Department Index
Explainer 2007:
Answers to your questions about the news.
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- Midnight's Babies Can you have the first newborn of the year on purpose?
Dec. 31, 2007 - Can Planes Get in Midair Traffic Jams? Why can't they just fly around one another?
Dec. 26, 2007 - Can a Virgin Give Birth? Yes—but it's very, very, very, very unlikely.
Dec. 21, 2007 - Take the Money and Run? Can presidential candidates receive a salary?
Dec. 20, 2007 - The Questions We Never Answered in 2007 Digging through the bottom of the Explainer mailbag.
Dec. 19, 2007 - Manhunt 101 How to catch a fugitive.
Dec. 18, 2007 - 9/11, 3/11, 12/11 What's with all the terrorist attacks on the 11th?
Dec. 17, 2007 - James Watson's 16 Percent What does it mean to say that he's one-sixth African?
Dec. 14, 2007 - Did Huckabee Study Mormons in School? What a Southern Baptist pastor learns in seminary.
Dec. 13, 2007 - Can Michael Vick Play Football in Prison? Only if he's lucky.
Dec. 11, 2007 - Band-Aids for Oil Tankers How do you plug a hole in the side of a ship?
Dec. 10, 2007 - Castration Anxiety Can a sex offender still have sex after surgery?
Dec. 6, 2007 - What's an Anti-Suicide Smock? It's noose-proof.
Dec. 5, 2007 - What Do the Cops Have on Me? What turns up when a police officer punches your name into the computer.
Dec. 4, 2007 - When Can Muslims Use the Name Mohammed? Plus, why don't English speakers name their children Jesus?
Dec. 3, 2007 - How To Prove Your Spouse Is Dead Will the courts declare Steve Fossett a goner?
Nov. 29, 2007 - Get On the Campaign Bus How reporters book their seats.
Nov. 28, 2007 - Un-Cheney Heart Isn't it time for the vice president to get a heart transplant?
Nov. 27, 2007 - Negotiating on the Night Shift Why are labor contracts worked out on nights and weekends?
Nov. 27, 2007 - Wherefore Turkey? How poultry made its way onto the holiday menu.
Nov. 21, 2007 - How To Clean a Bloody Knife Does DNA come off with soap and water?
Nov. 20, 2007 - Can Steroids Enlarge Your Head? What a change in hat size might mean for Barry Bonds.
Nov. 19, 2007 - Keeping Track of Genital Herpes Why are the Centers for Disease Control ignoring such a common STD?
Nov. 16, 2007 - How Do You Clean an Oiled Bird? Dish soap—lots of dish soap.
Nov. 14, 2007 - How Barack Obama Broke the Law Do you really need to put your hand on your heart during the national anthem?
Nov. 13, 2007 - Why Is Cloning Humans So Hard? Are we really that different from sheep or cows or pigs?
Nov. 13, 2007 - Packing Heat in Helsinki Why do Finns own so many guns?
Nov. 8, 2007 - Hitman, Naked Lady Does anyone sign off on racy movie posters?
Nov. 6, 2007 - Lawyers Against Musharraf Why are attorneys taking to the streets in Pakistan?
Nov. 5, 2007 - Why Is Iran Importing Gasoline? Other oil-rich nations don't have to.
Nov. 2, 2007 - 40,000 Years in Spanish Prison? The Madrid bomber sentences, explained.
Nov. 1, 2007 - Checking on Sweatshops How does the Gap know if its clothes are made by child laborers?
Oct. 31, 2007 - Dress as the Explainer for Halloween! There's nothing we can do to stop you.
Oct. 30, 2007 - The 500-Meter Wheeze Will air pollution affect the athletes at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
Oct. 25, 2007 - Who Owns the Arctic? It depends on the shape of the ocean floor.
Oct. 24, 2007 - Is Stephen Colbert Breaking the Law? How Colbert '08 could run afoul of the FEC.
Oct. 23, 2007 - How To Fight Monkeys What should you do if you're surrounded by angry macaques?
Oct. 22, 2007 - How Tall Is Mont Blanc? Together, we can measure mountains.
Oct. 19, 2007 - Why Is Moonshine Against the Law? You can make your own wine and beer, can't you?
Oct. 18, 2007 - Giant Dinosaurs in Argentina Why are the biggest fossils found in Patagonia?
Oct. 17, 2007 - What's in the Vatican Secret Archives? A whole lot of bulls.
Oct. 16, 2007 - Three Bullets to the Head? How a gunman in Wisconsin managed to shoot himself over and over again.
Oct. 11, 2007 - Pamela Anderson's Cake Job Where do you get an artificial wedding cake?
Oct. 10, 2007 - My Officemate Is Crazy! Can I send him to an insane asylum?
Oct. 9, 2007 - Flaxseed or Steroids? Why did Marion Jones and Barry Bonds think they were taking flaxseed oil?
Oct. 8, 2007 - A Sex Toy a Day Keeps the Doctor Away? The medical uses of dildos and vibrators.
Oct. 4, 2007 - Venomous Snakes for Sale Who's allowed to sell a deadly animal, and why would you ever buy one?
Oct. 3, 2007 - Strangled by Handcuffs? Carol Gotbaum, and the dangers of contortionism.
Oct. 1, 2007 - What's Wrong With British Cattle? Why do they get so many diseases?
Sept. 28, 2007 - Who Cares About the Weak Dollar? What currency devaluation means for the average Joe.
Sept. 25, 2007 - How Many Burmese Monks Are There? At least 10,000 of them demonstrated over the weekend …
Sept. 24, 2007 - Should Kids See Their Parents Naked? The supposed dangers of familial nudity.
Sept. 21, 2007 - Lunar Parking Permits Do you need special permission to land something on the moon?
Sept. 20, 2007 - O.J.'s Vegas Defense Can you legally steal your own property?
Sept. 19, 2007 - Scent of a Dead Woman Can you trust a cadaver dog if there's no cadaver?
Sept. 18, 2007 - Is O.J. Memorabilia Still Valuable? It's not what it used to be.
Sept. 17, 2007 - How To Make More Babies What can governments do to make fertility rates go up?
Sept. 13, 2007 - How Hot Is Iraq? Why does everyone think it's 130 degrees?
Sept. 12, 2007 - Tomb of the Unknown Aircraft What's up with all the uncharted plane wrecks we're finding around the Sierra Nevada?
Sept. 11, 2007 - Muslim Beards 101 Are Muslims allowed to dye their facial hair?
Sept. 10, 2007 - Do We Need the Original Lucy Fossil? There are casts of it all over the world ...
Sept. 7, 2007 - Was Pavarotti Still a Good Singer? At what age does a tenor reach his peak?
Sept. 6, 2007 - How Does a Plane Disappear? Was Steve Fossett's plane being tracked by radar?
Sept. 5, 2007 - Stall Tactics Why is Larry Craig waiting until the end of the month to leave the Senate?
Sept. 4, 2007 - The $12 Million Maltese Can Leona Helmsley's heirs contest her will?
Aug. 30, 2007 - Bathroom Sex FAQ Cruising signals, legal issues, and Larry Craig's "wide stance."
Aug. 29, 2007 - Are Ancient Ruins Flammable? What happens when there's a wildfire in Greece.
Aug. 27, 2007 - Could Michael Vick Play Next Season? How to skim the top off a federal prison sentence.
Aug. 24, 2007 - Are Reality-TV Actors Professional? Do the contestants on a show like Survivor count as working actors?
Aug. 23, 2007 - Sir, Can I Publish This, Sir! Do soldiers have free speech rights?
Aug. 22, 2007 - Torture Shrinks What does a psychologist do at a detainee interrogation?
Aug. 21, 2007 - Why Don't Miners Carry GPS? Isn't there some way of tracking people underground?
Aug. 21, 2007 - How Do You Inject Money Into the Economy? With an auction.
Aug. 16, 2007 - Why Do They Put Lead Paint in Toys? It's bright, cheap, and lasts forever.
Aug. 15, 2007 - When Do Kids Get Tried as Adults? How to pull a child out of the juvenile justice system.
Aug. 14, 2007 - Get Your Foam On How hard is it to keep insulation from falling off the space shuttle?
Aug. 13, 2007 - Why Isn't Brooklyn Tornado Alley? Twister geography, explained.
Aug. 9, 2007 - I Haven't Been Working on the Railroad What's with all the European rail strikes?
Aug. 8, 2007 - How Do They Measure SPF? With a solar simulator.
Aug. 7, 2007 - How To Stay 30 Feet Away From Kids Become a hermit or face jail.
Aug. 6, 2007 - How Do You Escape From a Sinking Car? Drive a Corolla.
Aug. 3, 2007 - Is This Bridge Structurally Sound? How to know if a bridge is about to fall down.
Aug. 2, 2007 - Can You Survive in Space Without a Spacesuit? The sci-fi movie Sunshine gets it almost right.
Aug. 1, 2007 - News Chopper Down Who's responsible for the deaths of the journalists covering that car chase in Phoenix?
July 30, 2007 - Go Home, Tom Cruise! Why does Germany hate Scientologists?
July 27, 2007 - What If I'm Kidnapped by Terrorists? A how-to guide for hostages overseas.
July 25, 2007 - Blown Rehab Can Lindsay Lohan get a refund because of her relapse?
July 24, 2007 - Tammy Faye Messner, Gay Icon What does she have in common with Miss Piggy, Princess Di, and Madonna?
July 23, 2007 - Michael Vick's "Rape Stand" And other equipment used in dogfights.
July 20, 2007 - How Much Asbestos Is Too Much? Lots of fibers, for years and years.
July 19, 2007 - Is Celebrity "Exhaustion" for Real? The medicine behind the fatigue.
July 18, 2007 - Nicole Richie Can Get Pregnant? How underweight mommies make it happen.
July 17, 2007 - Insurance for Sex Abuse A policy tailor-made for the Catholic Church.
July 16, 2007 - Should You Trust a "Gut Feeling"? The limits of gastrointestinal knowledge.
July 13, 2007 - I Was Gored by a Bull Is my life in danger?
July 12, 2007 - Do Kids Need a Summer Vacation? Why our schoolchildren get to take three months off.
July 11, 2007 - Reporting on Yourself How does the Wall Street Journal cover stories about the Wall Street Journal?
July 10, 2007 - Yes, a Prius Goes 100 MPH What's the top speed on a hybrid car?
July 6, 2007 - Can Scooter Get a Refund? A presidential pardon might not save Libby his $250,000 fine.
July 5, 2007 - Can Bartenders Tell if You're Underage? Not if you're a girl.
July 3, 2007 - Dribbling to America How does the NBA help foreign rookies adjust to life in the United States?
July 2, 2007 - What Do Ministers of Culture Do? Give away money, win Grammy awards, etc.
June 29, 2007 - Cut the Line, Do the Time? The legal ramifications of queue-jumping.
June 29, 2007 - Pissed Off and Buffed Up How long does 'roid rage last?
June 28, 2007 - Will My Plastic Bag Still Be Here in 2507? How scientists figure out how long it takes your trash to decompose.
June 27, 2007 - Can I Be an Expert Witness? Sure, if you have special knowledge.
June 26, 2007 - The Mobile-Phone Primary Are cell-phone users screwing up Ron Paul's poll numbers?
June 25, 2007 - Where'd Apple Get Its Juice? How they made the iPhone battery last longer.
June 22, 2007 - "Pistols, Guns, and Knives are Comin' " The sordid history of the campaign song.
June 21, 2007 - Is That Doll Gonna Kill Me? The ins and outs of toy safety testing.
June 20, 2007 - Where Do Hollywood Babies Come From? How infant stars are born.
June 18, 2007 - With Friends Like These ... ... who needs the Taliban?
June 15, 2007 - Hard Line on Immigrants How long is the queue for green cards?
June 14, 2007 - Top-Ranked Shrines How do they choose the holiest sites in Islam?
June 13, 2007 - Does a Racehorse Pee Like a Racehorse? Breaking the seal at the Belmont Stakes.
June 8, 2007 - Whence the !@#$? How a dirty word gets that way.
June 7, 2007 - What Does the Swiss Guard Actually Do? Don't let the ostrich feathers fool you.
June 6, 2007 - Did Pirates Really Say "Arrrr"? The origin of Hollywood's high-seas slang.
June 5, 2007 - Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli Why do mafia hit men drop their guns at the scene of a crime?
June 4, 2007 - Get In That Bubble, Boy! When can the government quarantine its citizens?
June 1, 2007 - Why So Many Suicides in Japan? It's the economy, stupid. And the health-care system. And the religious beliefs. And the …
May 31, 2007 - Bees Overseas How do spelling contests work in other countries?
May 29, 2007 - How Much for All That Heroin? The art and science of the DEA's drug valuations.
May 24, 2007 - How Do You Test Body Armor? Guns. Lots of guns.
May 23, 2007 - Sunken Treasure, Mint Condition When do coins from a shipwreck get corroded?
May 22, 2007 - Vote of No Consequence Does it matter if the Senate has confidence in Alberto Gonzales?
May 21, 2007 - 18 Years in Prison? Priceless. How do they figure the payouts for people who were wrongly convicted?
May 18, 2007 - Should I Invest in "Forever" Stamps? Absolutely not.
May 17, 2007 - You U How do you start your own university?
May 16, 2007 - Kangaroo Kontraception How to prevent unwanted joeys.
May 15, 2007 - How Sweet It Is? Measuring the intensity of sugar substitutes.
May 14, 2007 - TV Guide: Gaza Edition What are Palestinians watching?
May 10, 2007 - Mobile Pope Is Benedict's trip to Brazil really a pilgrimage?
May 9, 2007 - All-Star Legal Aid Why did the judge assign a high-powered lawyer to defend the D.C. madam?
May 8, 2007 - What's a Socklike Projectile? Hosiery from the barrel of a gun.
May 7, 2007 - Who Censors Don Imus? The dump-button guy, of course!
May 4, 2007 - Erotic Services 101 When is a massage more than a massage?
May 3, 2007 - Drawl on Demand Does Hillary Clinton really speak with two accents?
May 1, 2007 - Can the Army Go Broke? What happens when a war spending bill gets vetoed.
April 30, 2007 - Are "Political Futures" Illegal? The rules for gambling on political elections.
April 27, 2007 - What's an "Earthlike" Planet? Small, rocky, and not too cold.
April 25, 2007 - The End of Limbo What happens to all the babies who used to be there?
April 23, 2007 - Fight or Flight at Virginia Tech What should you do when confronted with a gun-wielding madman?
April 20, 2007 - Cho Seung-Hui or Seung-Hui Cho? How the media chose a name for the Virginia Tech gunman.
April 19, 2007 - The $400 Haircut Did John Edwards get his money's worth?
April 18, 2007 - Thirty-Two Victims, Two Guns? How did Cho Seung-Hui kill so many people with such small weapons?
April 17, 2007 - What Can Campus Cops Do? How much power do they really have?
April 16, 2007 - Check-Offs for Charity How does a special fund get its spot on your state income-tax form?
April 12, 2007 - Pullout Method How fast can Don Imus' sponsors get away?
April 11, 2007 - SATs for Soldiers How hard is the aptitude test for U.S. military recruits?
April 10, 2007 - Abandon Ship! Very Slowly! Why does it take hours to evacuate a sinking vessel?
April 9, 2007 - Should I Snort My Dad? The dangers of inhaling a cremated parent.
April 6, 2007 - Are iTunes' Premium Downloads Worth It? Do compressed music files sound any different at 256 kbps?
April 5, 2007 - I Want To Be Wanted How to get on the FBI's list of top fugitives.
April 3, 2007 - Un-American Pet Food Why do we put Chinese wheat gluten in Fido's kibble?
April 2, 2007 - Women in Black Why doesn't baseball have more female umpires?
March 30, 2007 - Why Would You Skin a Kangaroo? To make kangaroo sneakers.
March 28, 2007 - Flowercasting How do horticulturists know when the cherry blossoms will bloom?
March 27, 2007 - Bar-B-You What's the smell of burning human flesh?
March 26, 2007 - Do Female Soldiers Get Any Privacy? How the army separates its men and women.
March 22, 2007 - Can You Hear Without Ears? Can you smell without a nose?
March 21, 2007 - What Would Jesus Smoke? The Christian doctrine on bong hits.
March 20, 2007 - What's in a Can of Dog Food? Don't ask.
March 19, 2007 - Latter-Day Sportswear Do Mormon athletes wear the temple garment under their uniforms?
March 16, 2007 - Naughty Soldiers What does the military consider "immoral behavior"?
March 15, 2007 - The DoJ's Favorite Crime What's the deal with voter fraud?
March 14, 2007 - Halliburton Says Salaam How much will Halliburton save in U.S. taxes?
March 12, 2007 - Congressional Telephone Etiquette Why it's rude for a lawmaker to call a prosecutor.
March 6, 2007 - Cherokee Perks What's so good about being a Native American?
March 6, 2007 - Honey, I'm Dead! How God rewards a female suicide bomber.
March 1, 2007 - Boo Bear Why did the NYSE trading floor erupt with boos after the crash?
Feb. 28, 2007 - 28 Days? Why February gets the shaft.
Feb. 27, 2007 - Was Britney's Hair Full of Drugs? Shaving your head to beat the narcs.
Feb. 23, 2007 - Smile and Say "Fat!" Why does the camera add 10 pounds?
Feb. 22, 2007 - Tomb Raiding 101 Where should I sell my stolen artifacts?
Feb. 21, 2007 - Peanut Butter and Salmonella Who put bacteria in my PB&J?
Feb. 21, 2007 - Is 50,000 Tons a Lot of Oil? Just what can North Korea do with all that energy?
Feb. 17, 2007 - Markings for Munitions Why do Iranian bombs have English labels?
Feb. 15, 2007 - How Do You Cheat at NASCAR? Auto racing's dirty tricks.
Feb. 14, 2007 - Why Do Clothes Wrinkle? The U.S. Army faces its most pressing question.
Feb. 12, 2007 - The Price of Panic Did Boston's bomb scare really cost a million bucks?
Feb. 8, 2007 - Do Astronauts Have Sex? In space, no one can hear you moan.
Feb. 8, 2007 - When Doves Fry How come Prince didn't get electrocuted at the Super Bowl?
Feb. 6, 2007 - Is My Super Bowl Party Illegal? How to watch the game without breaking the law.
Feb. 3, 2007 - What's With All the Cuban Doctors? How Castro built a nation of physicians.
Feb. 2, 2007 - Did They Save Barbaro's Semen? Why the champion racehorse will never be a dad.
Jan. 30, 2007 - Workin' in a Heat Mine How to dig up geothermal energy.
Jan. 26, 2007 - USC Loses the Championship! What will happen if Reggie Bush is declared ineligible?
Jan. 25, 2007 - Who Owns the Unabomber's Writings? Does he have the copyright on his manifestos?
Jan. 24, 2007 - Is Dakota Fanning in Kiddie Porn? Children having sex on the silver screen.
Jan. 24, 2007 - How To Blow Up a Satellite First, fire up your kill vehicle.
Jan. 19, 2007 - My Fruit Is Freezing … Call in the helicopters!
Jan. 18, 2007 - 800,000 Missing Kids? Really? Making sense of child abduction statistics.
Jan. 18, 2007 - Ice Ice Baby How long can you keep an embryo frozen?
Jan. 17, 2007 - How Do I Get to Gitmo? Tips for travelers to the Cuban military zone.
Jan. 11, 2007 - Can Brazil Ban YouTube? How countries censor the Internet.
Jan. 11, 2007 - Are Skinny Girls Unhealthy? What if they're like that naturally?
Jan. 9, 2007 - How Do You Fix an Undersea Cable? Electrical repairs on the ocean floor.
Jan. 8, 2007 - I Mailed a Letter to Paris … Who pays the French to deliver it?
Jan. 5, 2007 - Is This Thing a Meteorite? How to tell if a rock fell from outer space.
Jan. 4, 2007 - Is Soap "Self-Cleaning"? An answer to the Explainer's Question of the Year.
Jan. 4, 2007 - What's in a Name? Why filmmakers use pseudonyms.
Jan. 2, 2007
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