Straight Dope Archive

Are human beings still evolving?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 11, 1991
Did Krups, Braun, and Mercedes-Benz make Nazi concentration camp ovens? Did Hitler name the Volkswagen?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 29, 1991
Why is a football called a pigskin?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 20, 1991
How do newspaper writers get the type to line up on the right side?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 20, 1991
Did Renaldus Columbus discover the clitoris in 1559?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 6, 1991
What's the purpose of daylight saving time?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 6, 1991
Why is there no ketchup on a properly made hot dog?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 30, 1991
How much money is there? With the U.S. borrowing so much, why aren't we broke?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 23, 1991
Why is Virginia (and MA and PA and KY) called a commonwealth?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 16, 1991
Do maps have "copyright traps" to permit detection of unauthorized copies?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 16, 1991
When someone is executed by lethal injection, do they swab off the arm first?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 9, 1991
If blue, red, and yellow are primary colors, why do color TVs use blue, red, and green?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 26, 1991
Do we really use only 10 percent of our brains?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 19, 1991
Can paper be folded in half seven times but never eight?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 5, 1991
Why does putting someone's hand in warm water make them go to the bathroom?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 28, 1991
What causes "ice cream headache"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 28, 1991
How do "human cannonballs" survive?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 21, 1991
Can you walk on hot coals in bare feet and not get burned?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 14, 1991
Was "hip hip hurrah" originally an anti-Semitic taunt?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 31, 1991
Does sex before an athletic event decrease your performance on the field?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 17, 1991
Shouldn't the expression "head over heels" be "heels over head"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 17, 1991
Why are water towers are elevated, while petroleum tanks are on the ground?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 13, 1991
What do U.S. Postal Service bar codes mean?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 10, 1991
Do other languages have obscenities like those of English?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 3, 1991
Was the melody of "The Star Spangled Banner" taken from an old drinking song?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 26, 1991
Can you legally publish a letter someone wrote to you?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 19, 1991
When you wear an airline oxygen mask, why doesn't the plastic bag inflate?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 19, 1991
Why is the action in old silent movies so fast?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 12, 1991
If the world's wealth were divided equally, how much would each of us have?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 5, 1991
If you were thrown into the vacuum of space with no space suit, would you explode?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 22, 1991
Is it possible to have too much dietary fiber?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 8, 1991
Why do we put up yellow ribbons during wars, hostage crises, etc.?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 1, 1991
Did a state legislature once pass a law saying pi equals 3?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 22, 1991
Why don't magnets stick to aluminum?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 22, 1991
What is perfect pitch, and what good is it?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 8, 1991
Who decided women should shave their legs and underarms?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 6, 1991
What's up with the "neutral zones" near Saudi Arabia?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 1, 1991
What's in a Mickey Finn?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 18, 1991
Would Vietnam war money have been better spent bribing the enemy to stop fighting?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 11, 1991
Can Cecil solve this geometry stumper?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 4, 1991
Why do some water fountains produce two streams of water that merge into one?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 21, 1990
Why does the U.S. deliver foreign mail when we don't get any money for the stamps?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 14, 1990
What causes white spots on your fingernails?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 7, 1990
What is "branch water"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 7, 1990
Is it possible to rain frogs, cats, dogs, etc.?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 7, 1990
What's the story on Wilhelm Reich and his orgone energy?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 30, 1990
Do "iron fortified" cereals really contain iron filings?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 16, 1990
What are the four common English words ending in "-dous"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 9, 1990
What English word has five consecutive vowels?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 9, 1990
Did astronaut Neil Armstrong muff his historic "one small step" line?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 9, 1990
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