# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1034 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1035 --- ## [Whitey Bulger](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitey-bulger/732019)
**Author:** [@f.coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/f.coli)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitey-bulger/732019 "2015-09-26T05:13:42Z")
With a biopic coming soon about the infamous gangster, I’m wondering how big he was in organized crime. Was he comparable to someone like John Gotti or Joe Colombo? Was he a big boss or just a thug? Did the Patriarca … --- ## [How well would a car work if the speed of light was 60 MPH?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-would-a-car-work-if-the-speed-of-light-was-60-mph/732510)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-would-a-car-work-if-the-speed-of-light-was-60-mph/732510 "2015-09-26T00:49:41Z")
I asked this in another thread about the hypothetical possibilities of a speed of light of 60 MPH, but nobody answered. How well would a car even function if the speed of light was reduced to that level? My guess is t… --- ## [taking six kids to a hotel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-six-kids-to-a-hotel/732513)
**Author:** [@cornopean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornopean)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-six-kids-to-a-hotel/732513 "2015-09-26T00:24:12Z")
I’ve got six kids under ten. Typically, when we go to a hotel, we try to sneak the kids past the receptionist for fear that they might not allow us to stay in one room with 8 people. What is the official law on this? … --- ## [Why is fruit juice considered unhealthy all of a sudden?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-fruit-juice-considered-unhealthy-all-of-a-sudden/732198)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-fruit-juice-considered-unhealthy-all-of-a-sudden/732198 "2015-09-25T23:53:41Z")
I remember for the longest time, people always said it was good to drink juice, because it was full of vitamins and antioxidants. Now I’m always seeing articles on how juice has way too much sugar and is bad. Why was t… --- ## [Wooden Box on communications wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-box-on-communications-wire/732511)
**Author:** [@Megsehc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Megsehc)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooden-box-on-communications-wire/732511 "2015-09-25T23:19:35Z")
Wondering if anyone can tell me what the wooden box on one of the communications wires outside my home may be. I’ve hardly ever seen these elsewhere. It’s a faded box with brackets that is approximately 12 by 8". It is s… --- ## [Question for the technical ones \[converting access app into browser based standalone app\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-technical-ones-converting-access-app-into-browser-based-standalone-app/732373)
**Author:** [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-technical-ones-converting-access-app-into-browser-based-standalone-app/732373 "2015-09-25T23:15:32Z")
I have inherited a legacy Access app. I want to modernize the app and turn it into a standalone, browser based desktop application that hits the local Access database in the background. No Web work at all for this one. I… --- ## [Historical suicides](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-suicides/732203)
**Author:** [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-suicides/732203 "2015-09-25T23:02:42Z")
I am wondering how common suicides were historically. I know that Socrates might be the most famous ancient suicide but he did not kill himself because of depression but more so to make a point. In Roman times, people … --- ## [Parking Meters and Traffic Flow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parking-meters-and-traffic-flow/732515)
**Author:** [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parking-meters-and-traffic-flow/732515 "2015-09-25T22:05:33Z")
In Boston they’re talking about raising the rates for parking meters in high-traffic areas upwards from $1.25 hour, citing San Francisco at $7.50/hour. The claim is that it will somehow help traffic flow; ‘cheap’ (?) me… --- ## [Expired ID](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-id/446691)
**Author:** [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expired-id/446691 "2015-09-25T19:16:49Z")
Why is my expired driver license not considered valid identification? Despite the fact that my right to drive has expired, it still identifies me, so when presented as a tool for simple identification (unrelated to drivi… --- ## [Asteroid hits oil field](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-hits-oil-field/732296)
**Author:** [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asteroid-hits-oil-field/732296 "2015-09-25T17:50:48Z")
What would happen if a big asteroid crashed down on an oil field ? --- ## [How do I compare video frames?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-compare-video-frames/544651)
**Author:** [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-compare-video-frames/544651 "2015-09-25T15:24:06Z")
I have a project in mind where I want to detect motion in an image by comparing two frames from a video camera. I know there are several applications available that will do this but I wanted to roll my own. What techniqu… --- ## [Who pays the final $ 67.46 on the loan of my traded in car](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-pays-the-final-67-46-on-the-loan-of-my-traded-in-car/729735)
**Author:** [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-pays-the-final-67-46-on-the-loan-of-my-traded-in-car/729735 "2015-09-25T13:48:14Z")
So two weeks ago purchased a new car. During the numbers process the sales guy asked me how much was left on the loan for the traded in car. I told him 2100 and change and gave him my next payment notice which had the … --- ## [Staying in your seat on a flight when seatbelt sign illuminated](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-in-your-seat-on-a-flight-when-seatbelt-sign-illuminated/732346)
**Author:** [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-in-your-seat-on-a-flight-when-seatbelt-sign-illuminated/732346 "2015-09-25T13:30:19Z")
I imagine LSL guy will be able to answer this quickly… I’ve heard horror stories about passengers fouling themselves at the beginning of 8-hour flights because the crew wouldn’t let them up for a bathroom emergency. I’… --- ## [Do heterosexual men with AIDs have a better chance in the dating game with hetero women with AIDs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-heterosexual-men-with-aids-have-a-better-chance-in-the-dating-game-with-hetero-women-with-aids/732187)
**Author:** [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-heterosexual-men-with-aids-have-a-better-chance-in-the-dating-game-with-hetero-women-with-aids/732187 "2015-09-25T12:40:09Z")
So, I suddenly thought of a perverse bright side if you contracted HIV. There are special sero-compatible dating sites and support groups, right, where people who have contracted HIV can mingle with each other. Well, h… --- ## [What can you tell me about this type of ship?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-this-type-of-ship/731671)
**Author:** [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-tell-me-about-this-type-of-ship/731671 "2015-09-25T11:10:02Z")
Okay, so I do a lot of kayaking in the Hudson River. There is a decent amount of commercial traffic on the river, and just about all of it consists of barges–which according my definition means “long, low cargo vessels m… --- ## [Help Me Understand Fossils](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-fossils/732360)
**Author:** [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-fossils/732360 "2015-09-25T02:05:37Z")
The news about Homo Naledi reminds me of this. I was always thought when you saw a dinosaur skeleton in a museum, you were not actually seeing bones, but seeing some sort of stone that had slowly replaced the decayed bo… --- ## [Mexican Drinking Water Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-drinking-water-question/732220)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-drinking-water-question/732220 "2015-09-25T01:12:04Z")
As I mention in another thread, my wife and I are thinking of visiting Playa Del Carmen in Mexico for a week next year. I have visited Mexico in the past, and there is 1 in 4 chance I will get sick as a result of ingesti… --- ## [Is psychology/psychiatry still Freudian in France?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychology-psychiatry-still-freudian-in-france/732430)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychology-psychiatry-still-freudian-in-france/732430 "2015-09-24T21:51:18Z")
A documentary I saw part of showed French mental health professionals discussing autism in Freudian terms, the whole deal. Some googling shows psychoanalysis is still big in France, I’m kind of baffled how they manage to… --- ## [Intermittent HID headlight failure - troubleshooting?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-hid-headlight-failure-troubleshooting/732273)
**Author:** [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-hid-headlight-failure-troubleshooting/732273 "2015-09-24T21:20:36Z")
I got a 2nd hand 2011 Ford Fusion this year, to which the previous owner had added (aftermarket?) HID headlamps. Last week I’d noticed on the 10 minute drive home that the headlamps cut out… only to cut back in a minute… --- ## [Just how did VW the cheat come to light?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-did-vw-the-cheat-come-to-light/732304)
**Author:** [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-did-vw-the-cheat-come-to-light/732304 "2015-09-24T21:08:28Z")
Maybe I missed it but I haven’t seen anywhere who figured out what Das Auto was up to. --- ## [speed of electrons in a wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speed-of-electrons-in-a-wire/732416)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speed-of-electrons-in-a-wire/732416 "2015-09-24T21:02:24Z")
does the speed of an electron going through a wire depend on the voltage? intuitively I would think that the speed of an average electron would be faster with higher voltage than one at lower voltage. I am aware that t… --- ## [Why do wine and beer seem more sedating than liquor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-wine-and-beer-seem-more-sedating-than-liquor/732208)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-wine-and-beer-seem-more-sedating-than-liquor/732208 "2015-09-24T21:02:07Z")
When obviously the ethanol content is lower? --- ## [The Pope's Visit to the US Capital](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popes-visit-to-the-us-capital/732412)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popes-visit-to-the-us-capital/732412 "2015-09-24T17:37:52Z")
Who decides who gets to give a speech to the joint members of Congress? Is there a congressional committee that nominates someone? Who has the final say? --- ## [Sceensaver behavior in OSX Yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sceensaver-behavior-in-osx-yosemite/732363)
**Author:** [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sceensaver-behavior-in-osx-yosemite/732363 "2015-09-24T16:53:22Z")
I have a MacBook Pro running OSX Yosemite. I want to use the vintage photos screensaver to show pictures of my son. I’ve set up a “screensaver” album in iPhoto with all of the photos I want included. When I go into th… --- ## [UPS beeping at same time every day.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-beeping-at-same-time-every-day/732394)
**Author:** [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-beeping-at-same-time-every-day/732394 "2015-09-24T16:27:44Z")
My UPS is an Ellipse Eco made by Eaton. Every day without fail it starts a series of beeps, that lasts about 10 seconds, at 12:58 P.M. my time. I am thinking that it has somehow been set to go off at 1:00 but its interna… --- ## [Are there 2 solutions to minimum variance optimization? (calculus of random numbers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-2-solutions-to-minimum-variance-optimization-calculus-of-random-numbers/693142)
**Author:** [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-2-solutions-to-minimum-variance-optimization-calculus-of-random-numbers/693142 "2015-09-24T08:46:28Z")
So I was reading about minimum variance optimization and I noticed the problem could be framed in 2 ways. I was expecting the 2 ways to lead to the same answer but they don’t. For this discussion, the following notatio… --- ## [Could someone please identify the origins of this phrase?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-please-identify-the-origins-of-this-phrase/189718)
**Author:** [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-please-identify-the-origins-of-this-phrase/189718 "2013-05-15T21:52:55Z")
“The masses are asses.” Thanks! --- ## [Is it bad/dangerous to have your lips taped shut while sleeping?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-bad-dangerous-to-have-your-lips-taped-shut-while-sleeping/648724)
**Author:** [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-bad-dangerous-to-have-your-lips-taped-shut-while-sleeping/648724 "2015-09-24T05:08:33Z")
I was wondering if I could duct-tape my lips shut at nighttime to prevent snoring. A friend of mine replied that this was dangerous and that I could die. Is this true? (No, I haven’t actually tried it.) --- ## [What does an average car salesman make year?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-an-average-car-salesman-make-year/369666)
**Author:** [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-an-average-car-salesman-make-year/369666 "2015-09-24T04:16:15Z")
Commision included, what does a car salesman who hits their mark every month make a year? I hear all these stories about some making $100,000 + a year and was wondering if I should get into car sales. Is that true for … --- ## [Under-Aged Sexting In Other Countries?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-aged-sexting-in-other-countries/732261)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-aged-sexting-in-other-countries/732261 "2015-09-24T02:32:33Z")
We’ve all heard the stories. Some 17 year old girl sends a nude pic to her (also 17) boyfriend. Then they haul her @ss in for kiddie porn. For the purposes of being the “victim”, she is under aged. But for the sake of th… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1033) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1035)