# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1039 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1040 --- ## [What Year Did "Canonical Hours" Give way to "O'Clock" Hours?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-did-canonical-hours-give-way-to-oclock-hours/731448)
**Author:** [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-did-canonical-hours-give-way-to-oclock-hours/731448 "2015-09-18T16:58:29Z")
We know the lovely medieval system of hours: lauds, terce, vespers, compline, etc. When, roughly, did Western Europe move away from this to the modern (?) 12-hour system of one o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock (rock!… --- ## [Why are big-rig trucks always/frequently powered by an inline-6 engine?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-big-rig-trucks-always-frequently-powered-by-an-inline-6-engine/731675)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-big-rig-trucks-always-frequently-powered-by-an-inline-6-engine/731675 "2015-09-18T16:53:13Z")
Reciprocating-piston internal combustion engines have a particular sound that goes along with the number and configuration of cylinders. A twin, inline 4, inline-6, V6, V8, V10, and V12 all sound different from each oth… --- ## [How Dangerous were Mississippi Riverboats (1820-1900)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-were-mississippi-riverboats-1820-1900/731474)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-were-mississippi-riverboats-1820-1900/731474 "2015-09-18T15:47:13Z")
I ask because I read that Mark Twain’s brother was killed on a river boat-the boiler exploded and the boat was set on fire. I know that boiler standards were lax back then, and captains frequently would disable safety re… --- ## [Most recent human to be killed by a meteorite/object from space?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-human-to-be-killed-by-a-meteorite-object-from-space/731580)
**Author:** [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-human-to-be-killed-by-a-meteorite-object-from-space/731580 "2015-09-18T15:42:33Z")
What is the most recent, reliably documented case of a human to be killed by the impact - or the consequences of an impact - of a meteorite? Have there been any cases? --- ## [Copyright Traps](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-traps/731429)
**Author:** [@Sheridan7272](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sheridan7272)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-traps/731429 "2015-09-18T15:25:01Z")
Apart from maps. Are there any objects that copyright traps are put in that anyone may know of? --- ## [Windows Vista - Find Network Security Key](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-vista-find-network-security-key/731518)
**Author:** [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-vista-find-network-security-key/731518 "2015-09-18T14:54:56Z")
How do I find the network security key on a machine running Windows Vista Home Premium? Yes, I am in fact at my parent’s house, and yes that have in fact misplaced the key. :slight\_smile: --- ## [Australian Dopers: How Did Gun Ban Work, on a Practical Level?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-how-did-gun-ban-work-on-a-practical-level/731593)
**Author:** [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-how-did-gun-ban-work-on-a-practical-level/731593 "2015-09-18T12:13:47Z")
Yes, I’ve seen descriptions of the process in various places, but the authors generally struck me as having an axe to grind. Depending on where the authors stand on gun control, the Aussie experience was either a perfect… --- ## [Is this really possible? \[various youtube videos\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-possible-various-youtube-videos/731639)
**Author:** [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-really-possible-various-youtube-videos/731639 "2015-09-18T07:42:31Z")
I came across some youtube videos and sites and do not know if this is really possible or if it is staged or fake. 13 year old girl Benches 240lb !!! Florida Woman Keeps Tigers as her pets!! Yes Keeps Tigers as her pets… --- ## [Race Track Revenues](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-track-revenues/731385)
**Author:** [@Rather\_a\_Vicious\_Gentleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rather_a_Vicious_Gentleman)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-track-revenues/731385 "2015-09-18T05:36:00Z")
How much would a typical horse track take in on an average day? An above average day? Would an important race be more profitable? Are horse tracks operated like a casino “house”? --- ## [Midnight?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight/731533)
**Author:** [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midnight/731533 "2015-09-18T05:04:12Z")
Does midnight of a particular day, how about September 16th, occur one second after 23:59:59 September 15th or one second before 24:00:01 September 17th? Or does no date apply to the moment of midnight? --- ## ["Only guilty people have something to hide" fallacy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-guilty-people-have-something-to-hide-fallacy/539527)
**Author:** [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-guilty-people-have-something-to-hide-fallacy/539527 "2015-09-18T04:22:38Z")
Often in debates, particular in regards to human rights/privacy/etc the argument will degrade into “Only guilty people have something to hide”. To me this logic seems flawed since it assumes an intent to maintain privacy… --- ## [why no spider webs in storage unit?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-spider-webs-in-storage-unit/731633)
**Author:** [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-spider-webs-in-storage-unit/731633 "2015-09-18T03:40:01Z")
I’m renting a storage unit at a storage facility, and mine is one of many in a large building. At my home, spiders weave their webs all over the outside unless it’s sprayed, and they eventually weave webs inside the hous… --- ## [Contact lenses and autopsies.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contact-lenses-and-autopsies/731179)
**Author:** [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contact-lenses-and-autopsies/731179 "2015-09-18T03:14:17Z")
In the Columbo episode “Death Lends A Hand,” Columbo learns that a murder victim had worn contact lenses, but the lenses were not included with the personal effects. Columbo gets permission to exhume the body and discove… --- ## [747 full of golfballs: plane condemned?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-full-of-golfballs-plane-condemned/725499)
**Author:** [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/747-full-of-golfballs-plane-condemned/725499 "2015-09-18T01:52:21Z")
If a google interview inspired nutcase did fill a 747 with golfballs, what would happen to the plane? Would the overloading break anything? Would the aviation authorities demand expensive inspections before it returned t… --- ## [Hot water / Cold water](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-cold-water/731616)
**Author:** [@jrodmahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrodmahoney)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-cold-water/731616 "2015-09-18T01:11:32Z")
Hello, I’ve seen threads on this subject, but I’m not a plumber so I need to describe a specific situation. I manage an apartment community, 240 units, comprised of 8 buildings. So to make this question simple, let’s s… --- ## [Notification/recovery of stolen goods from pawn shops](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notification-recovery-of-stolen-goods-from-pawn-shops/731399)
**Author:** [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notification-recovery-of-stolen-goods-from-pawn-shops/731399 "2015-09-18T00:17:20Z")
This is one of those things that’s probably state-specific. I’m in Ohio currently. I had a camera and some lenses stolen from me. No leads - I left it unattended in an apartment complex parking lot and when I realized t… --- ## [please explain password managers for me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-password-managers-for-me/715721)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-password-managers-for-me/715721 "2015-09-18T00:10:32Z")
So, techno-peasant needs advice. I have lots of passwords. I manage them, so to speak, by remembering the ones I use the most frequently, and the ones I don’t, just hitting “forgot my password” when I log-on to a site … --- ## [One Line Binary Search](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-line-binary-search/731611)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-line-binary-search/731611 "2015-09-17T23:59:16Z")
I would swear that, at one point in the past, I encountered someone’s personal version of a binary search algorithm, which consisted - if I remember correctly - entirely of a for loop and a single statement. E.g.: for (… --- ## [Surface of the ocean in Google Earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surface-of-the-ocean-in-google-earth/654134)
**Author:** [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surface-of-the-ocean-in-google-earth/654134 "2015-09-17T23:57:55Z")
Why doesn’t Google Earth display more of the ocean’s top surface (in addition to blurring a ring around the land masses and giving us an ocean floor view)? Is there a technical reason? The ring around the continents us… --- ## [What shortwave stations still broadcast out there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shortwave-stations-still-broadcast-out-there/731428)
**Author:** [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shortwave-stations-still-broadcast-out-there/731428 "2015-09-17T23:33:41Z")
As recently as 15 years ago, I used to have a Sony portable radio that included three SW bands (SW1, SW2 and SW3) and I had fun at night listening to broadcasts in other languages and/or from other countries. BBC, Radio… --- ## [Where can one get a rib hub?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-get-a-rib-hub/731551)
**Author:** [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-one-get-a-rib-hub/731551 "2015-09-17T21:07:36Z")
I’m trying to build a cable reeler such as this, designed to roll a variety of cables around its ribs, which then then collapse so the rolled cable can be removed. The parts proving tricky to find are where the ribs con… --- ## [Can Tourette's hijack your will?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tourettes-hijack-your-will/731457)
**Author:** [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tourettes-hijack-your-will/731457 "2015-09-17T20:21:03Z")
I’m pretty sure I have Tourette’s Syndrome, I don’t think I’m formally diagnosed but it was one of the things psychiatrists guessed I had when I had behavioral issues as a kid. I suffer tics to the extreme, and there’s b… --- ## [france from 1804 to 1940](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-from-1804-to-1940/731384)
**Author:** [@carlowplayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlowplayer)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/france-from-1804-to-1940/731384 "2015-09-17T17:33:43Z")
From 1804,bourbon restoration,kingdom,republic and empire under napoleon III how could french society be described as. for example during the first napoleonic bonaparte era did women play a role in the military and what… --- ## [How do I stop unwanted calls to a business number?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-unwanted-calls-to-a-business-number/731482)
**Author:** [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-unwanted-calls-to-a-business-number/731482 "2015-09-17T16:49:16Z")
I run a service company and am rarely in my office. I have an answering machine that takes the incoming calls. When it receives a message it calls me on my cell phone. For the past 6 months or so I have been getting 2 r… --- ## [It don't make me no nevermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-dont-make-me-no-nevermind/390872)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-dont-make-me-no-nevermind/390872 "2015-09-17T12:53:56Z")
Today I have begun to wonder how the colloquialism “It don’t make me no nevermind” came to exist. The best guess I can make is that it started out as “It don’t make me no… oh never mind.” I.e. the first sentence break… --- ## [Driving Through Western Kansas To Denver In February](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-western-kansas-to-denver-in-february/731469)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-through-western-kansas-to-denver-in-february/731469 "2015-09-17T11:20:21Z")
I went to Denver a couple of months ago for, uh, work. While driving on I-70 through western Kansas/eastern Colorado, I noticed that the freeways had these gates every few exits or so, that I later learned would come dow… --- ## [What app is making annoying sounds on my Android?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-app-is-making-annoying-sounds-on-my-android/731337)
**Author:** [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-app-is-making-annoying-sounds-on-my-android/731337 "2015-09-17T06:38:03Z")
It’s a little melody, just a few beeps (but it sounds like boops). It occurrence is irregular, I guess it is some kind of update, but it is not Facebook or Twitter for instance. I’ve had my Android about a year and it s… --- ## [Where will a pot of boiling water lose the most liquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-will-a-pot-of-boiling-water-lose-the-most-liquid/460466)
**Author:** [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-will-a-pot-of-boiling-water-lose-the-most-liquid/460466 "2015-09-17T06:02:47Z")
Inside a 70 degree F kitchen or outside in the winter at 0 F on a propane burner? Assume a rolling, 212 F boil and the same number of BTUs. Will it make any difference whatsoever? --- ## [Hoffmann's anodyne, how was it used?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoffmanns-anodyne-how-was-it-used/731534)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoffmanns-anodyne-how-was-it-used/731534 "2015-09-17T05:38:33Z")
Full text: Are you supposed to breathe in the fumes, or consume it orally? Years ago I tried a couple mls orally, nothing felt. Drank an ounce, felt like a shot of strong liquor nothing else really. Didn’t have the … --- ## [Computer Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-questions/731397)
**Author:** [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-questions/731397 "2015-09-17T02:55:18Z")
My friend was given a new Toshiba: Satellite P755-S5120 Laptop just over 3 years ago. He did not receive or buy any recovery or installation disks at the time. He was planning to make a recovery disk but never has, nor h… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1038) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1040)