Answers to your questions about the news.

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• The Chinese Earthquake Roundup Can grieving parents have another child? And other questions about the tragedy.
  Jacob Leibenluft May 15, 2008
  
• Can a Dead Woman Vote? Will the late Florence Steen's absentee ballot count in South Dakota's primary?
  Chris Wilson May 14, 2008
  
• Natural-Disaster Death Tolls Who's counting?
  Juliet Lapidos May 13, 2008
  
• Were the Dove Ads Retouched? How to spot Photoshop chicanery.
  Jacob Leibenluft May 12, 2008
  
• How To Make a Skull Bong A guide for the ultimate deadhead.
  Arthur Delaney May 9, 2008
  
• Burma vs. Myanmar Why can't the newspapers just pick a name and go with it?
  Chris Wilson May 8, 2008
  
• Can a Campaign Go Bankrupt? What happens to Hillary Clinton's debt when the primaries are over?
  Jacob Leibenluft May 7, 2008
  
• Who Owns a Suicide Note? How the D.C. Madam's last words made it into the newspaper.
  Juliet Lapidos May 6, 2008
  
• The Unpopular President Why was Harry Truman as unloved as George W. Bush?
  Jacob Leibenluft May 5, 2008
  
• Do Text Messages Live Forever? How a dirty SMS can come back to haunt you.
  Jacob Leibenluft May 1, 2008
  
• What's a Botnet? An army of infected computers that can send out 100 billion spam e-mails a day.
  Chris Wilson April 30, 2008
  
• Life in an Austrian Dungeon What 24 years in a windowless basement will do to your health.
  Juliet Lapidos April 29, 2008
  
• Six Thousand Gallons of Regular, Please How much does it cost to fill up a corporate jet?
  Jacob Leibenluft April 28, 2008
  
• Credit Card Numbers for Sale How much does a Visa or MasterCard number go for these days?
  Jacob Leibenluft April 24, 2008
  
• How To Spot a Persian Prostitute Streetwalkers in chadors.
  Juliet Lapidos April 23, 2008
  
• Fat Soldiers What's the Army's policy on overweight recruits?
  Jacob Leibenluft April 22, 2008
  
• Dropping Bullets From a Plane Is it safe to airdrop ammunition?
  Jacob Leibenluft April 18, 2008
  
• Is It Safe To Eat Pork Brains? Only if you don't inhale.
  James Ledbetter April 17, 2008
  
• Can I Buy Life Insurance on a Stranger? Not unless you have "insurable interest."
  Chris Wilson April 16, 2008
  
• Three Girls for Every Boy Where does the FLDS find all those women?
  Juliet Lapidos April 15, 2008
  
• Why Do the Blind Get a Tax Break? And other questions about the IRS, with answers from our archives.
  Samantha Henig April 14, 2008
  
• What's Wrong With All Those Planes? And why didn't anyone notice at some point in the past 28 years?
  Chris Wilson April 11, 2008
  
• Max Mosley's Nazi S&M Orgy It was distasteful. Was it also pathological?
  Juliet Lapidos April 10, 2008
  
• What's a "Proxy Battle"? Just what was Microsoft threatening to do to Yahoo?
  Alex Joseph April 9, 2008
  
• Do Ousted Campaign Advisers Still Advise? Hillary Clinton can still talk to Mark Penn on the phone, can't she?
  Chris Wilson April 7, 2008
  
• Who Says You Need Eight Glasses a Day? The history of a debunked theory.
  Nina Shen Rastogi April 4, 2008
  
• Do April Showers Bring May Flowers? Not quite.
  Samantha Henig April 3, 2008
  
• Apocalypse No! Is the U.S. government liable for the end of the world?
  Chris Wilson April 2, 2008
  
• Why Are Global Food Prices Soaring? Energy costs, investment in ethanol, bad weather in Australia …
  Juliet Lapidos April 1, 2008
  
• Why Does China Care About Tibet? Plus, when are monks allowed to get violent?
  Nina Shen Rastogi March 28, 2008
  
• Is Sunbathing Good for You? Fact-checking new claims from the Indoor Tanning Association.
  Nina Shen Rastogi March 27, 2008
  
• Airwaves Up for Grabs How much free space is left in the broadcast spectrum?
  Chris Wilson March 26, 2008
  
• Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow Why do suicide bombers shave their bodies?
  Juliet Lapidos March 25, 2008
  
• What's in a Passport File? All the information your bank tells you to keep secret, and more.
  Juliet Lapidos March 24, 2008
  
• Fish Are Jumpin' Why do stingrays and other aquatic creatures leap through the air?
  Michelle Tsai March 21, 2008
  
• Who Took Those Tibet Pictures? Can the Chinese government track them down?
  Michelle Tsai March 20, 2008
  
• The AIDS Conspiracy Handbook Jeremiah Wright's paranoia, in context.
  Juliet Lapidos March 19, 2008
  
• What Is a Mortgage-Backed Security? The financial instrument that destroyed Bear Stearns.
  Chris Wilson March 17, 2008
  
• How Realistic Is 10,000 B.C.? Did woolly mammoths help build the Pyramids?
  Chris Wilson March 17, 2008
  
• Porn vs. Prostitution Why is it legal to pay someone for sex on camera?
  Michelle Tsai March 14, 2008
  
• Help Wanted 
  March 14, 2008
  
• Legally Blind? How bad is David Paterson's vision?
  Alex Joseph March 13, 2008
  
• Deadly Sins 101 Is stem-cell research worse than sloth?
  Samantha Henig March 12, 2008
  
• How To Prosecute Eliot Spitzer Which federal laws might the governor have broken?
  Harlan J. Protass March 11, 2008
  
• How Do You Go Off the Record? Why Samantha Power couldn't take back her monstrous gaffe.
  Michelle Tsai March 10, 2008
  
• What's Taking So Long in Texas? Waiting for the caucus results in the Lone Star State.
  Michelle Tsai March 6, 2008
  
• Prince Hairy? Why didn't the British royal have to cut his hair in the army?
  Chris Wilson March 5, 2008
  
• Can't Touch This Why Italians grab their crotches to ward off bad luck.
  Juliet Lapidos March 4, 2008
  
• What the FARC? A field guide to the leftist militias of Latin America.
  Michelle Tsai March 4, 2008
  
• Can a Man Become a Magnet? Can he erase videocassettes with a touch of his hand?
  Juliet Lapidos Feb. 29, 2008
  
• Why Did William F. Buckley Jr. Talk Like That? The origins of his "preposterously mellifluous" voice.
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 29, 2008
  
• Trial By No Jury? Why the cops who shot Sean Bell aren't getting judged by their peers.
  Chris Wilson Feb. 27, 2008
  
• Airplane Asphyxiation Could drop-down oxygen masks have saved a dying airline passenger?
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 26, 2008
  
• Fix the Flu Shot Why can't they cram all the strains of influenza into a single dose?
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 22, 2008
  
• The $60 Million Missile Why is it so expensive to shoot down a spy satellite?
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 21, 2008
  
• 25,000 Inhabitants, 2,500 Years Ago How do archaeologists estimate the size of ancient populations?
  Juliet Lapidos Feb. 20, 2008
  
• Why Recall Two-Year-Old Ground Beef? Surely we ate it already!
  Chris Wilson Feb. 19, 2008
  
• How To Steal a European Painting Why is art theft so common in Europe?
  Cyrus Farivar Feb. 15, 2008
  
• What Makes Sugar Explode? Why the Georgia refinery didn't just turn to caramel.
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 14, 2008
  
• Guns in Space What's the point of putting weapons in orbit?
  Chris Wilson Feb. 14, 2008
  
• Why Would Clemens Shoot Up With B-12? Maybe to treat his pernicious anemia.
  Juliet Lapidos Feb. 12, 2008
  
• Here Comes the Plott Hound How new breeds make it into the Westminster dog show.
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 11, 2008
  
• Britney Gets a "Conservator"? James Spears' new role in the life of his daughter.
  Juliet Lapidos Feb. 8, 2008
  
• How Much Do Campaign Staffers Make? A lot more than they used to …
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 7, 2008
  
• Testify Before Congress, Meals Not Included Did the government buy Roger Clemens a plane ticket?
  Chris Wilson Feb. 6, 2008
  
• Is Voter Turnout Better Than Ever? Why 30 percent is considered a good showing.
  Michelle Tsai Feb. 5, 2008
  
• Can American Samoans Vote? Can they affect the presidential race?
  Jonathan Rubin Jan. 31, 2008
  
• Who's the Next Mormon President? No, not Mitt Romney …
  Neil J. Young Jan. 30, 2008
  
• Why Is Florida God's Waiting Room? Weather, taxes, marketing …
  Juliet Lapidos Jan. 29, 2008
  
• How Do You Learn a Dead Language? If you can't find a word, just borrow one ...
  Christine Cyr Jan. 28, 2008
  
• Gaza: The Basics Some history and background on the Gaza Strip.
  Nina Shen Rastogi Jan. 25, 2008
  
• Did Heath Ledger Dream Before He Died? What happens when you overdose on sleeping pills.
  Michelle Tsai Jan. 24, 2008
  
• My Boyfriend Is Really Annoying Can I file a restraining order?
  Juliet Lapidos Jan. 23, 2008
  
• Will the Interest Rate Cut Affect Me? Average consumers might notice it, if they have a lot of debt.
  Michelle Tsai Jan. 22, 2008
  
• Do Pilots Practice Crash Landings? And other questions about the accident on British Airways.
  Michelle Tsai Jan. 18, 2008
  
• But I Don't Want a Rectal Exam! Can a doctor force you to undergo a procedure against your will?
  Michelle Tsai Jan. 16, 2008
  
• What Makes Toxicology So Slow? Why it took two months to investigate the death of Kanye West's mother.
  Juliet Lapidos Jan. 15, 2008
  
• Witness Immunity 101 How to incriminate yourself on the stand without getting in trouble.
  Harlan J. Protass Jan. 14, 2008
  
• Why the Mafia Loves Garbage Hauling trash and organized crime.
  Michelle Tsai Jan. 11, 2008
  
• Dividing Up Delegates Why did Obama get as many as Clinton in New Hampshire, when he finished in second place?
  Michelle Tsai Jan. 10, 2008
  
• One Tiger, Two Tigers, 1,500 Tigers … How they count tigers in the wild.
  Juliet Lapidos Jan. 8, 2008
  
• How To Survive a 47-Story Fall Make sure you land on your feet.
  Melinda Wenner Jan. 7, 2008
  
• Should We Throw Hazardous Waste Into Volcanoes? An answer to the Explainer's 2007 Question of the Year.
  Daniel Engber Jan. 4, 2008
  
• Is $100 Oil a Big Deal? Why would it be so much worse than $99?
  Michelle Tsai Jan. 3, 2008