I’m taking a physics course, and we discussed how objects with hollow cores revolve slower. So I was wondering: Exactly how much dirt would I have to dig out of the ground and move to the surface before I’d notice the days getting longer?

— Mark D. Baragary, Ames, Iowa

Your question inspired my assistant Una to new heights of invention, Mark. She announced you’d given her an idea for an...

According to the Humane Society, you can extend your dog’s life a couple of years by getting him neutered. Are testes really lethal? Does neutering your dog really extend his life? Would the same thing work for men?

— Dave Greenaway

You’re not going to want to hear this, Dave. But according to one much-cited study, castrated men live nearly 14 years longer than their intact brethren,...

Is it true that, as a class, psychotherapists and other mental health professionals are crazier than average? And that despite their training and experience, they can recognize their own issues less readily than the average nutcase?

— Paul

I defer judgment on whether shrinks don’t recognize their problems. On the contrary, there are indications some mental health professionals enter the...

I am 5, and have been wondering about this for almost half my life now: How many ice cubes would it take to put out the sun? My mum found your website and thought you must know the answer, since you know everything.

— Rei Mordue

You’re one articulate 5-year-old, Rei, and plainly your mum is also no dummy. Your question has obliged us to rethink the basics, always a useful exercise. Plus...

Space companies looking to mine asteroids are thinking of bringing them into orbit for easier access. Wouldn’t several of these asteroids eventually pull on the planet so much they would change the orbit of the earth or the moon? Is there a certain weight we need to reach before it’s a problem?

— Quinn

What? Oh, sorry, Quinn, I was daydreaming. I was in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella in...

So ... after all those decades of physics and chemistry, can science transmute base substances into gold?
?- Bill Johnson, Fort Mill, S.C.

Don’t you think you’re being a little unappreciative here, Bill? Decades of physics and chemistry have given us space stations and electronic intelligence, conquered disease and extended lives, and enabled us to download gigabytes of pornography at a...

Why is the letter Z, specifically, associated with sleeping? It seems silly to have a letter correspond with sleep at all, but even sillier that we don’t do this with any other action. You don’t hear being awake referred to as “catching some A’s.”

— Ethan Reber

Sorry to go off on a tangent, Ethan, but you know what they call sleeping in the U.K.? Catching some zeds. I get this from my...

In a column a while back, you told your assistant Una to “quit with the Wikipedia” because “from the standpoint of reliability, Wikipedia might as well be written by gorillas.” The weekly science journal Nature reports Wikipedia contains less erroneous material than the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Are you willing to withdraw your sensational claim?

— Conrad

Yes, I’ll withdraw it. From a...

Is it true an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) would stop cars and trucks, and they would not run until fixed? Would our stores be empty of food because trucks could not move food to them? Would water to our homes stop flowing because of EMP damage to electrical equipment? Why don’t we hear more about this?

— Mark Terry, Honolulu

What do you mean, why don’t we hear more? We’ve heard plenty. We...

I first heard the claim that Jesus was a copycat of the Egyptian god Horus when I watched the so-called documentary Religulous. Horus supposedly walked on water, was born from a virgin, healed the sick, etc. Naturally, I was skeptical and tried doing some research but found only biased opinions that weren’t backed by much evidence. So what’s the deal?

— Johnny Oregano

There’s more of a puzzle...

Why do we have allergic reactions? What use do allergies serve? I can’t imagine any Darwinian advantage. I can’t see being a successful mastodon hunter with sneezing and hacking giving away your position. Don’t get me started on trying to woo a female with things that are meant to be dry being moist and things that are meant to be moist being dry and itchy.

— Sneezy

You ingrate. Sure, a runny...

Is pot stronger these days? Some folks state as fact that parents should realize “pot these days is stronger than when they smoked.” Are you aware of any evidence for this?

— Dinsdale, via the Straight Dope Message Board

Yes, pot is stronger than in the old days. This is bad?

People have been warning about supposed high-potency pot since the early days of the Reagan administration’s War on...

On my drive into work today, the first workday back since the Daylight Saving Time spring forward, I noticed a stark increase in road kill, specifically raccoons. Has anyone else noticed this? My theory is it has to do with more drivers on the street before sunrise because of the hour shift forward.

— Matthew Bates, Chicago

There are indications — but so far no proof — that the Daylight...

I’ve heard of the occasional car in a baseball stadium parking lot being damaged by an out-of-the-park home run. I wonder: Have there ever been any skulls or other body parts crushed? Who would be liable for the hapless victim’s misfortune?

— Victor, Santa Cruz

I first tackled this question in 1978. Things were different then. I pounded out columns on a mechanical device called a typewriter....