Straight Dope Archive

Why are Europe and Asia considered separate continents? What's a continent, anyway?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Veg and Ian
April 21, 1999
What's the origin of the expression "peanut gallery"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian
April 19, 1999
Why is Humpty Dumpty portrayed as an egg, even though eggs aren't mentioned in the nursery rhyme?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
April 16, 1999
Does baking soda really eliminate refrigerator odors?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian
April 14, 1999
Was there an animated TV series featuring a purple ape?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Scott
February 15, 1999
What happened to the Emergency Broadcast System?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
Whose face is on the $1,000 bill?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Div
What's the origin of the 21-gun salute?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian
Does 2 + 2 = 5 for very large values of 2?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
Why is the "700 Club" called that?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
Followup: Are there only seven gifts of the Holy Spirit?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
What are the "seven seas"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
Did one 60's superhero get his power from ... smoking?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Scott
Why are boats measured in knots?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Larasaurus & Rngrjeff
Is the sound of a whiplash caused by breaking the sound barrier?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dogster
What about the NHL makes it "national"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
What's the origin of "bar," the kind people belly up to?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Lileth
If chlorine in swimming pools kill AIDS, why can't it be used as an AIDS cure?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by JillGat
In proper tea etiquette, what goes in the teacup first, the tea or the milk?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Larasaurus
What do "thou," "thee," and "thine" mean, and why don't we use them anymore?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by McCaffertA, with assistance from CKDextHavn and Dogster
Where did Australian aborigines come from?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Tech
Have people been intentionally infected with AIDS?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Jill
Followup: did that dentist really infect his patients with AIDS?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Jill
Do the Amish pay taxes?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by CKDextHavn
What do you call a word that spells a different word backwards?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
What does antidisestablishmentarianism mean?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian
What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by CKDextHavn
Followup: wasn't manna placed in the Ark of the Covenant?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by CKDextHavn
Followup: not all manna became inedible after one day!
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
Followup: the New Testament says there was so manna in the Ark of the Covenant!
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
Is it legal to put a hole in a quarter and sell it?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Mac
Followup: the last you'll ever read about the Ark of the Covenant!
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dex
Why is Arkansas pronounced Ar-kan- SAW?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Mac and Tech
Followup: I give up, what's an aspersorium?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
How do automated teller machines work?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Tech
Is "baby corn" really baby corn?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Melis
If you refrigerate bananas do they become poisonous?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Wolf
Can a baseball be hit farther with a heavy bat or a light one?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ken
What is the origin of "bated breath"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Terey
Which lasts longer, Energizer or Duracell?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Karl
How is it that the farther we see into the universe, the younger the objects we see?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian, greatly assisted by UndeadDude
Why do they call the cheap seats "bleachers"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Dogster
Does a blood donation mess up DNA evidence?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Hawk
If blood is red why do your veins look blue?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Hawk
What's the origin of the British slang word "bloody"?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Lileth, with considerable input from CKDextHavn and McCaffertA
What's the deal with the Church of the Subgenius?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Euty
How do they score boxing?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian
Why are boxing scores kept secret during the match?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Ian
Why are brides supposed to wear "something old, something new," etc.?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Songbird
Why can bugs fall great distances and survive, but humans won't?
A Straight Dope Staff Report by Hawk
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