Straight Dope Archive

Are flamingos pink because they eat shrimps?
By Cecil Adams
May 18, 2001
What's the story on North American earthworms?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
May 17, 2001
What's up with the "Bible Code"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
May 15, 2001
In Nintendo's "Duck Hunt," how does the TV know when you've hit a duck?
By Cecil Adams
May 11, 2001
How do those "lightning ball" gizmos work?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Chronos
May 10, 2001
Should you store film in the refrigerator?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ken
May 8, 2001
Why do U.S. radio call letters start with W in the east and K in the west (revisited)?
By Cecil Adams
May 4, 2001
What's the origin of the gingerbread man?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
May 2, 2001
What's the origin of "hip"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
May 1, 2001
Will suppressing a sneeze give you a brain aneurysm?
By Cecil Adams
April 27, 2001
Do insects pass gas?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
April 26, 2001
Did Bob Dylan lift "Blowin' in the Wind" from a high school yearbook?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird 
April 23, 2001
Do dentists have the highest suicide rate?
By Cecil Adams
April 20, 2001
What is the origin of "by and large"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
April 18, 2001
What are the 13 U.S. intelligence agencies?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Manny 
April 17, 2001
Do crime scene investigators really draw a chalk line around the body?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 13, 2001
Will a penny on the tracks derail a train?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Jill
April 12, 2001
Who invented pizza?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
April 11, 2001
Did band leader Glenn Miller die in a French brothel?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by John Corrado
April 10, 2001
Can a noise be loud enough to kill you?
By Cecil Adams
April 6, 2001
What do ants do when it rains?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
April 4, 2001
What's the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" all about?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
April 4, 2001
What's the origin of "notary sojac"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Euty
April 3, 2001
Did Wile E. Coyote ever catch the Road Runner? Plus: How do they get the fortunes inside Chinese fortune cookies?
By Cecil Adams
March 30, 2001
Does using your car radio reduce your gas mileage?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dogster
March 29, 2001
Do you catch more flies with sugar than you do with, ah, fecal matter?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
March 28, 2001
Why does Swiss cheese have holes in it?
By Cecil Adams
March 23, 2001
Did Mary Shelley not write "Frankenstein"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Son of Dex
March 22, 2001
Who invented hummus?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
March 21, 2001
What caused the Mad Hatter to go mad?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
March 20, 2001
Is "different than" bad grammar?
By Cecil Adams
March 16, 2001
Should you refrigerate batteries to make them last longer?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ken
March 15, 2001
What's the origin of the meter and the metric system?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Alphagene
March 14, 2001
Did Lizzie Borden kill her parents with an ax because she was discovered having a lesbian affair?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by John Corrado
March 13, 2001
In Asia, do people scoop the brains out of a monkey's skull and eat them?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 9, 2001
What's the origin of "hot dog"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ed Zotti
March 8, 2001
What's the best way to preserve home videotapes?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
March 7, 2001
Does an "ecstasy" overdose raise your body temperature to 108 degrees?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Hawk
March 6, 2001
Do Americans get less vacation than people in other developed countries?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 2, 2001
What was the ancestor of the house cat?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
March 1, 2001
Did Roosevelt know in advance about the attack on Pearl Harbor yet say nothing?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Corrado
February 28, 2001
What's the origin of a "skins game" in golf?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Tom Robinson
February 27, 2001
Do worms exit via the nose when their human host is anesthetized (revisited)?
By Cecil Adams
February 23, 2001
What's up with cryptozoologists, the guys who investigate mythical beasts?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
February 22, 2001
Does black clothing keep you cooler?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Doug
February 21, 2001
What happened in the 1952 London "killer fog"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by John
February 20, 2001
What does the filler text "lorem ipsum" mean?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 16, 2001
Did Walt Disney and Salvador Dali once collaborate on a film?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Euty
February 15, 2001
Do black holes rotate east to west?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Chronos
February 13, 2001
Is there a monastery in Greece that won't even allow female animals?
By Cecil Adams
February 9, 2001
prev 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 next

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

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

Terms of Use / Privacy Policy

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@chicagoreader.com.

Copyright © 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC.