The Straight Dope - The Straight Dope
Fighting ignorance since 1973. (It’s taking longer than we thought.) | 
Sunday, May 5, 2024
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A note from Cecil Adams about The Straight Dope
By Cecil Adams
 
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Politics
The U.S. goes fascist. How do you escape?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Crime, police and the law
Can Congress override a presidential pardon?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Where did two-letter postal abbreviations come from?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Drugs
Is it dangerous to eat magic mushrooms before they have dried out? What mushrooms are safe to eat?
By Cecil Adams
 
All Latest Stories
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Drugs
Do brain supplements do anything?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Is flying really worse for the environment than driving?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Why aren’t internal organs symmetrical?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Do dogs have better protection from ticks than people do?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Why is Asian earwax different from black and white people’s earwax?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Origin Stories
How did “nuts” and “bananas” come to mean “crazy”?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Drugs
Why does South America grow all the coca?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Crime, police and the law
How often do emergency vehicles get into accidents?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Is there a link between the Zika virus and toxoplasmosis?
By Cecil Adams
 
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How dangerous are cows?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Is there a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Food
What’s so bad about processed foods?
By Cecil Adams
 
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If head trauma is so bad for humans, how do woodpeckers manage?
By Cecil Adams
 
Most Read
What’s the origin of “XXX,” as in porn movies and booze?
What does the Chicago lyric “25 or 6 to 4” mean?
In the song “Hotel California,” what does “colitas” mean?
Why is the “missionary position” called that?
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How did the gavel end up in American courtrooms?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Will bacteriophages save us from the antibiotics crisis?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Politics
What do we know about the effects of marijuana legalization?
By Cecil Adams
 
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What’s the environmental impact of road salt?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Animals
When animals disappear, how are humans affected?
By Cecil Adams
 
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What’s the life span of a skyscraper?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Animals
What happens to birds during a hurricane?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Is the fatberg apocalypse upon us?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Is music universal?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Drugs
How credible are the new blood-pressure guidelines?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Animals
Do black dogs experience prejudice?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Animals
Do all animals yawn and stretch?
By Cecil Adams
 
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What’s the connection between outlaw bikers and ball-peen hammers?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Drugs
Are infectious diseases becoming untreatable?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Food
Why isn’t venison a major industry in the U.S.?
By Cecil Adams
 
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Sports
Why does everybody in the world play tag?
By Cecil Adams
 
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