb/celeb.html (along with Elvis Presley’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich). AP suspects that my grandmother’s recipe is better than these celebrities’, so I’ll have to dig it out and give it a try when it comes time to scoop out the pumpkin.

Could the Supreme Court rule that part of the US Constitution is unconstitional? For example, if an amendment were passed prohibiting homosexual marriage, could the Supreme Court later rule that amendment unconstitutional based on other parts of the constitution?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Hmmm … an interesting conundrum. From a practical standpoint I wouldn’t expect a really questionable amendment to actually make it through the process to become part of the Constitution (that’s not to say I can’t see it happening in this day and age). I think all the rules about 2/3 majorities and getting the state legislatures as well as the Congress to pass an amendment has something to do with making sure it’s well thought out before becoming part of the Constitution.

In its article entitled “constitutional amendments, limits on,” the Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2002 by John R. Vile (Perkins and Lilly Reference 342.7303 V699, E56, 2003 ; also at Law Library ) touches on this subject (its example is the flag-burning amendment). Some legal scholars believe that such an amendment could be subject to judicial invalidation due to contradictions with previously existing parts of the Constitution. The article implies, but doesn’t explicitly say, that the invalidation could come after adoption of an amendment. (But then who’s to say that the earlier part of the Constitution couldn’t be invalidated due to conflict with the new amendment, which would by then also have become an integral part of the Constitution!?) On the other hand, the vagueness of the Constitution leaves it open to a lot of interpretation, so how can anything contradict it or vice versa? There’s a lot of judgment involved, and the opinions of qualified legal scholars differ. To witness the consequences, we’ll probably have to wait until one of these amendments is ratified.

What are ovarian cysts? Are they dangerous? Can they be treated? Is it a bad sign if they reoccur?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: First off, AP isn’t a doctor or lawyer and isn’t at all qualified to answer medical questions or give legal advice. As a librarian, I can point you in the direction of some authoritative information written for regular people. Might I suggest the Medical Encyclopedia at the National Library of Medicine website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ There’s an entry there for ovarian cysts.

The Duke Medical Center Library has quite a number of links to consumer health information: http://www.mclibrary.duke.edu/respub/refres/consumer.html They’ve also done a nice guide here to help the consumer evaluate online medical information.

These sites are just to provide background information — to make you an informed consumer, so to speak. You should consult a medical practitioner to answer your specific questions.

What are the respective roles of the House and Senate during an impeachment proceeding?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Basically, the House impeaches, but removal from office occurs after the Senate tries and convicts (with a 2/3 majority vote for conviction). Who can be impeached is in the U.S. Constitution, Article II, section 4: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The duties of the House of Representatives are mentioned in Article I, section 2: “[The House of Representatives] shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” The Senate’s duties are mentioned in Article 1, Section 3: “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.” This derives from earlier English practice, with the lower chamber impeaching and the upper chamber trying the impeached person.

There is a vast literature on this subject. See, for instance, this guide from the Library of Congress (LC): http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/Impeachment-Guide.html or this from Congress’s Thomas web site: http://thomas.loc.gov/tfaqs/tfaq17.html . Here’s a nice summary document from LC’s Congressional Research Service, available from the website of the US embassy in Columbia!: http://usembassy.state.gov/bogota/wwwsimpe.shtml You can also search the library’s catalog under subject headings that begin with “impeachments–united states.”

Where could I find a list of colleges that offer a winter semester or January term?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: AP has had difficulty finding such a listing. I believe you’re looking for colleges still on the quarter system, where there’s a fall, winter, and spring term. Right? There are also regular semester systems where the fall semester begins at a reasonable date — say, after Labor Day — and the spring semester ends around the first of June rather than in late April. This sometimes causes the fall semester to continue after the holidays on into January. The semester versus quarter attribute is listed in some paper college directories, like Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges (Perkins and Lilly, Ref. 378.73 F495B, but they didn’t make that field searchable in the CD version, unless perhaps you’re a hacker).

I think the usual reasons to choose a college has to do with the course offerings, the price, the faculty, the student life, the location, whether your friends go there, and many other criteria. For better or worse, most students then accept whatever the term schedule is, and you may also have to accept your fate.