Straight Dope Archive

How do non-English speakers make animal noises?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 5, 1995
How do they keep soda pop in outdoor vending machines from freezing in winter?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 5, 1995
Does the "whole language" approach to reading work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 28, 1995
Can a bullet fired into the air kill someone when it comes down?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 14, 1995
How do they grow more seedless fruit?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 7, 1995
Can Zovirax be put to kinky uses?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 7, 1995
Did the astronauts survive the Challenger explosion long enough to realize their plight?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 31, 1995
What do Scotsmen wear under their kilts?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 24, 1995
Why do you get the message that you must first dial "1" before the area code?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 17, 1995
If you burp, fart, and sneeze at the same time, will you die?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 10, 1995
How do "ear candles" work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 10, 1995
Why are cocaine and heroin sometimes cut with strychnine or arsenic?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 24, 1995
Does soap need time to work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 24, 1995
Is food irradiation safe?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 17, 1995
Why do you see signs saying, "No propane vehicles allowed"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 17, 1995
What does "the right to bear arms" really mean?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 10, 1995
Does smoking have any health benefits?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 3, 1995
Does the Swiss army really use the Swiss army knife?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 27, 1995
Can personal computer use cause cancer, miscarriages, etc.?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 20, 1995
Was John Tyler never really president of the U.S.?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 13, 1995
If Teflon is nonsticky, how do they get it to stick to the pan?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 13, 1995
Mistletoe kissing origins? Why do worms surface during rain? (cont'd)
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 6, 1995
How do helicopters keep from spinning around uncontrollably? How come we haven't heard much about the Dead Sea scrolls?
By Cecil Adams
December 30, 1994
Why aren't green or blue naturally occurring human hair colors? What's Kwanzaa?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 23, 1994
Why does weather move west to east?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 16, 1994
Who were the "buffalo soldiers" depicted on U.S. postage stamps?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 16, 1994
What causes ringing in your ears?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 9, 1994
Is "whether or not" good grammar?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 2, 1994
Is there such a thing as cancer of the heart?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 25, 1994
Are there really such things as "talking drums"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 18, 1994
How can Korean-Americans afford to start so many grocery stores?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 4, 1994
Can some people extinguish streetlamps by means of their bodily emanations?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 28, 1994
If the stub you get at the airport is "not the baggage check described in the Warsaw Convention," what is?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 21, 1994
How come "objects in mirror are closer than they appear"? Why not the right distance?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 21, 1994
If loss of the rain forest would deplete oxygen, why didn't deforestation of North America and Europe do so?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 7, 1994
Why is BC an English abbreviation while AD is a Latin one?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 30, 1994
When happens when you drive between two countries that drive on opposite sides of the road?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 23, 1994
Why does metal produce strange effects in a microwave?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 23, 1994
Why was America named after Amerigo Vespucci?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 16, 1994
Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 9, 1994
If a tree falls in the woods, is there a sound?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 9, 1994
Why are dead bodies embalmed?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 9, 1994
Did U.S. President Zachary Taylor die of eating cherries with milk on a warm day?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 2, 1994
Why does the sun darken skin but lighten hair?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 26, 1994
Why does the U.S. surgeon general wear a uniform?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 26, 1994
Are the Social Security trust funds a sham?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 19, 1994
What does a ground fault interrupter do?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 12, 1994
The last word on circumcision
By Cecil Adams
August 5, 1994
Why did so many Native Americans die of European diseases but not vice versa?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 29, 1994
What causes "piss shiver"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 22, 1994
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