Straight Dope Archive

Welcome to the Straight Dope Archive, featuring the collected works of Cecil Adams and his online auxiliary, the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board. You can view all columns or a subset, listed in reverse chronological order (most recent columns on top):

Is exposure to small amounts of radiation beneficial?
By Cecil Adams
March 12, 2010
Can coconut juice be used as blood plasma? Plus: Are oil space heaters more efficient?
By Cecil Adams
March 5, 2010
Why do babies run a fever when teething — or do they?
By Cecil Adams
February 26, 2010
Is paying attention to the air quality index crazy? How bad is smoking for the environment?
By Cecil Adams
February 19, 2010
Does the Myers-Briggs personality assessment really tell you anything?
By Cecil Adams
February 12, 2010
Could you be frozen solid, then broken into a million pieces?
By Cecil Adams
February 5, 2010
Followup: Did Cecil exaggerate the decline of the world fish supply?
By Cecil Adams
January 29, 2010
I'm on a deserted island. How can I tell which plants are poisonous?
By Cecil Adams
January 22, 2010
What's this "pact with the devil" that Pat Robertson says caused Haiti's woes?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by SDSTAFF JillGat
January 19, 2010
Is mass transit a waste of energy?
By Cecil Adams
January 15, 2010
Do fire departments actually rescue cats from trees?
By Cecil Adams
January 8, 2010
What's up with compostable plastics?
By Cecil Adams
January 1, 2010
What's better, farm-raised salmon or wild? Are upscale restaurants serving ugly fish?
By Cecil Adams
December 25, 2009
Can high blood pressure be reduced through bloodletting? Plus: Did Kane Kramer invent the iPod in 1979?
By Cecil Adams
December 18, 2009
Did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grow marijuana?
By Cecil Adams
December 11, 2009
Is the Secret Service responsible for keeping the president from getting drunk?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Elendil's Heir, guest contributor
December 8, 2009
Do truth serums work?
By Cecil Adams
December 4, 2009
What would happen if you were swallowed by a black hole (revisited)?
By Cecil Adams
November 27, 2009
How can racing yachts sail faster than the wind?
By Cecil Adams
November 20, 2009
So what did happen to the settlers at Roanoke?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by SDSTAFF Bricker
November 17, 2009
How did the states establish long straight borders before GPS?
By Cecil Adams
November 13, 2009
Does the camera really add ten pounds? Plus: Is there any nutritional value in eating corn?
By Cecil Adams
November 6, 2009
Is 'roid rage real?
By Cecil Adams
October 30, 2009
Is there any difference in quality between name-brand drugs and generics?
By Cecil Adams
October 23, 2009
What happened to Lazarus after his resurrection?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Bricker
October 20, 2009
Why do songs get stuck in your head?
By Cecil Adams
October 16, 2009
Who controls the content on an Internet message board?
By Cecil Adams
October 9, 2009
What's the story on jury nullification?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Bricker
October 6, 2009
How do medical alert dogs know something is wrong? Plus: How does an asphalt roller score on the Richter scale?
By Cecil Adams
October 2, 2009
Who owns my garbage?
By Cecil Adams
September 25, 2009
What's to stop me from making counterfeit casino chips?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ianzin
September 22, 2009
Does a sauna or steam room do you any good?
By Cecil Adams
September 18, 2009
Did Clarence Darrow distract a jury by using wire to keep his cigar ash from falling?
By Cecil Adams
September 11, 2009
Why don't we ever see pictures of the floating island of garbage?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by paperbackwriter
September 8, 2009
Are earlobe creases a sign of heart disease?
By Cecil Adams
September 2, 2009
Has widespread CPR training resulted in more lives saved?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by paperbackwriter
September 1, 2009
Do mosquitoes prefer certain blood types? Plus: Do tall men get more skin cancer?
By Cecil Adams
August 28, 2009
Is the arsenic in treated wood dangerous?
By Cecil Adams
August 21, 2009
Can I be charged with indecent exposure if I stay on my own private property?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Gfactor
August 18, 2009
If Europe gets its power from bus-size nuclear reactors, why can't we?
By Cecil Adams
August 14, 2009
Are no-iron shirts made by soaking them in formaldehyde? Plus: Did the South Atlantic anomaly cause that Air France crash?
By Cecil Adams
August 7, 2009
Why is it that green olives come in glass jars but black olives come in cans?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Eutychus
August 4, 2009
Why were the continents once all piled in a big clump?
By Cecil Adams
July 31, 2009
If I had super strength, could I squeeze coal into diamonds?
By Cecil Adams
July 24, 2009
What's the National Guard doing fighting overseas, anyway?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Paperbackwriter
July 21, 2009
Was all that money spent on Y2K wasted?
By Cecil Adams
July 17, 2009
How do you make loaded dice?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian Rowland, Guest Contributor (Ianzin)
July 14, 2009
Do drivers have a better chance of surviving car wrecks if they're drunk?
By Cecil Adams
July 9, 2009
Did soldiers really frag officers in Vietnam?
By Cecil Adams
July 3, 2009
Did astronauts train in ecological wastelands on earth to get used to the barren moon?
By Cecil Adams
June 26, 2009
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 next

Send questions for Cecil Adams to: cecil@chicagoreader.com

Send comments about this website to: webmaster@straightdope.com

Advertise on the Straight Dope! Your direct line to thou- sands of the smartest, hippest people on the planet, plus a few total dipsticks.

Publishers - interested in subscribing to the Straight Dope? Write to: sdsubscriptions@cln.com.

Copyright 1996-2010 Creative Loafing Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No material contained in this site may be republished or reposted without express written permission. The Straight Dope is a registered trademark of Creative Loafing Media, Inc.

Other Creative Loafing Media, Inc. sites:

Creative Loafing Atlanta | Creative Loafing Charlotte | Chicago Reader | Creative Loafing Sarasota | Creative Loafing Tampa | Washington City Paper