Is it true our GPS satellites are deteriorating and there’s no good fix? -Imtazman1963 Pretty much. Frightening, isn’t it? We’ll have to go back to using maps. For most of […]

I ran across your 1984 Straight Dope column about whether water freezes or boils in outer space. (You said it boils, then freezes.) You mentioned that polished aluminum in space […]

A friend recently told me about something called the Bohemian Grove where supposedly the leaders of our country meet annually to hold bizarre satanic rituals including burning things in front […]

Is peak phosphorus the next global crisis? I’ve read claims that world reserves of phosphates, a mined resource essential in the production of agricultural fertilizer, are running out. The implications […]

What’s the Straight Dope on radiation hormesis? From what I understand, this hypothesis rejects the current wisdom that if a lot of radiation is very bad, a little bit of […]

I’ve heard coconut juice is almost identical to human blood plasma, and has been used as a plasma substitute during wartime. I asked a friend from Vietnam who lived there […]

Why do babies run fevers when teething? More important, why do doctors claim that they don’t? Is it just so stupid/inexperienced mamas won’t ignore a serious infection when they erroneously […]

My brother refuses to go running on days the air quality index tells him not to because he doesn’t want to die sooner. My idea: how do we go about […]

Is the Myers-Briggs personality assessment just an example of modern-day snake oil sold by corporate soothsayers? Or does it really work? Certainly a huge industry has built up around this […]

Dude gets splashed with liquid helium, or blasted with cryogas, or breathed on by a white dragon, and he freezes solid into an immobile, frosty, astonished-looking block of man. Then […]

I am writing to bring to your attention several errors in the recent edition of the Straight Dope titled “Farm-Raised vs. Wild Fish: The Facts.” Your poor research and insistence […]

I’m on a deserted island. How can I tell which plants are poisonous? Scenario: deserted island, colorful fruits and vegetation. How do I know what to eat and what to […]