It’s been since August that I last posted off topic. I hope I’m not being too hasty in slipping in another off topic post.
Cecil Adams has been answering factual questions about history, science, pop culture and basically anything since 1973, (today’s topic: Can the human eyeball be knocked out of the head?). Many of his past articles are now online at The Straight Dope. He writes with wit and truly does his homework. (I include one article below on a topic we do know something about, the 2nd Amendment, to demonstrate that he does his research well and does a fairly good job at keeping his religious/political inclinations from distorting the facts.) He fairly frequently answers questions that I’ve wondered about myself.
I recommend subscribing to the mailing list for one e-mail a week on Fridays that you will come to look forward to.
Some classic articles:
- Is the Great Wall of China the only manmade object you can see from space?
- Is it true about Catherine the Great and the horse?
- Can hair turn white overnight from fright?
- What is Don McLean’s song “American Pie” all about?
- Did medieval scholars argue over how many angels could dance on the head of a pin?
- Will sitting too close to the TV, reading with bad light, etc., ruin your eyes?
- What are hiccups and why do we get them?
- What does “the right to bear arms” really mean?
- Is U.S. income tax invalid because Ohio wasn’t legally a state when the 16th amendment was ratified?
- Is it true Coca-Cola once contained cocaine?
