POSTED // Sep 17,2008 - An automechanic friend claims to have a gizmo that makes his vehicles run at least partially on water. He swears it’s true and has about five test vehicles running with this thing now. It will work best on vehicles with carburetors—fuel-injected...

POSTED // Sep 10,2008 - One often hears references to rampant buggery among sailors in the glory days of the Royal Navy. Sometimes, it’s said, young boys called “peg boys” were on board solely for the purpose of providing pleasure to the officers. What’s...

POSTED // Sep 3,2008 - I’m reading World War Z by Max Brooks, a fictional account of the world’s response to a zombie outbreak. In the book the U.S. military fails miserably in its first real battle against the undead but later changes tactics and ultimately triumphs,...

POSTED // Aug 27,2008 - If a man has a sex change, can he compete in the Olympics as a woman? —Stephanie Ketchum In our enlightened age, when science has made it possible to be the sex you feel like rather than the one nature stuck you with, some think it stuffy to insist...

POSTED // Aug 13,2008 - What’s the straight dope on the world’s first powered flight? Sources on the ’Net claim people from New Zealand, Scotland, and France flew earlier than the Wrights, and one claims John Stringfellow from Somerset, England, managed a powered...

POSTED // Aug 6,2008 - I just read your column “Do lightning rods really work?” [August 24, 2001], in which you note that the fire-prevention folks were about to decide whether there was any scientific basis to lightning rods. Do you have more up-to-date information?...

POSTED // Jul 30,2008 - That Rhino Was Asking for It 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 one of those myths that...

POSTED // Jul 23,2008 - 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, in most American jurisdictions, both the hooker and the john...

POSTED // Jul 16,2008 - Blast It All I’ve heard of high explosives, but is there such a thing as a low explosive? —C-W All too often, explosives enthusiasts fall prey to the bigger-is-better mentality. It’s refreshing to see someone take an interest in the...

POSTED // Jul 9,2008 - Does the president have an official food taster to make sure he won’t get poisoned? I’m sure that security is tight in the White House kitchen, but you never know. What about when the president visits foreign countries? —Stuart Katz...