# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1068 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1069 --- ## [Why can't Iran just buy fissile material?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-iran-just-buy-fissile-material/726923)
**Author:** [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-iran-just-buy-fissile-material/726923 "2015-08-04T18:19:58Z")
This is not a question about the wisdom of the Iranian deal. It’s a question about its mechanics. I’ve watched a lot of experts talk about the Iranian nuclear deal in the past few weeks. I don’t mean the clowns on Fox… --- ## [MacBook Pro update issue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macbook-pro-update-issue/726974)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macbook-pro-update-issue/726974 "2015-08-04T15:45:17Z")
A couple of weeks ago I tried to install an ‘important’ update on my MacBook Pro. I was warned that it must be plugged into the mains, and not to interrupt power until the update was complete. So it goes through its no… --- ## [Would it be possible to have surgery to make you a god singer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-have-surgery-to-make-you-a-god-singer/726881)
**Author:** [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-have-surgery-to-make-you-a-god-singer/726881 "2015-08-04T15:36:39Z")
Just a random question that popped into my head while crooning in the shower today: Not that it would be anything but crazy, but do we know enough about the anatomical details of vocal chords to be able to perform some … --- ## [When Contraband Is Caught By The USPS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-contraband-is-caught-by-the-usps/726965)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-contraband-is-caught-by-the-usps/726965 "2015-08-04T14:37:10Z")
Let’s say that a person in California sends a few grams of forbidden plant matter to a recipient in Missouri, via USPS. Postal inspectors catch on to it, get a warrant, open it, and determine that it’s contraband. What h… --- ## [Win7 Network printers - Find printer by location](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win7-network-printers-find-printer-by-location/726676)
**Author:** [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win7-network-printers-find-printer-by-location/726676 "2015-08-04T14:23:40Z")
This is on different work computers, all Windows 7 x64, and all presumably set up the same way by IT, although not necessarily at the same time. The printers that do show up are spread about many buildings. Yet when I fo… --- ## [Ruby Programming Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-programming-question/726971)
**Author:** [@sengi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sengi)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruby-programming-question/726971 "2015-08-04T14:00:03Z")
Hello everyone, I was hoping someone could help me with a difficulty in a gem called “Squib” for the Ruby programming language. I posted it elsewhere all nicely formatted, so I thought I’d just drop a link here, if that’… --- ## [Fun Science things](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-science-things/726963)
**Author:** [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-science-things/726963 "2015-08-04T13:50:21Z")
This is driving me crazy. I vaguely remember buying a powdered alcohol (not THAT powdered alcohol) online. You would mix it with water, and it would have peculiar properties. I THINK it became a very viscous liquid th… --- ## [How does Windows backup utility work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-windows-backup-utility-work/726686)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-windows-backup-utility-work/726686 "2015-08-04T04:27:23Z")
I’m using Windows 7. (Actually I’m upgrading to Win10 as I write…) I backup my laptop religiously every day\* to one of two external 1T hard drives. After a week, I switch to the other one, then back and forth weekly. I’… --- ## [40 year old meat?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-year-old-meat/726865)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-year-old-meat/726865 "2015-08-04T04:22:14Z")
Ok I was thinking some kind of cured dried jerky or sausage, but the picture appears to be fresh or until recently frozen pork steaks. Even canned meat makes no sense, where has it been stored for 40 years? WHY woul… --- ## [Photographing rectangular objects](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photographing-rectangular-objects/726736)
**Author:** [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photographing-rectangular-objects/726736 "2015-08-04T04:21:36Z")
I’m photographing some of my large artwork (average 48" x 32"). I’m using a Nikon D90 camera with an AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm lens. It’s the only lens I use any more, and I’ve never encountered this problem before. Rather t… --- ## [A new diploma?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-diploma/726879)
**Author:** [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-diploma/726879 "2015-08-04T02:44:19Z")
Okay, so you’ve graduated college. Maybe grad school. Maybe medical school. And you’ve got your diplomas framed and hanging on your office wall. Or I’ve seen diplomas etched in metal on walls. Anyway, suppose you get mar… --- ## [Porting cell # to Google Voice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porting-cell-to-google-voice/726929)
**Author:** [@LiveFree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveFree)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porting-cell-to-google-voice/726929 "2015-08-04T01:52:48Z")
Our Verizon Wireless account has 3 #'s on it. One of them is an old number that my wife had, but no longer uses. She always uses her business cell phone. I want to port that # to a Google Voice #, and once that is don… --- ## [Celts in New England before 1600's](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celts-in-new-england-before-1600s/726777)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celts-in-new-england-before-1600s/726777 "2015-08-04T01:42:38Z")
I have read somewhere that ancient Celts were in New Hampshire and Vermont for hundreds of years before the pilgrims ever came across the ocean. There are unexplained stone structures, and supposedly the celts came to N… --- ## [Is modern english more similar to Latin than it is to middle/old english?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-modern-english-more-similar-to-latin-than-it-is-to-middle-old-english/726863)
**Author:** [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-modern-english-more-similar-to-latin-than-it-is-to-middle-old-english/726863 "2015-08-04T01:10:20Z")
Is modern english more similar to Latin than it is to middle/old english? Is it just my uninformed opinion/knowledge or am I more likely to recognize a word I barely know if it is in Latin than if I see it in Old English… --- ## [The limits and possibilities of sublingual administration](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-limits-and-possibilities-of-sublingual-administration/726790)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 4, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-limits-and-possibilities-of-sublingual-administration/726790 "2015-08-04T00:17:03Z")
Am I correct that sublingual administration works by having particles which are small enough to go through the mucous membrane under the tongue and then go straight into the bloodstream? Drugs, vitamins and minerals can… --- ## [How would a clinical study of an anti-aging therapy work](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-clinical-study-of-an-anti-aging-therapy-work/721909)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-clinical-study-of-an-anti-aging-therapy-work/721909 "2015-08-03T23:38:18Z")
I’ve read lots of stories about advances in the lab that could result in medical technologies that can, to a degree, slow or reverse aging (either causing a compression of morbidity or increasing lifespan and/or healthsp… --- ## [power outage last night. What happened?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-last-night-what-happened/726878)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-outage-last-night-what-happened/726878 "2015-08-03T23:25:52Z")
Last night a monster storm front rolled through southern Michigan. Around 11:30 there was a pretty good lightning strike, and the power flickered for a second or two before shutting down completely. It was out for mayb… --- ## [Latin question - the fear of being exposed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-question-the-fear-of-being-exposed/726924)
**Author:** [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-question-the-fear-of-being-exposed/726924 "2015-08-03T22:57:04Z")
Dear all, As part of my personal musing and dealing with my massive psychological problems, my mind searched to a very quotable maxim - timor mortis conturbant me, or rather, the fear of death disturbs me. How would I … --- ## [High voltage electronics test cages - does the USA even use them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-voltage-electronics-test-cages-does-the-usa-even-use-them/726925)
**Author:** [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-voltage-electronics-test-cages-does-the-usa-even-use-them/726925 "2015-08-03T22:29:27Z")
Ok, I’ve got an upcoming engineering project to develop a high voltage control board. Part of the board will see up to 600 volts DC, and generate a resulting high voltage AC signal. While it is true that you can work o… --- ## [Is there such a body as the White House Office of Consumer Affairs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-body-as-the-white-house-office-of-consumer-affairs/726854)
**Author:** [@kushami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushami)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-body-as-the-white-house-office-of-consumer-affairs/726854 "2015-08-03T20:54:14Z")
I am editing a textbook on customer service, and while looking for information on customer behaviour, I came across this factoid in numerous places: A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their expe… --- ## [What is this thing (some kind of manned bomb or torpedo?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-some-kind-of-manned-bomb-or-torpedo/726913)
**Author:** [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-some-kind-of-manned-bomb-or-torpedo/726913 "2015-08-03T20:31:24Z")
This thing (links below) is sitting outside a pawn shop near me. I can’t figure out what it is. At first I thought it might be some kind of WW2 era kamikaze bomb, or a manned torpedo with the prop missing. But I did a … --- ## [Is there a term for wasting money to get something free?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-wasting-money-to-get-something-free/726592)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-wasting-money-to-get-something-free/726592 "2015-08-03T19:56:02Z")
I’m sure we have all encountered someone who will spend money and time beyond what something is worth to get it if it is free, two examples I can think of. Driving across town to eat free samples at a Sam’s Club or Cost… --- ## [What Evidence Survives Cremation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-evidence-survives-cremation/580071)
**Author:** [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-evidence-survives-cremation/580071 "2011-04-28T22:27:21Z")
I was reading a bunch of articles in the Crime Library site and in it, they had a few people who were caught poisoning when the remains of the cremation were dug up and tested for thallium and arsenic. It seems the amoun… --- ## [Why can anyone sing like a virtuoso?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-can-anyone-sing-like-a-virtuoso/726546)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-can-anyone-sing-like-a-virtuoso/726546 "2015-08-03T16:36:58Z")
A moderator rained on my (classic hit) parade, so I’m following instructions and starting a new thread with the same question: That people can sing as well as, say, Bob Marley or Bob Dylan (or any regular schmoe who sin… --- ## [Self Defense as an Affirmative Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-defense-as-an-affirmative-defense/726684)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-defense-as-an-affirmative-defense/726684 "2015-08-03T14:43:46Z")
In which states in the US is self defense an affirmative defense against a charge that involves killing a human being (i.e. murder, or manslaughter, or whichever other charge fits the bill)? --- ## [Prosecutors in Germany](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prosecutors-in-germany/726797)
**Author:** [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prosecutors-in-germany/726797 "2015-08-03T14:18:18Z")
I just read an article in DW.com, a news english new site, that mentions something about German legal practices I was not aware of. The article is about a new law covering possible corruption in medical practice-a worthy… --- ## [Are smarter birds less developed upon hatching?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-smarter-birds-less-developed-upon-hatching/726862)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-smarter-birds-less-developed-upon-hatching/726862 "2015-08-03T13:50:04Z")
Is there a correlation between the intelligence a bird and how helpless it is when it hatches? Parrots are extremely smart birds, and their newly hatched babies are helpless and blind. I believe crow and raven hatchlings… --- ## [What the heck happened to see-saw this KLM 777?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-happened-to-see-saw-this-klm-777/726751)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-happened-to-see-saw-this-klm-777/726751 "2015-08-03T13:25:17Z")
See subject. The landing. STORM!! SCHIPHOL, KLM GEVAARLIJKE LANDING B777 PH-BVB - YouTube I’m glad I wasn’t a passenger. Especially at the last few seconds. And, any comments on what the pilots did/do to save everybody… --- ## [House building question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-building-question/726872)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-building-question/726872 "2015-08-03T12:13:11Z")
Hi everyone, I wanted to ask this, how big of a percent does a 1.wall , 2. the construction (nothing complicated, just light wood) , 3. foundation and 4.installations (electricity, water,etc) constitute, each, of the ent… --- ## [Honey bee hive collapse and native pollinators](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-bee-hive-collapse-and-native-pollinators/726852)
**Author:** [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 3, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honey-bee-hive-collapse-and-native-pollinators/726852 "2015-08-03T11:17:11Z")
Honey bees are not native to North America. Squashes, peppers hot and sweet, peanuts, sunflowers, blueberries, and other food crops are. Obviously, they were pollinated before the “white man’s fly” was introduced here. … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1067) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1069)