dr-know

Why Do Newspapers Insist on Using Criminals’ Nicknames?

In many cases the whole point of underworld nicknames is to keep your full legal name from getting tossed around where the wrong people might hear it.

If Masks Don’t Protect Against Tear Gas, Why Would They Work for COVID-19?

The number of people who would have to sneeze on you all at once to equal the droplet concentration you experience downwind of one CS canister could populate a small city.

Will Oregon Decriminalizing Drug Possession Make Street Drugs Cheaper?

The War on Drugs is over. Drugs won.

Why Is It So Easy for Thieves to Sell Stolen Catalytic Converters?

This dirty muffler-looking thing on the bottom of your car might be more tempting now than ever.

If It’s Illegal for Protesters to Block a Highway, Why Are Trains Allowed to Do It?

Attempts by the states to regulate railroads in this way are preempted by federal law.

Is It “Buried the Lead” or “Buried the Lede”?

The most frequently cited theory is that “lede” is a holdover from the days of lead type.

A Reader Demands Dr. Know Actually Explain What Items Are Really Being Recycled

Paper (not including pizza boxes or coffee cups) and metal are almost always worth recycling. Plastics are more complicated.

Portland Traffic Is Back, but What Are the Patterns Now?

Give a small huzzah as I announce that the little-lamented morning rush hour is dead.

Is Anything Still Actually Being Recycled?

Until this happened, it seemed as if we were really getting something right for once.

Should the City Provide Portable Toilets and Garbage Cans for Homeless Camps?

It’s not the Benson, but it’s at least as sanitary as Coachella.

Willamette Week

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