Straight Dope Archive

How are shrunken heads made?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 31, 1998
Is there really a race of blue people?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 24, 1998
Did astronomer Tycho Brahe really have a silver nose?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 17, 1998
How does sunscreen work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 17, 1998
Was John Wayne a draft dodger?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 10, 1998
Do bulls really wear rings in their noses?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 26, 1998
Does the head remain briefly conscious after decapitation (revisited)?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 12, 1998
What's the story on the female jazz musician who lived as a man?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 5, 1998
What's the difference between the steroids in asthma inhalers and the ones jocks use?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 29, 1998
What's the origin of "7-Up"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 29, 1998
Is "I am" the shortest English sentence?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 29, 1998
Is it true a duck's quack won't echo?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 22, 1998
Why has no animal species ever evolved wheels?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 15, 1998
Who or what are Fig Newton cookies named after?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 8, 1998
What's really in Spam?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 1, 1998
Have guys awakened after a party to find their kidneys stolen?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 24, 1998
Will poppy-seed bagels cause you to fail a drug test?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 3, 1998
What is the term for people who lack the sense of taste? Tasteless?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 27, 1998
What's the term for people who can't smell or taste? Plus: what flavor is bubble gum?
By Cecil Adams
March 27, 1998
When a woman gives birth in westerns, why do they always boil water?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 20, 1998
In childbirth scenes in old westerns, why does someone always yell to boil water? Also: Butchered Beatles Albums
By Cecil Adams
March 20, 1998
Why did Charles Manson think "Helter Skelter" was about a race war?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 13, 1998
Can a cloud weigh as much as a 747?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 13, 1998
How could the Russians not discover America? It was only 50 miles away!
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 6, 1998
Why can't you buy turkey eggs in stores?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 6, 1998
To slow a stick-shift car, should you brake or downshift?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 27, 1998
What's the deal with stigmata?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 20, 1998
Can I declare a "no-flight zone" over my house?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 13, 1998
Can zinc lozenges cure the common cold?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 6, 1998
Why do parachutists yell "Geronimo!" when jumping from an airplane?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 23, 1998
How do I go about getting excommunicated?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 16, 1998
Does anybody actually like Circus Peanuts?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 2, 1998
Is there a Santa Claus?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 26, 1997
What's the latest on the link between aluminum and Alzheimer's disease?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 19, 1997
Why don't we consider fire alive? What is life?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 12, 1997
Is it possible to have eyes of two different colors? Can your eyes change color?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 5, 1997
Is a "chicken gun" used to test jet engines?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 28, 1997
Is it possible to diet with beer?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 28, 1997
Was a model's penis visible in a 1975 Sears catalog?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 21, 1997
What's up with the strange end of country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 14, 1997
Is the guy who held up those "John 3:16" signs at sports events in jail for life?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 7, 1997
In Gilligan's Island, what was Mrs. Howell's first name?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 31, 1997
Can heat cure cancer?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 31, 1997
Did whites ever give Native Americans blankets infected with smallpox?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 24, 1997
How does my nose produce so much snot so fast when I have a cold?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 17, 1997
How do they make "punch" sounds in movies?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 10, 1997
Is there such a thing as spontaneous combustion?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 10, 1997
Does the center of a golf ball contain a deadly poison?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 3, 1997
How come we never hear about Absorbine Sr.?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 26, 1997
Why do we have wax in our ears? Do roaches ever crawl in there?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 19, 1997
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