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'''The Straight Dope''' is a popular question-and-answer newspaper column published in the ''Chicago Reader'' (an alternative weekly), syndicated in thirty newspapers in the United States and Canada, and available online. The column derives its name from the American idiom meaning roughly "the honest truth."
The column, first published by the 'Reader' in 1973, is written by Cecil Adams, whose real identity is unknown. ("Cecil Adams" is generally assumed to be a pen name). The Chicago Reader applied to register "Cecil Adams" as a trademark in 1986, stating in their application that "Cecil Adams does not identify any particular individual but was devised as a fanciful name." The trademark application also notes that the name was first used in 1973, when the column began. (The trademark registration was refused for unknown reasons, despite an appeal.) Thus, it seems likely that the pseudonym is applied to a group or series of writers, much like "Carolyn Keene" is used as the putative author of the Nancy Drew book series.
The Cecil Adams persona ranges from pedantic to profane. Editor Ed Zotti is widely believed to be the current writer of the column, though the column has a staff that assists in its production, known as the "Straight Dope Science Advisory Board". Prior editors were Mike Lenehan, now Executive Editor at the ''Reader'', and Dave Kehr, now film critic for ''The New York Times.''
The columns are known to cover practically any subject, frequently dissecting old wives' tales and urban legends. History, science, and inventions are among the most frequently recurring topics.
The columns are archived at the Straight Dope website, which also hosts the Straight Dope Message Board, a popular internet forum.

Contents

Books

TV

Straight Dope Message Board

See also

External link

Books

To date, Adams has published five collections of his columns, and his "assistant" published a children's collection in the Adams style, ''Know It All''.
He has also published several collections of material from the column into paperback books.

TV

In 1996, the A&E Network briefly aired a show hosted by comedian Mike Lukas called ''The Straight Dope'', which was based on the column.

Straight Dope Message Board

The 'Straight Dope Message Board' (abbreviated 'SDMB') is a vBulletin forum on the Straight Dope website. It has more than 69,000 registered members, of which about 3,500 are paid subscribers as of August 2007. The 'SDMB' was launched in 1996 by AOL.

See also

★ Snopes

External link

★ The Straight Dope Home Page