Straight Dope Archive

Why do Americans refer to the main course of a meal as the "entree?" What happened to the kilocalorie?
By Cecil Adams
December 14, 2007
Did Victorian era doctors use vibrators to treat hysteric female patients with orgasm therapy?
By Cecil Adams
December 7, 2007
A prescription for death: Does doctors' illegible handwriting kill more than 7,000 patients annually? Is drinking alcohol a good cold cure?
By Cecil Adams
November 30, 2007
Is ethanol derived from cellulose a truly viable energy source?
By Cecil Adams
November 23, 2007
Is there a correlation between vasectomy and dementia? Can men with vasectomies have wet dreams?
By Cecil Adams
November 16, 2007
Why does my husband stop snoring when I nudge him? Is there a real way to make snoring stop?
By Cecil Adams
November 9, 2007
Are UV rays really more powerful on cloudy days?
By Cecil Adams
November 2, 2007
And they lived happily never after: Were the original versions of classic fairy tales more dark and bloodthirsty than what we know today?
By Cecil Adams
October 26, 2007
Who's your Daddy? Is it true 10-15% of children in modern society were not sired by their putative fathers?
By Cecil Adams
October 19, 2007
Why are pirates depicted with a parrot on their shoulder? What's the origin of the skull and crossbones pirate flag?
By Cecil Adams
October 12, 2007
Did pirates bury their treasure? Did pirates really make maps where "X marks the spot?
By Cecil Adams
October 5, 2007
Does smoking organically grown tobacco lower the chance of lung cancer?
By Cecil Adams
September 28, 2007
Are there submerged towns under lakes created by dam building?
By Cecil Adams
September 21, 2007
Prehistoric, it's what's for dinner: Have explorers had feasts of woolly mammoth?
By Cecil Adams
September 14, 2007
Does the average American student have less vocabulary today than in days gone by?
By Cecil Adams
September 7, 2007
People take medications. They excrete them. What happens next? Could it affect the water supply?
By Cecil Adams
August 31, 2007
Are weathermen checked for forecast accuracy? Have advances in technology improved the accuracy of weather forecasting?
By Cecil Adams
August 24, 2007
What's better for the environment, electric hand dryers or paper towels?
By Cecil Adams
August 17, 2007
Is strength of will in fighting illness a factor in whether you live or die?
By Cecil Adams
August 10, 2007
Are there deposits of methane under the sea? Will global warming release the methane to the atmosphere?
By Cecil Adams
August 3, 2007
Is sea salt better for you than regular salt? Why does salt enhance the flavor of almost all food? Why add salt to water for boiling pasta?
By Cecil Adams
July 27, 2007
Was there a real Trojan war as depicted in the Iliad? Is "Agamemnon's death mask" real?
By Cecil Adams
July 20, 2007
Have federal automobile fuel safety standards increased the number of automobile deaths?
By Cecil Adams
July 13, 2007
Why do statues of Buddha have long earlobes? What's the difference between fat Buddha and regular Buddha?
By Cecil Adams
July 6, 2007
Why do banks use that awful robotic looking type font for routing and account numbers? Why do people hang catfish heads from fences?
By Cecil Adams
June 29, 2007
Take me out to the ball game: Is there a real "home field advantage?"
By Cecil Adams
June 22, 2007
Whatever happened to the accusers from the Salem witch trials?
By Cecil Adams
June 15, 2007
Did mercury in vaccines cause autism? Do vaccines cause autism?
By Cecil Adams
June 8, 2007
Could the floating islands of "Life of Pi" really exist?
By Cecil Adams
June 1, 2007
Hair today, more tomorrow? How effective are treatments for baldness?
By Cecil Adams
May 25, 2007
What's the fastest-acting, most lethal poison?
By Cecil Adams
May 18, 2007
Is higher faster? Does time pass more quickly when gravity is reduced?
By Cecil Adams
May 11, 2007
When one spouse dies does the surviving spouse tend to follow soon afterwards?
By Cecil Adams
May 4, 2007
How do snowflakes grow symmetrically? What causes patterns in frost?
By Cecil Adams
April 27, 2007
We know about global warming, but what about global dimming?
By Cecil Adams
April 20, 2007
Is breast-feeding really better for babies than formula?
By Cecil Adams
April 13, 2007
IgNobel: Has the Nobel prize ever been awarded in error?
By Cecil Adams
April 6, 2007
Can urinating on your feet in the shower cure athlete's foot?
By Cecil Adams
March 30, 2007
Electrifying: Is living under power lines harmful to your health?
By Cecil Adams
March 23, 2007
Did ancient conquerors punish their enemies by sowing captured fields with salt?
By Cecil Adams
March 16, 2007
Are U.S. Postal Service workers more likely to "go postal"?
By Cecil Adams
March 9, 2007
Why is the alphabet in alphabetical order?
By Cecil Adams
March 2, 2007
What is the origin of the song "There's a place in France/Where the naked ladies dance?" Are bay leaves poisonous?
By Cecil Adams
February 23, 2007
Is it better to fill your tires with nitrogen instead of air?
By Cecil Adams
February 16, 2007
There goes the judge: How do we get rid of whacked-out judges?
By Cecil Adams
February 9, 2007
Is fluoride in water a good thing or a danger?
By Cecil Adams
February 2, 2007
Has there ever been a mutiny aboard a U.S. naval vessel?
By Cecil Adams
January 26, 2007
The China (Flats) Syndrome: Was there a reactor meltdown in Southern California?
By Cecil Adams
January 19, 2007
Are the earth's magnetic poles shifting?
By Cecil Adams
January 12, 2007
How come if you dig down far enough, you hit water? Where does that water come from?
By Cecil Adams
January 5, 2007
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