The Straight Dope

Culled from a weekly reader-submitted question column in the Chicago Reader. Thankfully dealing with any topic under the sun, rather than relationship advice. The 1970s hipster-wiseass persona begins to grate pretty quickly, but a wide variety of topics are treated, and Cecil's research usually brings home the bacon.

Loved reading this column in the old City Paper back when I was still young. This is a great collection that showcases what made the column so much fun.

Cecil Adams is hilarious, rude, and incredibly smart. Honestly, I think "he" might not really be just one person...but whoever writes the Straight Dope column is great. I bought a bunch of these books just for the giggles...and the information!

I'm a fairly recent convert to the Straight Dope. One of the first things I learned from the esteemed Cecil Adams is armadillos are leprous (a fact not included in this book, but maybe one of his other books). I've learned many other useful facts since I've started reading the column and books... but that's the fact that always stands out.

Funny, and wonderfully intelligent. Some of the questions in this book are crazy, but some I've been wondering for a long time, and now I finally know! I can't wait to get all the Straight Dope books.

cecil adams is the man! he knows everything, and he's not afraid to mock those who doubt him. he used to have a column back in the day, where people send him questions and he comes up with the answer. now he's got his own website, but the man is a genius.

Everything I know I learned from The Straight Dope. I'm exaggerating, of course, but probably not by much.