Straight Dope Archive

How much flatulence would it take to become airborne?
By Cecil Adams
May 14, 2010
How accurate are police sketches of suspected criminals?
By Cecil Adams
May 7, 2010
Can rock music cook eggs?
By Cecil Adams
April 30, 2010
How accurate are lie-detector tests?
By Cecil Adams
April 23, 2010
Is the GPS satellite system collapsing? Plus: Does 2X the sunscreen = 2X the SPF?
By Cecil Adams
April 16, 2010
Will special paint keep my house cooler in summer?
By Cecil Adams
April 9, 2010
Do U.S. leaders perform satanic rituals at Bohemian Grove?
By Cecil Adams
April 2, 2010
Is peak phosphorus the next global crisis?
By Cecil Adams
March 26, 2010
Are some dogs racist?
By Cecil Adams
March 19, 2010
Is exposure to small amounts of radiation beneficial?
By Cecil Adams
March 12, 2010
Can coconut juice be used as blood plasma? Plus: Are oil space heaters more efficient?
By Cecil Adams
March 5, 2010
Why do babies run a fever when teething — or do they?
By Cecil Adams
February 26, 2010
Is paying attention to the air quality index crazy? How bad is smoking for the environment?
By Cecil Adams
February 19, 2010
Does the Myers-Briggs personality assessment really tell you anything?
By Cecil Adams
February 12, 2010
Could you be frozen solid, then broken into a million pieces?
By Cecil Adams
February 5, 2010
Followup: Did Cecil exaggerate the decline of the world fish supply?
By Cecil Adams
January 29, 2010
I'm on a deserted island. How can I tell which plants are poisonous?
By Cecil Adams
January 22, 2010
Is mass transit a waste of energy?
By Cecil Adams
January 15, 2010
Do fire departments actually rescue cats from trees?
By Cecil Adams
January 8, 2010
What's up with compostable plastics?
By Cecil Adams
January 1, 2010
What's better, farm-raised salmon or wild? Are upscale restaurants serving ugly fish?
By Cecil Adams
December 25, 2009
Can high blood pressure be reduced through bloodletting? Plus: Did Kane Kramer invent the iPod in 1979?
By Cecil Adams
December 18, 2009
Did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grow marijuana?
By Cecil Adams
December 11, 2009
Do truth serums work?
By Cecil Adams
December 4, 2009
What would happen if you were swallowed by a black hole (revisited)?
By Cecil Adams
November 27, 2009
How can racing yachts sail faster than the wind?
By Cecil Adams
November 20, 2009
How did the states establish long straight borders before GPS?
By Cecil Adams
November 13, 2009
Does the camera really add ten pounds? Plus: Is there any nutritional value in eating corn?
By Cecil Adams
November 6, 2009
Is 'roid rage real?
By Cecil Adams
October 30, 2009
Is there any difference in quality between name-brand drugs and generics?
By Cecil Adams
October 23, 2009
Why do songs get stuck in your head?
By Cecil Adams
October 16, 2009
Who controls the content on an Internet message board?
By Cecil Adams
October 9, 2009
How do medical alert dogs know something is wrong? Plus: How does an asphalt roller score on the Richter scale?
By Cecil Adams
October 2, 2009
Who owns my garbage?
By Cecil Adams
September 25, 2009
Does a sauna or steam room do you any good?
By Cecil Adams
September 18, 2009
Did Clarence Darrow distract a jury by using wire to keep his cigar ash from falling?
By Cecil Adams
September 11, 2009
Are earlobe creases a sign of heart disease?
By Cecil Adams
September 2, 2009
Do mosquitoes prefer certain blood types? Plus: Do tall men get more skin cancer?
By Cecil Adams
August 28, 2009
Is the arsenic in treated wood dangerous?
By Cecil Adams
August 21, 2009
If Europe gets its power from bus-size nuclear reactors, why can't we?
By Cecil Adams
August 14, 2009
Are no-iron shirts made by soaking them in formaldehyde? Plus: Did the South Atlantic anomaly cause that Air France crash?
By Cecil Adams
August 7, 2009
Why were the continents once all piled in a big clump?
By Cecil Adams
July 31, 2009
If I had super strength, could I squeeze coal into diamonds?
By Cecil Adams
July 24, 2009
Was all that money spent on Y2K wasted?
By Cecil Adams
July 17, 2009
Do drivers have a better chance of surviving car wrecks if they're drunk?
By Cecil Adams
July 9, 2009
Did soldiers really frag officers in Vietnam?
By Cecil Adams
July 3, 2009
Did astronauts train in ecological wastelands on earth to get used to the barren moon?
By Cecil Adams
June 26, 2009
Has martial arts training ever helped anybody defeat a mugger?
By Cecil Adams
June 19, 2009
Who made money during the 1929 stock market crash?
By Cecil Adams
June 12, 2009
Is NASA the only federal agency that makes a profit?
By Cecil Adams
June 5, 2009
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