The Straight Dope

"The Straight Dope" was a question-and-answer newspaper column written under a pseudonym of Cecil Adams and illustrated (also pseudonymously) by Slug Signorino,[2] first published in 1973 in the Chicago Reader as well as syndicated nationally in the United States[3] and a website by the same name.

The Straight Dope
Type of site
Question and Answer
OwnerChicago Reader / Straight Dope Publishing
Created byCecil Adams (pseudonym)
URLstraightdope.com
Alexa rank 4,651 (April 2014)[1]
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired only on forums
Launched1973
Current statusactive

Following the column of June 27, 2018, the "Straight Dope" column was placed on hiatus, with no decision made regarding its future.[4] The website and associated forum continues to be active.

Name and tagline

The column derives its name from the American idiom meaning roughly "the true information; the full story"[5] and covers many subjects, including history, science, old wives' tales, urban legends, and inventions. The column appeared under the tagline: "Fighting ignorance since 1973 (it's taking longer than we thought)."

Books

Five collections of columns have been published, sometimes referred to as the Straight Dope Cyclopedia of Human Knowledge:

  • The Straight Dope (1984)
  • More of the Straight Dope (1988)
  • Return of the Straight Dope (1994)
  • The Straight Dope Tells All (1998)
  • Triumph of the Straight Dope (1999)

In addition, the 1993 collection Know It All was published for younger audiences by Cecil's "assistant" Ed Zotti.[6]

Television

In 1996, the A&E Network briefly aired a show based on the column called The Straight Dope, hosted and co-written by comedian Mike Lukas.[7] A podcast has also been released sporadically.

See also

References
  1. "Straightdope.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. "The Straight Dope FAQ". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  3. "Newspapers carrying The Straight Dope". The Straight Dope. 2013-06-16. Archived from the original on 2017-10-03.
  4. Adams, Cecil. "A note from Cecil Adams about The Straight Dope". The Straight Dope. Archived from the original on 2018-06-28.
  5. Spears, Richard A. (2005). McGraw-Hill's dictionary of American idioms and phrasal verbs. Chicago: McGraw-Hill. p. 652. ISBN 0-07-143578-6. OCLC 61399219.
  6. "The Straight Dope Books". The Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  7. "Mike Lukas". Deja Vu Comedy Club. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-01-27.


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