Straight Dope Archive

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
Will sleeping in a closed room with an electric fan cause death?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 12, 1997
Water contains hydrogen and oxygen. Why doesn't it burn?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 5, 1997
Why doesn't Coke dissolve the can?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 29, 1997
Mountain Dew = shrinking 'nads?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 29, 1997
How does white chocolate differ from real chocolate?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 29, 1997
What's the difference between a philharmonic orchestra and a symphony orchestra?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 29, 1997
If you flex your muscle when a mosquito bites you, will it swell up and explode?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 22, 1997
In the song "Hotel California," what does "colitas" mean?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 15, 1997
Do laundry balls really work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 25, 1997
In the old Lone Ranger series, what did "kemosabe" mean?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 18, 1997
How come you never see Class B cigarettes?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 11, 1997
In old-time pregnancy tests, did the rabbit really die?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 4, 1997
How do I go about renouncing my U.S. citizenship?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 27, 1997
How come Europeans dominated the rest of the world and not vice versa?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 20, 1997
Why are covered bridges covered?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 13, 1997
Is it true they allow "certified organic" produce to be sprayed with chemicals?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 6, 1997
Is the dollar bill's eye-on-a-pyramid the symbol of a secret society?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 23, 1997
Can a Munchkin be seen committing suicide in The Wizard of Oz?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 9, 1997
Should you not throw rice at weddings because birds swallow it and explode?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 2, 1997
What is the meaning of PEZ?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 25, 1997
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 18, 1997
What's the difference between a Looney Tune and a Merrie Melody?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 4, 1997
Was The Texas Chain Saw Massacre based on a true story?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 28, 1997
How did fountains work before the invention of electric pumps?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 7, 1997
Do anagrams in Lewis Carroll's poems prove he was Jack the Ripper?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 7, 1997
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