Straight Dope Archive

Why is, um, fecal matter brown?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 27, 1987
Did dinosaurs have a separate brain in their behinds?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 20, 1987
Was the swastika actually an old Native American symbol?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 20, 1987
Did Hitler have only one testicle?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 20, 1987
Did New York water pressure drop due to toilet flushing after the Super Bowl?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 13, 1987
There's the loud pedal and the soft pedal, but what's the THIRD piano pedal for?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 13, 1987
Will pheromones make you irresistible to the opposite sex?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 30, 1987
What's with those "John 3:16" signs that people hold up at football games?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 23, 1987
Why do some cars seem to drive down the road sideways?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 16, 1987
Is alcohol in gasoline good or bad? Is there a difference between ethanol and methanol?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 16, 1987
Why do outhouse doors have half-moons on them?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 9, 1987
What is, or was, the purpose of men's neckties?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 2, 1987
In medicine, what's the difference between an -ectomy, an -ostomy, and an -otomy?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 19, 1986
Why is the sound of fingernails scraping a blackboard so annoying?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 12, 1986
Does use of The Pill delay menopause?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 5, 1986
Can you write a check on any old piece of paper?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
December 5, 1986
What's the difference between apple juice and apple cider?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 21, 1986
How did salt and pepper become the standard table spices?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 14, 1986
Is the Molson's (Canadian) beer sold in the U.S. watered down?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 7, 1986
Do "close door" buttons on elevators ever actually work?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
November 7, 1986
Did Marie Antoinette really say "let them eat cake"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 24, 1986
Are turkeys so stupid they will look up in the sky when it rains and drown?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 17, 1986
Do manufacturers put blood plasma into hair shampoo?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 17, 1986
Will tanning your privates in a salon cause radiation damage?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 17, 1986
Why is there a "33" on Rolling Rock beer labels?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 10, 1986
How can companies get away with calling processed foods "natural"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
October 3, 1986
Can you break habits such as smoking, booze, etc., through "aversive therapy"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 26, 1986
What does it mean when they say The Pill is "99% effective"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 19, 1986
Why are yawns contagious?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 19, 1986
Are you being poisoned by your silver tooth fillings?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 5, 1986
Why does a tea kettle get quiet just before the water boils?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
September 5, 1986
Why do worms crawl on the sidewalk after it rains?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 29, 1986
Is it possible to build a machine that generates more power than it uses?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 29, 1986
What did people use before toilet paper was invented?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 15, 1986
Are green potato chips poisonous?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 8, 1986
What does it mean when "X percent chance of rain" is predicted?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
August 8, 1986
Did Groucho Marx utter a famous double entendre ad lib on the air?
A Straight Dope Classic by
July 25, 1986
Why do they call cotton swabs Q-tips?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 18, 1986
What is the origin of the word "Yankee"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 11, 1986
Where do we get the stock market terms "bull" and "bear"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 11, 1986
What does "DO NOT HUMP" mean on the side of railroad cars?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 4, 1986
Is Procter & Gamble run by satanists?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
July 1, 1986
If you pour salt on garden slugs, do they shrivel up and scream?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 27, 1986
What's the origin of "brand-new"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 27, 1986
Is it possible for fraternal twins to have different fathers?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 24, 1986
How are you supposed to spell Muammar Gaddafi/Khadafy/Qadhafi?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 20, 1986
Is it true that one "dog year" equals seven "human years"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 13, 1986
What gets the better gas mileage: windows up, AC on, or windows down, AC off?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 13, 1986
Can you stand eggs on end at the vernal equinox and at no other time?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
June 6, 1986
What are those threads that float in your field of vision?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 23, 1986
prev 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 next

Send questions for Cecil Adams to: cecil@chicagoreader.com

Send comments about this website to: webmaster@straightdope.com

Terms of Use / Privacy Policy

Advertise on the Straight Dope! Your direct line to thou- sands of the smartest, hippest people on the planet, plus a few total dipsticks.

Publishers - interested in subscribing to the Straight Dope? Write to: sdsubscriptions@chicagoreader.com.

Copyright © 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC.