Straight Dope Archive

Is the earth getting heavier or lighter?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 23, 1989
Why do men's and women's shirts button on different sides?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 16, 1989
What's the origin of the word "denim"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 16, 1989
Did Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII, have a sixth finger and a third breast?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 16, 1989
Does saltpeter suppress male ardor?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 16, 1989
Where did the Grateful Dead get their name?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 9, 1989
Is time travel possible?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 2, 1989
If three of the bodily humors (temperaments) boil down to "sad," "glad," and "mad," what's the fourth?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 19, 1989
What's up with Dianetics/Scientology?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 12, 1989
Why are rebate checks drawn on obscure banks in the middle of nowhere?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 5, 1989
In "The Flintstones," what was Barney Rubble's job?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 14, 1989
What does "callipygian" mean?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 7, 1989
Is red Fiestaware radioactive?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 7, 1989
Do cow and termite flatulence threaten the earth's atmosphere?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 24, 1989
Has anybody actually bought stereo speakers costing $50,000 a pair?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 17, 1989
Hitler was building the Third Reich. What were Reichs One and Two?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 15, 1989
Why do food labels say, "may contain the following oils …." Don't they know?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 10, 1989
Why is palm oil bad for you?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 10, 1989
Why do toasters have a "ONE SLICE" slot?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 10, 1989
Has anyone vanished in the Bermuda Triangle lately?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 3, 1989
Why are moths attracted to bright lights?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 27, 1989
What was the "Great Vowel Shift" and why did it happen?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 20, 1989
What's the purpose of the rocks sometimes seen on flat roofs?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 20, 1989
Did Thomas Jefferson father children by a slave mistress?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 6, 1989
Why are there high tides twice a day when the earth rotates beneath the moon only once a day?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 16, 1988
You fire a gun and drop a bullet at the same time. Which bullet hits the ground first?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 16, 1988
What are the odds of getting AIDS from ordinary heterosexual sex?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 9, 1988
Does an airplane weigh less after the passengers have eaten their meals?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 2, 1988
What causes "ghost rings" on the telephone?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 25, 1988
What's the purpose of the little ball inside a Hula Hoop?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 15, 1988
Why do the British drive on the left?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 11, 1988
Why can't we use bad ozone from pollution to replenish the thinning ozone layer?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 8, 1988
Why does Sweet 'n Low make microwaved water fizz so strangely?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 4, 1988
Did somebody once go aloft in a lawn chair tied to a bunch of helium balloons?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 28, 1988
What's the story on autoerotic asphyxiation?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 28, 1988
Could U.S. draft evaders be extradited from Canada now?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 21, 1988
How can there be interstate highways ... in Hawaii?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 21, 1988
What's the significance of interstate highway route numbers?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 21, 1988
What's the origin of "honky"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 21, 1988
Where is Podunk?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 14, 1988
What's the difference between a boat and a ship?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 30, 1988
Why are pound and ounce abbreviated "lb." and "oz."?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 30, 1988
Is there really such a thing as cannibalism?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 23, 1988
What's the origin of the expression "Indian giver"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 16, 1988
Why are air fares cheaper if you stay over Saturday night?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 2, 1988
Is there a name for a 13-sided shape?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 2, 1988
How did Uri Geller bend spoons?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 26, 1988
Why do most cereals have the same number of calories per serving?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 19, 1988
What are the three English words ending in -gry?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 19, 1988
How do they get beer into cans?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 12, 1988
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