We’ve all seen it in a movie: A small group of people are swimming. Someone gets hurt, blood touches water, and instantly sharks appear who then devour the party. But […]

What’s the straight dope on the world’s first powered flight? Sources claim people from New Zealand, Scotland, and France flew earlier than the Wrights, and one claims John Stringfellow from […]

I read your column “Do lightning rods really work?” [August 24, 2001], in which you note that fire-prevention folks were about to decide whether there was any scientific basis to […]

I’ve read that elephants are now exhibiting aggression previously unseen —including raping rhinos on the African savannah. Have we truly screwed up the elephants that much, or is this merely […]

Is the woman committing the crime by selling herself or is the man committing the crime by paying for the service? — MEDuke Who says feminism hasn’t accomplished anything? Nowadays, […]

I’ve heard of high explosives, but is there such a thing as low explosives? —CW Yes, there are low as well as high explosives. To get the distinction between the […]

Does the president have an official food taster to make sure he won’t get poisoned? What about when the president visits foreign countries? — Stuart Katz The golden age of […]

What’s the deal with chiropractic? Real, or quackery? —Scott S. The short answer: It depends on who’s doing it and what results you expect. Chiropractic was dreamed up in Davenport, […]

I often see reports of cars stalling on railroad tracks and then getting hit by trains as a result. What makes a car so prone to stall in the middle […]

I often see statistics on the number of deaths in the U.S. related to handgun accidents and murders by civilians. What I think would be a powerful statistic next to […]

I recently read that the city of Turin, Italy, had decided to use sheep to keep the grass in its parks trimmed. Being the lazy sort, I started to wonder: […]