Dunno, Tim--you can join me in the aerodynamically sleek male category, I think
So far as the bent staves go--yes, I agree with those of you who talked about the problem of finding a straight sapling. I'd further point out that, if you go to the local lumber yard and try their dowels, you'll find that most of them aren't straight either, although they're fairly close.
Even more, I've had a 6' walnut walking stick for over 20 years now. It's probably a wonderful weapon (probably in that I've never had to fight with it), it's light, strong, and stabs and strikes quite accurately. It's also got a pronounced bend in the middle. I would not want to throw it, but it's a great (potential) hand weapon.
HOWEVER (you knew this was coming), there still is the conservation issue. I think one sees it far more with arrows than with spears, but some weapons get well and truly warped when kept in a museum collection for 50-100 years, just as swords can become rusty and mildewed. Photos of museum specimens can be extremely deceptive that way, because they don't stop time--they just image the way something looked in the collection at a particular point.
This is a case of "bad becoming normal" as Temple Grandin put it in another context. As specimens decay over time, we get used to them looking ratty, until we start wondering how people could ever have fought with such poorly built and badly-designed weapons... you all know that particular story, I think.
I've primarily heard complaints about warping from Native Americans and those who enjoy NA archery--they say that the arrows in museum displays are often badly distorted. I suspect we see some of that here as well with spears and other pole arms. In conserving our collected weapons, I'd simply suggest that we might want to pay attention to is keeping the staves as straight as we got them, rather than leaning them in a closet for 20-30 years.
Fearn