Straight Dope Archive

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
Did the Corinthians ever write back?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 16, 1986
Do the menstrual cycles of women living together tend to synchronize?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 9, 1986
Can you lose weight by keeping the thermostat turned down?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
May 2, 1986
What's the scoop on the mysterious buried treasure at Oak Island?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 25, 1986
Why does smoking make you want to go to the bathroom?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 18, 1986
Can Coca-Cola be used as a contraceptive?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 11, 1986
Is Walt Disney's frozen body buried under Disneyland?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
April 4, 1986
Is it true what they say about gerbils?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 28, 1986
Why do I start coughing when I clean my ears with Q-tips?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 21, 1986
The Straight Dope: How many dinosaurs did it take to make a barrel of oil?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 21, 1986
What's the origin of the mysterious phrase "etaoin shrdlu"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 21, 1986
Why do we nod our heads for "yes" and shake them for "no"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 14, 1986
Who decided red means "stop" and green means "go"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 7, 1986
Why do clocks with Roman numerals use "IIII" instead of "IV"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
March 7, 1986
Who invented the term "rock 'n' roll"?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 28, 1986
Did Dracula really exist?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 21, 1986
How come valentine hearts don't look anything like real hearts?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 14, 1986
Did Indians really say "how" as a greeting?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 7, 1986
What's legally required to christen a ship?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
February 7, 1986
Is the Great Wall of China the only manmade object you can see from space?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 31, 1986
Could early man only see three colors?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 24, 1986
Do you weigh more or less after you fart?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 24, 1986
How were the high-pitched voices of the Chipmunks created?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 17, 1986
Did General Motors destroy the LA mass transit system?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 10, 1986
Is it true the brontosaurus never really existed?
A Straight Dope Classic by Cecil Adams
January 8, 1986
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