Straight Dope Archive

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
How do they know what lethal gases smell like?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 7, 1997
Has anyone ever had sex in space?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 28, 1997
What was the Leaning Tower of Pisa for?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 21, 1997
A king's wife is a queen, so why is Elizabeth II's husband still only Prince Philip?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 14, 1997
How does one suck in a piece of spaghetti?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 14, 1997
Does a change in the weather make people's joints ache?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 7, 1997
Is hemp (nonpharmacological marijuana) the answer to our environmental problems?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 31, 1997
Is the lost city of Atlantis at the bottom of a lake in North Dakota?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 24, 1997
Why do older men have hair growing in their noses and ears?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 17, 1997
What are hiccups and why do we get them?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 10, 1997
What is déjà vu?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 27, 1996
Did medieval lords have "right of the first night" with the local brides?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 20, 1996
Did aspartame (NutraSweet) cause Gulf War Syndrome?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 29, 1996
What happens if the earth stops spinning?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 22, 1996
What's the likelihood of suffocating a child sleeping in your bed?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 22, 1996
How did Bazooka Joe lose his right eye?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 22, 1996
Is U.S. income tax invalid because Ohio wasn't legally a state when the 16th amendment was ratified?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 18, 1996
Is there a door in St. Peter's basilica that's opened once every 100 years?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 15, 1996
In Thoreau's Walden, what are "tit-men"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 8, 1996
What's a runcible spoon?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 8, 1996
In Steve Miller's "The Joker," what is "the pompatus of love"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 25, 1996
What are the six flags that have flown over Texas?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 18, 1996
Why are furnaces vented outdoors but ovens aren't?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 11, 1996
Why do most storms in North America move from west to east, but hurricanes move east to west?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 11, 1996
Is uranium added to false teeth to give them a natural glow?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 4, 1996
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