# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1047 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1048 --- ## [Amazon non-delivery](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-non-delivery/730222)
**Author:** [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-non-delivery/730222 "2015-09-07T03:25:06Z")
How does one get Amazon.com to acknowledge my report to them of non-receipt of an order (for 3 books). Their tracking number says only that it was shipped (on July 3) and is now still “on the way”. Their “return and repl… --- ## [Chrome browser question - how to go back to last viewed window](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-browser-question-how-to-go-back-to-last-viewed-window/730209)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-browser-question-how-to-go-back-to-last-viewed-window/730209 "2015-09-06T23:11:50Z")
Thanks for reading on - the title of my OP doesn’t really capture what I was asking. If you are like me and often have 10, 15, or more tabs open, I think you’d agree that it can be a nuisance going back and forth among … --- ## [Questions regarding the roots of the Revolutionary War](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-the-roots-of-the-revolutionary-war/730034)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-the-roots-of-the-revolutionary-war/730034 "2015-09-06T20:02:46Z")
Hi I’ve just been reading “Europe The Struggle for Supremacy 1453 to the Present” by Brendan Simms. What struck me was that he briefly mentions Grenville’s Stamp Act and the Townshend duties but doesn’t cite them as “c… --- ## [Question about casualty or accident reporting forms in US military](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-casualty-or-accident-reporting-forms-in-us-military/729179)
**Author:** [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-casualty-or-accident-reporting-forms-in-us-military/729179 "2015-09-06T17:32:03Z")
I’m writing a story set during WWII on a tiny island in the South Pacific being used as a base (rather than front-line fighting). I want to be able to report the death of the village chief via some sort of official mili… --- ## [Will my student loan repayment scheme work? Is it the optimal move?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-student-loan-repayment-scheme-work-is-it-the-optimal-move/727981)
**Author:** [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-student-loan-repayment-scheme-work-is-it-the-optimal-move/727981 "2015-09-06T17:18:02Z")
Due to some education misadventures I’m not going to discuss here, I have ended up with north of 100k in student loans but do not have the kind of degree that I took the loans out to get, and so I cannot realistically pa… --- ## [TV stand assembly question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-stand-assembly-question/730179)
**Author:** [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-stand-assembly-question/730179 "2015-09-06T15:28:59Z")
A roller foot became dislodged from the bottom of the TV stand. How do I put it back in? I’ve tried many times to lift and hold it under, but it rolls out when I release the TV stand onto it. --- ## [French Grammar Question: des vs. les](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-grammar-question-des-vs-les/730140)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-grammar-question-des-vs-les/730140 "2015-09-06T13:34:23Z")
What is the difference between the usage of “des” and “les”. All examples seem to be using “des” and “les” for “some”. Is one usage more abstract than the other. Most grammar books and websites tell learners to use “des”… --- ## [Dead Crabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-crabs/730077)
**Author:** [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-crabs/730077 "2015-09-06T13:05:34Z")
One of the things that they repeatedly say on The Deadliest Catch is that it is absolutely catastrophic to have a dead crab in the tanks because, in fairly short order, it will start killing off the other crabs and start… --- ## [How much did Truman know about the Manhattan project before he became President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-truman-know-about-the-manhattan-project-before-he-became-president/725615)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-truman-know-about-the-manhattan-project-before-he-became-president/725615 "2015-09-06T11:16:51Z")
Famously as VP Truman and his predecessor were not included in the need to know about the Manhattan project. However, Truman as a Senator in the early part of the war discovered in his role as a committee Chair about so… --- ## [Any unexplored areas left on earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490)
**Author:** [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unexplored-areas-left-on-earth/592490 "2015-09-06T11:06:50Z")
Occasionally I read about a tribe being discovered in the Amazon, in New Guinea, or in Borneo that had had no previous contact with the outside world. Apart from these three regions, the Antarctic, and under the oceans,… --- ## [What is the purpose of this window-edge pattern?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-this-window-edge-pattern/730139)
**Author:** [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-this-window-edge-pattern/730139 "2015-09-06T09:25:36Z")
I’m on the top deck of a bus heading for Peterborough, Ontario. Around me are windows with a curious pattern around the edges. The pattern is a gradient made of differing-size black dots, so that there is almost a transi… --- ## [Just what is DISQUS?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-disqus/729832)
**Author:** [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-disqus/729832 "2015-09-06T07:56:14Z")
I happened on this forum indirectly, by tackling some controversial topics taken up on Facebook. For some reason every topic on DISQUS is chock-full of hate-Obama invective and assertions that whoever disagrees with the … --- ## [Mystery MIG near Dallas?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mig-near-dallas/729802)
**Author:** [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mig-near-dallas/729802 "2015-09-06T05:30:58Z")
I used to drive to and from Dallas fairly often. Off US 80, between I-635 and I-20 at Terrill, on the north side, there’s a parking lot and in a grassy part near the chain link fence, there’s a MIG with Soviet markings. … --- ## [Pay off to avoid a criminal charge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-off-to-avoid-a-criminal-charge/729917)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-off-to-avoid-a-criminal-charge/729917 "2015-09-05T20:57:04Z")
Not as titillating as my question on whether or not it is illegal to ask a female panhandler to show her breasts for money but I’ll try my best. I’m rich and I punch a guy in a bar. I’m not worried about a civil suit b… --- ## [Travel to Greece and the "Grexit"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-to-greece-and-the-grexit/718428)
**Author:** [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-to-greece-and-the-grexit/718428 "2015-09-05T18:39:41Z")
I am supposed to go to a conference on one of the Greek islands this summer. This talk of the “Grexit” has me worried, not the least because I’ve heard nothing from the meeting organizers about the status of the conferen… --- ## [A smile is a smile or is it-?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-smile-is-a-smile-or-is-it/730048)
**Author:** [@tooldtocare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tooldtocare)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-smile-is-a-smile-or-is-it/730048 "2015-09-05T17:21:58Z")
A smile is a smile When a wolf shows his teeth,.,./,./.,., .,.,.,…,.He means business When we humans show our teeth it’s called a smile Is the difference an evolutionary thing and once upon a time we smiled for the s… --- ## [Renewing a whitewash stain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renewing-a-whitewash-stain/730040)
**Author:** [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renewing-a-whitewash-stain/730040 "2015-09-05T16:29:52Z")
We have lots of cherry cabinets, all 20 years old that need to be renewed. Their current stain is a light whitewash. This stain has been entirely removed by wear in small scattered high use/high moisture areas. Is the… --- ## [Any cardiologists in the house? Beta blocker question.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-cardiologists-in-the-house-beta-blocker-question/730015)
**Author:** [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-cardiologists-in-the-house-beta-blocker-question/730015 "2015-09-05T15:28:08Z")
I want to improve my cardiovascular strength. As I understand it, to do this I need to exercise strenuously enough that my heart rate goes up into the “cardio zone”, which is about 150bpm. However, I take atenolol, a b… --- ## [How is the meaning of “all the better” different from saying “even better”?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-meaning-of-all-the-better-different-from-saying-even-better/729998)
**Author:** [@Melia\_Antiqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melia_Antiqua)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-meaning-of-all-the-better-different-from-saying-even-better/729998 "2015-09-05T15:19:33Z")
I’m hoping to find out how and when native English speakers use “all the + comparative” instead of “even + comparative”. Many thanks. “Word is he’s an excellent leader. With him stationed at the fort, the Soviet forces … --- ## [Why could my key fob only be opening half my doors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-my-key-fob-only-be-opening-half-my-doors/729944)
**Author:** [@Pandect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandect)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-my-key-fob-only-be-opening-half-my-doors/729944 "2015-09-05T15:17:39Z")
I have a 2001 Volvo V70 and for the past couple of days my key fob has been extremely picky. I am having to press the buttons very hard for them to work, and usually even when they do they only open the trunk and doors o… --- ## [How long for muscle mass to decrease when not working out?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-muscle-mass-to-decrease-when-not-working-out/623642)
**Author:** [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-muscle-mass-to-decrease-when-not-working-out/623642 "2012-06-03T01:19:15Z")
I know that muscles atrophy if not used, but I’m wondering if anyone has really quantified how long it takes for muscle mass to decrease when a workout regimen is stopped. I’m observing something really counterintuitive… --- ## [Excel question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-question/729815)
**Author:** [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-question/729815 "2015-09-05T13:30:31Z")
My friend is struggling with using Excel to calculate hours for payroll, and is having difficulty. She posted this: Does anyone have a clue to the solution? --- ## [Is Exposed Fiberglass Dangerous In A Room?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-exposed-fiberglass-dangerous-in-a-room/729709)
**Author:** [@sunnysouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunnysouth)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-exposed-fiberglass-dangerous-in-a-room/729709 "2015-09-05T12:58:12Z")
Hi, I had a question and have been to this forum before. So many well educated people here :slight\_smile: I figured it would be a good place to ask this question. I live in a basement next to a garage with exposed fibe… --- ## [Why are spirochetes spiral](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-spirochetes-spiral/729983)
**Author:** [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-spirochetes-spiral/729983 "2015-09-05T12:45:53Z")
I just read something that mentioned spirochetes and it rekindled an old question of mine. Is there any biological reason for those bacteria to be so screwy? For example it looks like it may make reproduction by cell di… --- ## [How should I get to Oskarschamn, Sweden?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-to-oskarschamn-sweden/729850)
**Author:** [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-get-to-oskarschamn-sweden/729850 "2015-09-05T12:42:07Z")
It may come to pass that I have to travel to a place called Oskarscahmn, Sweden. Now, Oskarschamn is not a common destination; it’s a very small town. So I have two fly-in options, both of which are about four hours’ … --- ## [What is the "underside" of a water surface with surface tension? Because I saw a shrimp walk on it.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-underside-of-a-water-surface-with-surface-tension-because-i-saw-a-shrimp-walk-on-it/729907)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-underside-of-a-water-surface-with-surface-tension-because-i-saw-a-shrimp-walk-on-it/729907 "2015-09-05T12:26:50Z")
You know those insects, or amphibians (do I know) who trot around a pond by some combination of weight, weight distribution, and surface tension? Well I was shown, and think I saw–I basically nodded to be polite, and be… --- ## [Do you pay for a US passport renewal at the start or end of applying?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pay-for-a-us-passport-renewal-at-the-start-or-end-of-applying/729776)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-pay-for-a-us-passport-renewal-at-the-start-or-end-of-applying/729776 "2015-09-05T12:24:42Z")
just curious because I contacted the embassy about requirements I cannot fulfill and they just say well you cannot get it then, want to make sure i’ not throwing money away like with a visa. --- ## [Making Diesel fuel from fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-diesel-fuel-from-fat/729947)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-diesel-fuel-from-fat/729947 "2015-09-05T08:51:50Z")
I thought I’d asked this before; but if I did, I can’t find it. There was a show on TV a year or three ago, where contestants were put into a simulated zombie apocalypse. In one episode they ‘found’ (were given) some p… --- ## [McAfee Application Installer Cleanup: legit or not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcafee-application-installer-cleanup-legit-or-not/729873)
**Author:** [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcafee-application-installer-cleanup-legit-or-not/729873 "2015-09-05T08:27:25Z")
So I did a search on this, and most of it tells me jackshit. It says it’s legit, but half of them are sites on how to remove it? (Note: this came up when I’m doing an adware cleaning, and it said, “check the items you… --- ## [Thunderbird e-mail client: Why is it failing to download so many e-mails?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thunderbird-e-mail-client-why-is-it-failing-to-download-so-many-e-mails/729970)
**Author:** [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thunderbird-e-mail-client-why-is-it-failing-to-download-so-many-e-mails/729970 "2015-09-05T04:50:54Z")
I’ve been using Thunderbird for my e-mail for a couple months now, and I’m encountering a strange problem: It doesn’t download everything. A while back, I sent an e-mail to my pastor’s wife. I didn’t receive a reply for… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1046) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1048)