Straight Dope Archive

What's up with "broadcast power"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 4, 1990
Is it aerodynamically impossible for bumblebees to fly?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 4, 1990
Do trees ever die of old age?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 27, 1990
Can trees live forever?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 27, 1990
How does a fly land upside down on the ceiling?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 27, 1990
What's the deal with "crop circles"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 20, 1990
Why do they put lines in sidewalks?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 20, 1990
Can animals get VD?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 13, 1990
Why do you sometimes see a row of square holes dug in the street?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 13, 1990
Do Italian last names beginning with "de," "del," or "della" indicate nobility?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 6, 1990
If you shove a potato in a car's tailpipe, will the car explode?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 2, 1990
How do I go about starting my own country?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 30, 1990
What's the origin of Uncle Sam?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 23, 1990
What's the origin of Uncle Sam?
By Cecil Adams
March 23, 1990
How do scientists go about calculating pi to umpteen decimal places?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 16, 1990
What's the origin of miles and yards?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 9, 1990
Why don't auto headlights go off when you turn off the ignition?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 2, 1990
Why are public toilet seats always "U" shaped?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 2, 1990
What is the proper way to style Roman numerals for the 1990s?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 23, 1990
Is talcum powder asbestos?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 16, 1990
Why are races always run in a counterclockwise direction?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 9, 1990
What's up with vacuum cleaner wounds to the penis?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 2, 1990
Are there really such things as "hoop snakes"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 2, 1990
What's the origin of "skosh," meaning "a little bit"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 26, 1990
Is it possible for a chicken to live with its head cut off?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 19, 1990
Is there really such a thing as cow tipping?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 16, 1990
Why are Communists so fond of the color red?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 12, 1990
Why is home plate in the southwest corner of most major league baseball stadiums?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 12, 1990
Who gets the most pleasure from sex, the man or the woman?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 5, 1990
What is the opposite of absolute zero?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 1, 1990
In baseball, why do batters pound the plate with the bat?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 1, 1990
Why do they call it a "station wagon"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 22, 1989
Who is St. Jude, who is always being thanked in classified ads?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 22, 1989
On the Fahrenheit scale, why is 32 freezing and 212 boiling? What do 0 and 100 mean?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 15, 1989
What's the origin of the word "buck"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 8, 1989
Is astrology for real?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 1, 1989
Why did this guy Phillips think we needed a new type of screw?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 24, 1989
Are aphids born pregnant?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 24, 1989
Why is that thing below your jawline called an Adam's apple?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 10, 1989
Did the black doctor who invented blood plasma die because white doctors wouldn't treat him?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 10, 1989
Why do we sleep?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 3, 1989
What's the origin of the expression "mind your P's and Q's"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 3, 1989
How come the wheels of a moving car appear to rotate backward sometimes?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 27, 1989
Who decides on the names of hurricanes?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 27, 1989
Why can't pitchers hit?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 20, 1989
How do "night" rear view mirrors work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 13, 1989
In statues, does the number of feet the horse has off the ground indicate the fate of the rider?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 6, 1989
Do jugs filled with water keep dogs off your lawn?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 29, 1989
Why is there supposed to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 29, 1989
How can stunt planes fly upside down?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 22, 1989
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