Straight Dope Archive

In the old Soviet Union, what did it mean to be branded a "cosmopolite"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 3, 1988
Why is some vegetable oil "partially hydrogenated"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 1, 1988
How come archaeological ruins are always underground?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 26, 1988
Is there a gender-neutral substitute for "his or her"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 18, 1988
Where do dust bunnies come from?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 12, 1988
What happens when you "see stars"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 5, 1988
How can they be sure no two snowflakes are alike?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 5, 1988
Is it true men can suffer penile fracture?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 29, 1988
What's the origin of the term "polka dots"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 15, 1988
What's the deal with nude swimming at some men's clubs?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 15, 1988
How do lava lamps work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 8, 1988
What do you call those liquid-filled glass things that "snow" when shaken?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 25, 1987
Why does the hot water slow to a trickle after initially blasting out?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 25, 1987
Why does the bowl of a spoon turn my reflection upside down?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 25, 1987
Can spy satellites read the headlines of a newspaper on a park bench?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 18, 1987
Did an episode of the "Moonlighting" TV show contain a secret coded message?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 11, 1987
How do they decide when you're dead enough to be an organ donor?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 4, 1987
What are the dreams of the blind like?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 27, 1987
Were those old shoe store fluoroscopes a health hazard?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 27, 1987
Was there once a female pope?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 20, 1987
Can you make big money stuffing envelopes at home?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 13, 1987
Is the Trilateral Commission the secret organization that runs the world?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 6, 1987
Why aren't you supposed to use a radio receiver on an airliner?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 30, 1987
Did the U.S. Navy teleport ships in the Philadelphia Experiment?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 23, 1987
What did Prince Andrew's superiors in the Royal Navy call him?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 16, 1987
Why isn't there an audio equivalent of the laser?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 10, 1987
You say the earth is round? Prove it
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 9, 1987
Is the opposite of "disgruntled" "gruntled"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 2, 1987
How did they get Mr. Ed to talk?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 25, 1987
Is there a "squiggle code" to identify chocolates?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 19, 1987
Is it true "W" can be used as a vowel?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 11, 1987
Did Communist saboteurs sneak a hammer and sickle into the design of the Kennedy half dollar?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 11, 1987
Is Thomas Edison's last breath preserved in a test tube in the Henry Ford Museum?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 11, 1987
Does passionate kissing cause your chewing gum to disintegrate?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 4, 1987
Why is the Bronx called THE Bronx?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 28, 1987
2, 4, 8, 16 ... how can you always have MORE ancestors as you go back in time?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 21, 1987
Isn't 10 Downing Street, the home of the British PM, kind of a dump?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 14, 1987
Is it true graham crackers were invented to cure the dread fever of lust?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 7, 1987
How does Kirk Douglas shave his chin dimple?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 7, 1987
Why did "Bijou" used to be a common name for theaters?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 31, 1987
How many people have lived on earth since the dawn of time?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 28, 1987
Is Einstein's brain kept in a bottle in a small-town doctor's office near Kansas City?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 24, 1987
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 17, 1987
What's the term for your cousin's children?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 17, 1987
Do subliminal tapes played while you sleep really work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 17, 1987
Does anyone ever actually get the house, car, etc., offered in those big sweepstakes?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 17, 1987
If you hold your eyelids open while sneezing, will your eyes pop out?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 10, 1987
Can hair turn white overnight from fright?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 10, 1987
Why does male sex drive decrease with age? Is there any remedy?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 6, 1987
Why are the floors of a building called "stories"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 3, 1987
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