So, sure, when you turn on your shower, the individual hydrogen and oxygen atoms that emerge may at some point have seen the inside of a dinosaur
Cecil Adams
Posted inExtras
What happens to fan-made tributes left at celebrity memorials?
The dead flowers and rotten food got tossed, but everything else was documented and archived according to standard museum procedures
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Why are people afraid of bugs?
There may just be things humans are genetically predisposed to fear because they once presented us with a distinct mortal threat
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Who profits from climate change?
Now, of course, we face a prospect of constant emergency, from steadily rising sea levels to increasingly extreme storms to lethal heat waves
Posted inExtras
Why haven’t tabloids been sued out of business?
In order to win a libel suit against a news organization, public figures have to demonstrate that the offending party acted with “actual malice,” which is not a Tom Clancy novel but rather a standard set by the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan: they must show that the defendant knew for sure that the offending information was false, and published it anyway.
Posted inExtras
Why not nuclear-powered cruise ships?
Crew members on military nuclear ships, safe though they may be, wear dosimeters at all times, just in case—hardly a reassuring sight for your typical Caribbean vacationers, I’d imagine.
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If the sun goes out, how long till the earth freezes?
What might conceivably produce such an effect here on earth?
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Cannibalism–yea or nay?
We can eat other human beings, provided we’re not murdering them, provided they’ve granted some kind of premortem consent, etc. Should we?
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Does the umbrella represent political weakness?
By contrast, the Cuban Umbrella Incident didn’t raise many eyebrows—besides yours, I mean—at home
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Do cigarette filters really do anything?
One chemist discovered that if you adjust the pH in cellulose-acetate filters, you can get them to change color during the smoking process, making it look like some really bad stuff is being screened out.
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What’s so bad about polygamy?
Traditional arguments against polygamous marriage in the U.S. have tended to be shallow and alarmist
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Are politicians dumber than the rest of us?
You think he’s dumb? He’s too busy counting campaign money to care