Some unfortunate sod has never heard of the Straight Dope column, et al. What classic question do you use to illustrate what it is that Cecil does?
I always use the “Whatever happened to Channel 1?” question. I think it’s a great question and exemplifies the spirit of the SD pretty well.
What classic questions come to your mind?
Why don’t men have nipples?
it kinda/sorta/maybe has something to do with the OP:
“Which came first: the chicken or the egg?”
The answer: the rooster
think about it
:: looks down, lifts shirt, double-checks, scratches head ::
[sub]whuh?[/sub]
The one about Shroedinger’s Cat.
Why don’t they make the whole airplane out of the black box material?
“How many calories are in sperm?”
Because I’m into the classics and because I’m a little strange: What is it about Gerbils? (or something like that.) where good ole Cec lists the things found up people’s butts in emergency rooms.
What happened to the missing dollar?
**no, wait, scratch that **
“Calories in sperm” and “Schroedinger’s Cat”.
Why is there an intestate, I’m sorry, interstate freeway in Hawaii?
“How many calories in sperm?”
“Is it true pigs have corkscrew-shaped penises?”
“If you dove into a swimming pool filled with jello, would you be able to swim back out?” is what I use to demonstrate the goofier questions. To paint a picture of the kinds of facts that get checked out, I go with the one about how sex changes are performed.
I have to go with the OP…
I used the “What happened to Channel 1?” example when talking about the first Straight Dope compilation book I found while in college.
When I found the SD online I was ecstatic…I can still point my browser to the “archive” page and have a friend who has never seen the SD disappear for an hour or more and finally resurface wondering what in the world is left to ask! Great fun!
Why do pigeons bob their heads when walking?
“a duck’s quack echos, nobody knows why: BS”
I have to go with the question from the first book about what would happen if all the people in China stepped onto chairs and jumped off at the same time - would the stepping on or jumping off affect the Earth’s orbit?
Not only do I love the inane question - but I love Cecil’s response “Strange as it may seem, but I am actually going to answer this extremely retarded question”
I use it to explain what Cecil does and how he does it.
“What was the Big Bopper’s real name?”
So far, I haven’t made too many converts.
The duck’s quack, the Korean grocery stores and the Mohawk skyscraper workers.
I can’t believe nobody’s yet mentioned the one about finding the third word in the English language that ends in “gry”.