# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=104 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 105 --- ## [The official SD chimney (power generator)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sd-chimney-power-generator/996557)
**Author:** [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 24, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-sd-chimney-power-generator/996557 "2024-01-24T18:41:51Z")
I am truely impressed on how the hot-coffee-mug thread (“Hot” coffee cup) turned out debate-wise (like in the best of days of SD) … so here we go again … with a different topic to throw your engineering punches into: . … --- ## [How much gold was given to Jesus?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [January 24, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gold-was-given-to-jesus/995876 "2024-01-24T13:36:46Z")
Are there any tales, apocryphal or otherwise, as to how much gold was given to Jesus by the Wise Men in the Bible? Yeah, I know about the other two gifts, but gold is the gift I am wondering about. They supposedly trav… --- ## [Online sports betting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-sports-betting/996541)
**Author:** [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 24, 2024, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-sports-betting/996541 "2024-01-24T12:16:52Z")
How does it work, financially? Do venues such as FanDuel and DraftKings have direct access to your bank account? Can you bet with a credit card? How long after the game ends do you have access to your winnings? Do th… --- ## [Easy way to earthquake proof things sitting on a shelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-earthquake-proof-things-sitting-on-a-shelf/996520)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-earthquake-proof-things-sitting-on-a-shelf/996520 "2024-01-23T20:17:40Z")
I have a bunch of mugs/glassware I have on display on shelves around my house, the shelves are basically flat boards protruding from the wall. My mugs/glasses basically have a few inches of space before they reach the ed… --- ## [Translation: English to Latin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-english-to-latin/996548)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-english-to-latin/996548 "2024-01-23T17:19:52Z")
I was Skyping a long-standing friend when he seemed to ‘convulse’. :flushed: Fortunately the accompanying sound effect 7 second Elephant Fart (youtube.com) revealed that he was just ‘releasing the tension’. :wink: Anyw… --- ## [Sudden unexpected food allergy - best to try to throw up or not? (do not need answers fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-unexpected-food-allergy-best-to-try-to-throw-up-or-not-do-not-need-answers-fast/996375)
**Author:** [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sudden-unexpected-food-allergy-best-to-try-to-throw-up-or-not-do-not-need-answers-fast/996375 "2024-01-23T15:52:51Z")
A few weeks ago my wife ate a fish dish on a river cruise and unexpectedly got an attack of a food allergy that she never had had before. She said she experienced the first symptoms seconds after swallowing. What follow… --- ## [A Question on Sound and Voices](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-sound-and-voices/966369)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-sound-and-voices/966369 "2024-01-22T22:17:59Z")
A question on sound and voices: I’ve seen articles that try to explain why helium makes your voice high-pitched. It is based on how the speed of sound is wavelength X frequency, as I recall. It is presumed the wavelength… --- ## [What would happen to a car if you stepped on both the gas and brake pedal at the same time (all the way)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-car-if-you-stepped-on-both-the-gas-and-brake-pedal-at-the-same-time-all-the-way/996333)
**Author:** [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2024, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-car-if-you-stepped-on-both-the-gas-and-brake-pedal-at-the-same-time-all-the-way/996333 "2024-01-22T12:08:52Z")
This was a question I was offhandedly asked the other day, by a young person just learning to drive. I said most likely, depending on how many HP the car’s engine had, it would rev really high, then lurch forward, event… --- ## [Our newly adopted kitten doesn't meow. What's the deal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-newly-adopted-kitten-doesnt-meow-whats-the-deal/996172)
**Author:** [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-newly-adopted-kitten-doesnt-meow-whats-the-deal/996172 "2024-01-21T17:41:16Z")
I believe there is a factual answer to this question. If mods disagree, please move to MPSIMS. Our new kitten is now about 3.5 months old. We’ve had her for almost two weeks. She has never made a noise other than purri… --- ## [All Wheel Drive tires spinning](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-wheel-drive-tires-spinning/996399)
**Author:** [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2024, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-wheel-drive-tires-spinning/996399 "2024-01-21T04:12:02Z")
We had another 20 cm (eight Merkin) overnight. When I dropped my daughter off to school for a sports event this Saturday morning, there was a older Toyota Yaris stuck in the snow in the parking lot. It looked like maybe … --- ## [How did they decide who would stay aboard the spacecraft?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-they-decide-who-would-stay-aboard-the-spacecraft/996147)
**Author:** [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-they-decide-who-would-stay-aboard-the-spacecraft/996147 "2024-01-20T23:13:26Z")
How did they decide who would stay aboard the spacecraft? I mean, in the Moon landings of the late 20th century? Three astronauts always approached the Moon, together. Two of whom would set foot on the dusty Moon Hersel… --- ## [How to tell real Honey from fake?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-real-honey-from-fake/996194)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-real-honey-from-fake/996194 "2024-01-20T20:58:41Z")
Adulterated food is becoming common. And Honey is often mixed with or replaced by other sweeteners. Is there a way to tell the difference? --- ## [Can two solids make slide and not scratch?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-solids-make-slide-and-not-scratch/996279)
**Author:** [@All\_About\_M3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/All_About_M3)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-solids-make-slide-and-not-scratch/996279 "2024-01-20T18:49:14Z")
If two solids touch (and slide against each other for some distance), is it possible for there to not be a scratch on at least one of them? By scratch I mean degradation that is detectable but not necessarily to the na… --- ## [Can I make my iPhone clock display decimal minutes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-make-my-iphone-clock-display-decimal-minutes/982767)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-make-my-iphone-clock-display-decimal-minutes/982767 "2024-01-19T23:51:24Z")
When I clock in at work (10:30 pm), the time clock reads 2250. Similarly, when it’s a quarter to eleven, it will display 2275. Can I program my iPhone’s clock feature to display in this format? --- ## [What does "clipping diamonds" mean? (Brideshead Revisited)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-clipping-diamonds-mean-brideshead-revisited/996338)
**Author:** [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-clipping-diamonds-mean-brideshead-revisited/996338 "2024-01-19T22:20:45Z")
\[possible spoiler for a 1945 novel\] In Brideshead Revisited, one of the characters becomes spiritually convicted of their own sin. This person says: “Living in sin, with sin, by sin, for sin, every hour, every day, ye… --- ## [Wheeled walker with ground accessible brakes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheeled-walker-with-ground-accessible-brakes/995971)
**Author:** [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheeled-walker-with-ground-accessible-brakes/995971 "2024-01-19T17:05:30Z")
So through one adventure and another, I have to use a walker now. My biggest problem is that I fall a lot. And I can’t lift myself off the ground with a cane. So my generous friend bought me a brand new walker. With whee… --- ## ["An inch of ice on a power line can add 500 pounds of weight." Help me understand this](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inch-of-ice-on-a-power-line-can-add-500-pounds-of-weight-help-me-understand-this/996250)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-inch-of-ice-on-a-power-line-can-add-500-pounds-of-weight-help-me-understand-this/996250 "2024-01-19T16:16:46Z")
During the ice storm that just ended today, the local news station and paper advised people that an inch can add 500 lbs. of weight, and this is why poles and cables sometimes fail. The numbers don’t make sense to me, … --- ## [Where there ever number-systems popular that were not "base-of-10"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-there-ever-number-systems-popular-that-were-not-base-of-10/996048)
**Author:** [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2024, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-there-ever-number-systems-popular-that-were-not-base-of-10/996048 "2024-01-19T00:49:46Z")
well, title says it pretty much … were there real life usages of systems different then 10 in history ? how did e.g. the dozen come to happen? --- ## [Wet Paint Smell in the home...when no one has been painting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wet-paint-smell-in-the-home-when-no-one-has-been-painting/996244)
**Author:** [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wet-paint-smell-in-the-home-when-no-one-has-been-painting/996244 "2024-01-18T20:11:10Z")
I just returned from five days away and when I walked through the front door I was hit with a strong fresh wet latex paint smell. It was so strong I asked my wife if she had gotten to that hallway project we had talked a… --- ## [Electrical circuit question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-circuit-question/996179)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-circuit-question/996179 "2024-01-18T16:14:32Z")
If you have 4 x 1.5 volt identical cells (batteries) and you arrange them so you have 2 cells in series connected in parallel to the other 2 cells, so you have 3 volts powered by those 4 cells. If you place a load on on… --- ## [Antique low-RPM engine: What, and what for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antique-low-rpm-engine-what-and-what-for/996186)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2024, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antique-low-rpm-engine-what-and-what-for/996186 "2024-01-18T08:42:56Z")
The local fair where I used to live had a display of people’s antique engines. One of these was roughly cube-shaped (if I recall correctly – which I might not) and about 24 inches (totally guessing) on a side. Maybe sm… --- ## [COMPUTERS: How does the Hardware link to the OS to the Program?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computers-how-does-the-hardware-link-to-the-os-to-the-program/996204)
**Author:** [@Gateway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gateway)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2024, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computers-how-does-the-hardware-link-to-the-os-to-the-program/996204 "2024-01-18T07:18:15Z")
Hello. I am interested in a layman’s answer to the following: How does the Hardware of a computer link up, ultimately, to the program, on a computer? WHERE I AM AT: Ultimately everything is hardware. But for practical … --- ## [Use and Charging of a 12v automotive Battery](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-and-charging-of-a-12v-automotive-battery/995286)
**Author:** [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-and-charging-of-a-12v-automotive-battery/995286 "2024-01-17T23:24:54Z")
So I have a small diesel heater for my shed. It runs on a 12v automotive battery. I had a spare lawn and garden, 330CCA one around, so I use that. The battery will run the heater (consisting of some kind of igniter, a fa… --- ## [Acronyms and initialisms in history](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-and-initialisms-in-history/995839)
**Author:** [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acronyms-and-initialisms-in-history/995839 "2024-01-17T17:33:17Z")
When and why did they start? And why not earlier? Of course they require literacy, but I don’t see why ancient scribes and educated nobles couldn’t have been using TLAs since Babylonian times. SPQR is the oldest I’ve he… --- ## [Is stealing stolen items illegal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stealing-stolen-items-illegal/996135)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stealing-stolen-items-illegal/996135 "2024-01-17T17:30:11Z")
I see someone picking a pocket and steal a wallet. If I then pick that thief’s pocket and steal that same wallet, what crime(s) have I committed? --- ## [Merger/401k Rollover Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merger-401k-rollover-question/995900)
**Author:** [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2024, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merger-401k-rollover-question/995900 "2024-01-17T15:44:30Z")
The company I’ve worked for for 21 years is being acquired by a larger company; the merger is happening faster than expected (everyone was anticipating a Q2 wrap-up, but it may be Q1). No one is sure about what will happ… --- ## [Feynman Point](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feynman-point/996202)
**Author:** [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feynman-point/996202 "2024-01-17T15:33:04Z")
Delving into 762 decimal places of pi, a remarkable row of nines occurs. Six nines in pi - Wikipedia If we were to round off those nines and construct a circle with an inaccuracy/error size of one Planck Length, how bi… --- ## [The implication of U.S. support for Israel’s action intimated oblique support for Buenos Aires \[1981\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-implication-of-u-s-support-for-israel-s-action-intimated-oblique-support-for-buenos-aires-1981/996090)
**Author:** [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2024, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-implication-of-u-s-support-for-israel-s-action-intimated-oblique-support-for-buenos-aires-1981/996090 "2024-01-17T04:42:51Z")
On June 7, 1981, the Israeli Air Force conducted a surprise airstrike on an unfinished nuclear reactor in Iraq. The attack, known as Operation Opera, destroyed the Osirak nuclear research reactor at Tuwaitha, which was l… --- ## [Dream recording and playback](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dream-recording-and-playback/996185)
**Author:** [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dream-recording-and-playback/996185 "2024-01-16T23:51:56Z")
Here is a link to one of the stories. The Japanese have supposedly developed a way to record and playback dreams. I think there is an effort to associate certain brainwaves with objects, and it has been greatly exaggera… --- ## [Heating pad no longer getting hot after a week?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heating-pad-no-longer-getting-hot-after-a-week/995499)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heating-pad-no-longer-getting-hot-after-a-week/995499 "2024-01-16T23:39:15Z")
I’ve been getting bad hand and forearm cramps at night. Probably because I’m lifting barbells again in the evening. I bought a small 12x15" heating pad. Rolled it loosely into a tube and secured with two large rubber ba… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=103) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=105)