rss BAD HABITS: STRAIGHT DOPE

• STRAIGHT DOPE

  How can racing yachts sail faster than the wind?

  How can those America's Cup yachts sail faster than the wind? Is it simply physics?

  Vol. 38 No. 29 Published 11.18.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  How did the states establish long, straight borders before GPS?

  How is it that, in places without natural features such as a river or mountain range to mark a border, U.S. states could establish a nice, even line over hundreds of miles before GPS?

  Vol. 38 No. 29 Published 11.18.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Does the camera really add 10 pounds?

  Plus: Is there any nutritional value in eating corn?

  Vol. 38 No. 27 Published 11.04.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Is there any difference in quality between name-brand drugs and generics?

  When I buy over-the-counter pharmaceuticals from our local drug store, I always buy the house brand. The active ingredients and dosages in Tylenol (acetaminophen) are identical to that of the copy.

  Vol. 38 No. 26 Published 10.28.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Is 'roid rage real?

  Following the 2007 murder-suicide involving pro wrestler Chris Benoit and his family, many asked if this was a case of 'roid rage. However, nobody seems to question whether 'roid rage actually exists.

  Vol. 38 No. 26 Published 10.28.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Why do songs get stuck in your head?

  What’s the deal with getting a song stuck in your head? Why does it happen, especially if it’s a song you don’t like or don’t even know well?

  Vol. 38 No. 25 Published 10.21.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Who controls the content on an Internet message board?

  Years ago, you were asked whether it was legal to publish a letter someone had sent you. You said the author's permission was needed.

  Vol. 38 No. 23 Published 10.07.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  How do medical alert dogs know something is wrong?

  Plus: How does an asphalt roller score on the Richter scale?

  Vol. 38 No. 22 Published 09.30.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Does a sauna or steam room do you any good?

  I love to go to the steam room (or if there isn’t one, the sauna) after a workout. But I've always wondered: Do they really help?

  Vol. 38 No. 21 Published 09.23.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Who owns my garbage?

  What’s the ownership status of trash? When I put it out in front of my house for pickup, is it still my property and is someone rifling through it guilty of trespassing and theft?

  Vol. 38 No. 21 Published 09.23.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Are earlobe creases a sign of heart disease?

  Do earlobe creases really indicate you may have coronary heart disease?

  Vol. 38 No. 19 Published 09.09.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Did Clarence Darrow distract a jury by using wire to keep his cigar ash from falling?

  I'm sure you're familiar with the tale of Clarence Darrow hiding a wire in his cigar to keep the ash from falling and thus distracting the jury during the DA’s closing statement.

  Vol. 38 No. 19 Published 09.09.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Do mosquitoes prefer certain blood types?

  Plus: Do tall men get more skin cancer?

  Vol. 38 No. 18 Published 09.02.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Is the arsenic in treated wood dangerous?

  I've noticed a lot of my neighbors have built elevated gardening beds in their yards using wood that's marked as treated with arsenic. Will the arsenic get into the vegetables and fruits these people are growing?

  Vol. 38 No. 17 Published 08.26.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Are no-iron shirts made by soaking them in formaldehyde?

  Plus: Did the South Atlantic anomaly cause that Air France crash?

  Vol. 38 No. 15 Published 08.12.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  If Europe gets its power from bus-size nuclear reactors, why can't we?

  Are there really bus-size nuclear reactors all over Europe (especially in France), that can safely power small towns? If so, why don’t we have them?

  Vol. 38 No. 15 Published 08.12.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Why were the continents once all piled in a big clump?

  I've seen pictures of Pangaea, the giant land mass that eventually separated into the continents we know today. But why were the continents smushed together like that in the first place?

  Vol. 38 No. 14 Published 08.05.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  If I had super strength, could I squeeze coal into diamonds?

  Superman is able to use his super strength to squeeze coal into diamonds. Theoretically, if someone had unlimited strength in real life, would it be possible to do this?

  Vol. 38 No. 12 Published 07.22.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Was all that money spent on Y2K wasted?

  What's the final word about Y2K? We were told this was a serious problem, and that huge dollars and man-hours were needed to head off trouble. Why didn't the sky fall, as predicted?

  Vol. 38 No. 11 Published 07.15.09 by cecil adams
• STRAIGHT DOPE

  Do drivers have a better chance of surviving car wrecks if they're drunk?

  There's an old saw about God protecting drunks and fools. Almost nightly we hear on the news that a drunk driver killed one or more people in another car but the drunk survived ...

  Vol. 38 No. 10 Published 07.08.09 by cecil adams

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• NEXT