Department Index
Explainer 2006:
Answers to your questions about the news.
If you'd like to sort this department listing by headline, author or date, please use the Slate search.
- Do Boxers Drink Raw Eggs? Why Rocky Balboa should change his regimen.
Dec. 29, 2006 - Pneumonia vs. the Elderly Why are they so susceptible to it?
Dec. 28, 2006 - Am I the Buddha? How to tell if you're the reincarnation of Siddhartha.
Dec. 27, 2006 - Hands Off My Kidney! Who owns a donated organ?
Dec. 26, 2006 - How To Be a Shopping-Mall Santa First, grow a beard.
Dec. 22, 2006 - How to Cure a Sex Addict What kind of counseling did Bill Clinton get?
Dec. 22, 2006 - Am I Not a Woman? How to perform a gender test.
Dec. 20, 2006 - The Unanswered Questions Digging through the bottom of the Explainer mailbag.
Dec. 20, 2006 - Circumcise This! How to remove a full-grown foreskin.
Dec. 15, 2006 - How Do I Get Experimental Drugs? You don't need your doctor's permission.
Dec. 14, 2006 - Capitol Hooky Do members of Congress have to show up for work?
Dec. 13, 2006 - Augusto Pino-qué? How to pronounce the Chilean dictator's name.
Dec. 12, 2006 - Don't Drink the Mars Water Is extraterrestrial water potable?
Dec. 8, 2006 - How To Draw an Extinct Animal Work from the inside out.
Dec. 6, 2006 - Radiation-Pattern Baldness How come that Russian spy still had eyebrows?
Dec. 5, 2006 - Loose Stools Sink Ships Why do so many cruise ship passengers get diarrhea?
Dec. 4, 2006 - Who Wants To Be an American? How often do they change the nation's citizenship quiz?
Dec. 1, 2006 - What's in a Presidential Motorcade? A couple of limos, an ambulance, a counterassault team …
Nov. 29, 2006 - What's an Acid Bomb? Can I get one at Wal-Mart?
Nov. 29, 2006 - Is Radiation Contagious? Can I catch a case of polonium-210?
Nov. 27, 2006 - How Do Airlines Set Their Ticket Prices? They keep going up and down!
Nov. 22, 2006 - How Do Tasers Work? Heavy on the volts, light on the amps.
Nov. 22, 2006 - How To Run for President Before the campaign trail, the paper trail.
Nov. 20, 2006 - Help Wanted: Senate Secretary How many jobs do the Democrats get to assign?
Nov. 17, 2006 - Does James Bond Have a License To Kill? The rules and regulations of British intelligence, explained.
Nov. 16, 2006 - Could O.J. Go to Court Again? If he did it, here's what might happen.
Nov. 15, 2006 - Humanderthals! We mated with Neanderthals. Can we breed with other animals, too?
Nov. 14, 2006 - What the Heck Is a Gyroball? A Japanese baseball pitch comes to America.
Nov. 10, 2006 - Mommy, What's an Evangelical? There could be more than 100 million of them in America.
Nov. 10, 2006 - What Happens Next in Montana and Virginia? The legal issues behind the potential recounts.
Nov. 8, 2006 - How Do Hangings Work? Saddam's visit to the gallows, explained.
Nov. 7, 2006 - Can I Vote Without Going Outside? How to set up a polling place at home.
Nov. 6, 2006 - What Are Those Foil Wrappers at the Marathon? How to stay warm when you can't stop sweating.
Nov. 6, 2006 - Did He Start the Fire? How arson investigations work.
Nov. 3, 2006 - Saturday-Night Democrats Are weekend polling numbers really skewed?
Nov. 2, 2006 - How Gasoline Becomes CO2 A gallon turns into 19 pounds?
Nov. 2, 2006 - Why Can't U.S. Soldiers Marry Iraqis? The elusive rule against fraternizing with the locals.
Oct. 31, 2006 - Is Joe Lieberman Still a Democrat? What will happen to the Senate if he gets re-elected.
Oct. 27, 2006 - How Do Parkinson's Meds Work? It's all about the dopamine.
Oct. 26, 2006 - Is Vegemite Banned in the United States? And what's in it, anyway?
Oct. 25, 2006 - Borat Tricked Me! Can't I sue him or something?
Oct. 24, 2006 - How To Throw the Goopball The physics of baseball's most popular illegal pitches.
Oct. 23, 2006 - I Punched a Hole in My Picasso! Now what do I do?
Oct. 19, 2006 - Take My Money, Please! Do businesses have to accept cash?
Oct. 18, 2006 - What Are the Protests Like at Gallaudet? Chants and cheers in American Sign Language.
Oct. 17, 2006 - The 300 Millionth American How do we find him?
Oct. 16, 2006 - Iraqi Death Count: 650,000? How to read the latest study on mortality in Iraq.
Oct. 13, 2006 - Madonna and Child, African Edition How do you adopt a child in the developing world?
Oct. 11, 2006 - Can Japan Get Nukes, Too? What a pacifist constitution really means.
Oct. 10, 2006 - Kim Jong-il Says the Darnedest Things The extra-large propaganda machine of the DPRK.
Oct. 9, 2006 - Put Me on the Air! Jane Pratt has a satellite radio show. Can I get one, too?
Oct. 6, 2006 - How Do Planes Avoid Colliding? There's a little box that yells "Traffic! Traffic!"
Oct. 4, 2006 - Can the Amish Ride in Helicopters? Medical evacuation among the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Oct. 3, 2006 - The Case of the Inside-Out Baby What happens when organs fall out of a fetus?
Sept. 28, 2006 - Pin the Tail on the Dolphin How to attach a prosthetic flipper.
Sept. 26, 2006 - What's a Double-Layer Fence? The latest trend in border protection.
Sept. 25, 2006 - The Smell of Hell Does Satan reek of rotten eggs?
Sept. 22, 2006 - Little Lucy's Debut Why'd it take so long?
Sept. 21, 2006 - Victual Ablutions Should we bother washing our fruits and veggies?
Sept. 19, 2006 - Is the Pope Infallible? Only when he says he is.
Sept. 18, 2006 - How Do You Fire an Autoworker? Ford's elaborate scheme for disemployment.
Sept. 15, 2006 - The Tears of a Panda What happens when a zoo animal gets depressed?
Sept. 14, 2006 - God Is Still Great! How often do Muslims praise Allah?
Sept. 12, 2006 - The Business of Blood Does the Red Cross sell your frozen plasma?
Sept. 11, 2006 - Why Is Chicago So Corrupt? And how do you measure corruption, anyway?
Sept. 8, 2006 - Shove It Up Your Ass! How many cell phones can fit in one rear end?
Sept. 8, 2006 - 101 101 How did intro classes get their trademark number?
Sept. 6, 2006 - How Deadly Are Stingrays? The numbers behind the Crocodile Hunter's death.
Sept. 5, 2006 - The Senate's Darkest Secret The cloak-and-dagger history of legislative holds.
Sept. 1, 2006 - I Converted at Gunpoint Am I really a Muslim?
Aug. 31, 2006 - 116, Huh? I'll Need To See Some ID How they know the world's oldest woman is the world's oldest woman.
Aug. 29, 2006 - Nap Time for Pilots! How much does a flight crew get?
Aug. 28, 2006 - Can My Sub Carry Nukes? It depends on the tubes.
Aug. 25, 2006 - How To Start a Political Party If Joe Lieberman can do it, I can do it.
Aug. 24, 2006 - Does Poison Gas Smell Good? The blister agents have a fine bouquet.
Aug. 22, 2006 - Real Snakes, Real Planes What you need to know before your reptile flies the friendly skies.
Aug. 21, 2006 - The Secrets Police Keep How cops decide which details of a crime to make public.
Aug. 17, 2006 - Why Make a False Confession? Could John Mark Karr have lied about killing JonBenet Ramsey?
Aug. 17, 2006 - Can Criminals Hide in Church? On the tradition of religious sanctuary.
Aug. 16, 2006 - Who Unlocked My Trailer? FEMA gave us all the same key.
Aug. 15, 2006 - Twenty-Six Hours in Surgery? How long operations work.
Aug. 14, 2006 - Israeli Soldiers, Fashion Victims Why are they wearing chef's hats?
Aug. 11, 2006 - Can You Drink Explosives? What happens when you down a Molotov cocktail?
Aug. 10, 2006 - How To Fly a Drone Just pretend like you're playing PlayStation.
Aug. 9, 2006 - My Pipeline's Corroded But I thought oil prevented rust.
Aug. 8, 2006 - Baby, You Can Crash My Car How automotive safety tests work.
Aug. 7, 2006 - How Does Heat Kill You? Your whole body stops working.
Aug. 4, 2006 - How To Boycott Mel Gibson Can I still rent Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome?
Aug. 3, 2006 - Is the President Shrinking? Bush is a quarter-inch shorter this year!
Aug. 2, 2006 - CSI: BitTorrent How'd they know I downloaded Meet the Fockers?
Aug. 1, 2006 - How Drunk Was Mel Gibson? At least a couple of sheets to the wind.
July 31, 2006 - Bless This Boggy Book How do bogs keep things fresh?
July 28, 2006 - I'm Burning Up How much will my ashes weigh?
July 26, 2006 - Where's My Blue Helmet? How to become a U.N. peacekeeper.
July 25, 2006 - I Want a Butt Double How much will I have to pay?
July 24, 2006 - How To Aim a Rocket Plus, what's the difference between rockets and missiles?
July 21, 2006 - Are Snowflakes Really Different? Some ice crystals look exactly the same.
July 20, 2006 - I'm Covered in Leaflets! The secrets of airborne propaganda distribution.
July 18, 2006 - Black Smoke Over Beirut Why isn't it white?
July 17, 2006 - Where Does Israel Get Oil? If you're selling, they're buying.
July 14, 2006 - Three Pills? I Only Want One! How they crammed three AIDS drugs into one tablet.
July 13, 2006 - Mumbai? What About Bombay? How the city got renamed.
July 12, 2006 - How Much of Me Is Burned? Thirty percent? Forty?
July 11, 2006 - How To Head Butt Like a Pro Does Zinedine Zidane know how to use his head?
July 10, 2006 - Who Are Those World Cup Kids? Plus, why do the players exchange jerseys after every game?
July 7, 2006 - Can't the Feds Get Lay's Money? How a heart attack saved Enron's founder $43.5 million.
July 6, 2006 - Did Stress Kill Ken Lay? Plus, what's a "massive heart attack," anyway?
July 5, 2006 - Abu, Ibn, and Bin, Oh My! Arabic nomenclature, Part 2.
July 3, 2006 - How To Plan a Fireworks Show Those big fireworks displays don't choreograph themselves.
June 30, 2006 - Do Penis Pumps Work? Well, they can help you get an erection.
June 29, 2006 - What's Up With "Al-"? The ubiquitous Arabic word, explained.
June 28, 2006 - Sensitivity Training 101 Where baseball managers learn how to behave.
June 27, 2006 - What's That Magic Spray? The World Cup's special injury potion, revealed.
June 22, 2006 - Can Tom Cruise Rent Tokyo? Sure, if he fills out the right forms.
June 21, 2006 - How Do You Kill a Whale? First, blow up its brain.
June 19, 2006 - We Asked 1,002 Adults What They Think of President Bush … Why didn't we stop at 1,000?
June 16, 2006 - Does the World Cup Have a Lingua Franca? How to curse out a referee from another country.
June 15, 2006 - Stay Out of That Balloon! The dangers of helium inhalation.
June 13, 2006 - Are Muslims Allowed To Kill Themselves? Only if they have a really good reason.
June 12, 2006 - Why Ronaldinho Has No Last Name How Brazilian soccer players get their names.
June 10, 2006 - How Heavy Is a 500-Pound Bomb? Six hundred and six pounds.
June 9, 2006 - Why Is HGH So Hard To Detect? Doesn't it come out in your pee?
June 8, 2006 - How To Succeed as a Ghostwriter Will anyone ever know your name?
June 7, 2006 - How Hard Is Hard Labor? Do military troublemakers have to break rocks?
June 6, 2006 - Can I Interest You in a Light-Water Reactor? The weapons inspector's best friend.
June 2, 2006 - Does the Explainer Have Billion-Dollar Legs? Body-part insurance: a primer.
June 1, 2006 - What's With All This Pollen? Why some days are more allergenic than others.
May 31, 2006 - Why Can't I Use My Third Arm? My extra thumb works just fine.
May 30, 2006 - The FBI Knocked Over My Barn … Can I get reimbursed?
May 26, 2006 - What's a Mock Dogfight? Real fighter jets, fake fighting.
May 25, 2006 - Where Do Animated Characters Come From? How they made the critters in Over the Hedge.
May 23, 2006 - Why a Broken Leg Is Bad News for a Horse Can't we all just sign Barbaro's cast?
May 22, 2006 - How Do You "Jam" a Phone? Dial until your fingers get tired.
May 18, 2006 - Why Are Russian Verdicts So Long? They can take two weeks to read.
May 16, 2006 - How the NSA Does "Social Network Analysis" It's like the Kevin Bacon game.
May 15, 2006 - Is Rapid-Hardening Concrete Dangerous? If you get stuck, just add sugar.
May 11, 2006 - Where Do Hecklers Come From? The origins of booing.
May 10, 2006 - Do Concerts Sell Out in 10 Minutes? Is Bruce Springsteen really that popular?
May 9, 2006 - How Big Is a "10-Alarm Fire"? And how does that system work, anyway?
May 4, 2006 - Lethal Injections 101 A history of the deadly cocktail.
May 3, 2006 - Where's My Police Escort? How to rent a cop.
May 2, 2006 - Power to the Pumpers Do gas boycotts really work?
May 1, 2006 - We Arrested 9,000 Fugitives Last Week Why can't we arrest 9,000 more next week?
April 28, 2006 - The Prosecutor Is Out To Get Me! Does he have to tell me I'm a target?
April 27, 2006 - You Can't Fire Me—I'm Still Trying To Quit! Why does it take so long to retire from the CIA?
April 25, 2006 - When Will That Volcano Stop Erupting? It could be thousands of years.
April 24, 2006 - Can Karl Rove Plot Campaign Strategy on the Government's Dime? The Hatch Act and its limitations.
April 21, 2006 - Are the Duke Lacrosse Photos Legit? Can the time stamp on a digital photo be altered?
April 20, 2006 - The Ferrari That Split in Half How do we know it was going 162 mph when it crashed?
April 18, 2006 - Why Iran Needs So Many Centrifuges Fifty-four thousand seems like a lot.
April 17, 2006 - Rumsfeld and the Retired Generals Six generals have spoken out against him. Is that a lot?
April 14, 2006 - Who Deposits Your Tax Check? First, it goes to a lockbox.
April 13, 2006 - I Cheated on My Taxes Am I going to prison?
April 11, 2006 - What Makes Nuts So Crazy? From "sweet as a nut" to "nutty as a fruitcake."
April 10, 2006 - Should I Sell Grandma's Locket? Gold prices are really high right now …
April 7, 2006 - What's an Earmark? No one knows for sure.
April 6, 2006 - Capitol Police vs. Fashion Police Do congressmen wear their official pins?
April 4, 2006 - How Dangerous Is Hail? Can a grapefruit-sized ice ball kill you?
April 3, 2006 - I've Got a Tapeworm in Me Am I hungry?
March 31, 2006 - Why Do They Club Seals? Can't they just shoot them?
March 30, 2006 - How Do I Get Rid of All This Cocaine? The secrets of drug disposal.
March 29, 2006 - How Did Airbus Ace Its Airplane Evacuation Test? There were only 33 injuries.
March 28, 2006 - Should I Sue Bush or Rumsfeld? How lawsuits get their names.
March 28, 2006 - What's a World Passport? It works in Tanzania but not in America.
March 24, 2006 - Why Do Giant Tortoises Live So Long? They're big, they've got armor, and they live on an island.
March 23, 2006 - What's a Duck Sentinel? A 21st-century canary in a coal mine.
March 21, 2006 - Cyclone Larry vs. the Atomic Bomb Which one is more destructive?
March 21, 2006 - Can I Tamper With My Witness? What if the judge didn't tell me not to?
March 17, 2006 - Thou Shalt Eat Corned Beef on Friday Who sets the rules on Lent?
March 15, 2006 - My Eyeball Just Fell Out of Its Socket What should I do?
March 13, 2006 - Why Do We Think Aliens Are Made of Water? If it's good enough for us, it's good enough for them.
March 11, 2006 - Can I Make Them Score My SAT by Hand? Why demanding a rescore may not be worth the money.
March 9, 2006 - Why Are Swans Dropping Like Flies? Avian influenza fells the big birds first.
March 8, 2006 - Do All Presidential Briefings Get Videotaped? Cameras, conferences, and Clinton's coffees.
March 6, 2006 - How United Are the United Arab Emirates? Why some emirates are more important than others.
March 3, 2006 - How Can Sunnis and Shiites Tell Each Other Apart? Some people just have a Sunni name.
Feb. 28, 2006 - Mind Your P's and F's How Pilipinos became Filipinos in the Philippines.
Feb. 27, 2006 - Why Are Smaller Microchips Cheaper? You can pack more of them onto your wafer.
Feb. 23, 2006 - I'm Running a Port—What Do I Do? How a port operator operates.
Feb. 22, 2006 - What Does a Chinese Keyboard Look Like? How they type in the PRC.
Feb. 22, 2006 - Israel Sends $50 Million a Month to the Palestinians? How to collect taxes for your neighbor.
Feb. 17, 2006 - Why Do Athletes Bite Their Medals? Can you put tooth marks in your gold?
Feb. 16, 2006 - How Does a Shotgun Pellet Migrate? Plus, can birdshot give you lead poisoning?
Feb. 15, 2006 - The Shape of My Heart Where did the ubiquitous Valentine's symbol come from?
Feb. 14, 2006 - Does Dick Cheney Know How To Hunt? What the veep needs to learn about shooting quail.
Feb. 13, 2006 - This is George Bush. Is Anders Rasmussen Available? How world leaders make phone calls.
Feb. 10, 2006 - Balls in the Air Where does the expression "balls to the wall" come from?
Feb. 10, 2006 - Where Do Muslim Protesters Get Their Danish Flags? They can't all be from the PLO Flag Shop.
Feb. 9, 2006 - When Congress Makes You Swear Why didn't Alberto Gonzales have to take an oath at the NSA hearings?
Feb. 8, 2006 - Graven Images 101 Does Islam really prohibit images of religious figures?
Feb. 8, 2006 - Did You Order the Red Notice? A guide to Interpol's color-coded warnings.
Feb. 6, 2006 - Does OSHA Keep Tabs on the NFL? The football field seems like an unsafe work environment.
Feb. 3, 2006 - What's With the Iranian Students News Agency? Iran must have a really good J-school.
Feb. 2, 2006 - Who's Going To Pay for Bob Woodruff's Medical Care? Do military hospitals take insurance?
Jan. 31, 2006 - Can Soldiers Buy Extra Gear? If it's boots, yes. Grenades, no.
Jan. 30, 2006 - Where Do Zoo Animals Go When They Die? To the lab, the museum, and the education department.
Jan. 27, 2006 - "India? ... Italy? ... No, Wait—Don't Tell Me ... Iceland?" When one government doesn't recognize another.
Jan. 26, 2006 - What Happens When TV Networks Merge? The battle of the network affiliates.
Jan. 25, 2006 - How Much for That Kidney Stone? Can patients keep their excised parts?
Jan. 24, 2006 - Can Someone Else Pay Your Taxes? Sure, but only if you pay taxes on the taxes.
Jan. 23, 2006 - What's With All the Blind Clerics? Vision and the Muslim world.
Jan. 21, 2006 - Tissue Rejection 101 Why the first face transplant might not stick.
Jan. 19, 2006 - What's Benjamin Franklin's Birthday? Why it's 11 days later than it used to be.
Jan. 18, 2006 - Were the Missile Strikes in Pakistan Illegal? The laws of war, explained.
Jan. 17, 2006 - Al-Qaida's Red Tape Do you have to fill out a form to be a terrorist?
Jan. 13, 2006 - The Amphibian Pregnancy Test How does a frog know you're knocked up?
Jan. 12, 2006 - SWAT Did You Say? Police tactical units and how they work.
Jan. 11, 2006 - "Surviving Miner Develops Slight Fever" How much detail can doctors give the press?
Jan. 9, 2006 - Lightning Detection 101 How do they know if a bolt struck the mine in West Virginia?
Jan. 6, 2006 - Where Are the USC Championship T-Shirts? They might be going to Haiti.
Jan. 5, 2006 - When Can a Government Employee Blow the Whistle? Are the wiretap leakers breaking the law?
Jan. 4, 2006 - What Do You Do If You're Trapped in a Mine? First, try your self-contained self-rescuer.
Jan. 3, 2006
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