POSTED // Jun 25,2008 - 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 of train tracks? I’ve driven over tracks plenty of times and never had a problem. —Mario Villanueva...

POSTED // Jun 18,2008 - 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 this is the number of people that have been saved by the use of a firearm. I have a funny...

POSTED // Jun 11,2008 - 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: Could my fenced quarter-acre backyard of Bermuda grass and crabgrass sustain a sheep? —Chris...

POSTED // Jun 4,2008 - It Burns Dear Cecil: I thought I was smart and all until my son asked me, “Why doesn’t wood melt?” —Murli The simple answer is that wood doesn’t melt because it burns first. If that seems a little like giving your son the...

POSTED // May 28,2008 - Cecil: Do hard liquors have different psychological effects on an individual? Is there any truth to the common understanding that gin makes people mean? Off to conduct personal research …  —Jasmine Gin’s been associated with bad...

POSTED // May 21,2008 - n n n n Canine Clap? Dear Cecil: I’m contemplating dog pimping—selling my rare-breed male dog’s procreative capability to owners of his female counterparts. Is there such a thing as doggy...

POSTED // May 7,2008 - Hey, Cecil: My wife and I had a very unpleasant experience selling our house after our buyer’s inspector came back with a report of vermiculite in our attic. After a week of stress and an $80 test, it was determined that what we had was not vermiculite...

POSTED // Apr 30,2008 - The horseshoe crab is one of the oldest species on Earth, yet it is one of the few (if not the only) species with copper-based blue blood. The rest of us recently developed beings have red, iron-based blood. Did all animal life on Earth at one time have...

POSTED // Apr 23,2008 - What was the actual cause of death from crucifixion (Jesus-style, sans spear)? I’ve heard everything from blood loss, dehydration, and shock to suffocation. —NatalieProbably all of the above and then some. The suggested causes of death are...

POSTED // Apr 16,2008 - One of the joys of apartment living is the thrill of hearing your neighbor practicing bass guitar at 5 in the morning. When he blasts his stereo, it’s specifically the bass that I hear and feel and stew over. What is it about bass that makes it...