# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1147 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1148 --- ## [Internet slang/sarcasm (acronym?): \ if true!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-slang-sarcasm-acronym-something-if-true/715493)
**Author:** [@maralinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maralinn)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-slang-sarcasm-acronym-something-if-true/715493 "2015-03-21T10:16:41Z")
I’m trying to remember if I’ve been seeing a phrase consistently, usually used sarcastically when a far-fetched claim is made, or maybe as a response to a dumb joke that involves exaggeration: “amazing if true!” or “whoa… --- ## [Who did the Emancipation Proclamation actually apply to when it was issued?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-the-emancipation-proclamation-actually-apply-to-when-it-was-issued/715427)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-did-the-emancipation-proclamation-actually-apply-to-when-it-was-issued/715427 "2015-03-21T07:55:14Z")
Hi, I would like to fact-check the following comment I came across recently. Is the commenter correct on all points? I look forward to your feedback. davidmich Comment following a New York Times Disunion article " Cou… --- ## [Is there a physiological reason or effect to a 'Heavy Sigh'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-physiological-reason-or-effect-to-a-heavy-sigh/715565)
**Author:** [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-physiological-reason-or-effect-to-a-heavy-sigh/715565 "2015-03-21T07:10:20Z")
My dog was abused before I got him. I’ll coax him into bed and he’s all stiff and fearful. I’ll give him snuggles and scritches and eventually, he’ll let out a Heavy Sigh and settle in. What’s going on here? --- ## [Can boxing someone's ears really kill them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-boxing-someones-ears-really-kill-them/715575)
**Author:** [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-boxing-someones-ears-really-kill-them/715575 "2015-03-21T07:01:21Z")
I tried to search the forum on this topic but didn’t see anything. I’ve read before that boxing someone’s ears can kill them, is this really possible? By boxing ears I mean basically hitting both of a person’s ears with… --- ## [Have Had Insomnia for 50 YEARS - Apnea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-had-insomnia-for-50-years-apnea/715236)
**Author:** [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-had-insomnia-for-50-years-apnea/715236 "2015-03-21T06:17:39Z")
My doc is demanding I jump through the “Sleep Center”'s hoops to get sleeping pills. If I don’t take a pill, I don’t, as nearly as I can tell, never lose consciousness. As in twiddle thumbs all night. “Sleep Center” d… --- ## [Do crocodiles find humans habit-forming?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crocodiles-find-humans-habit-forming/715219)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crocodiles-find-humans-habit-forming/715219 "2015-03-21T03:23:19Z")
I saw an article today about various people getting eaten by crocodiles in Zambezia and various other Z-Countries in the region. It mentions that people-eating crocodiles are then hunted down and killed to protect the pu… --- ## [If the energy of light is determined by its wavelength...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-energy-of-light-is-determined-by-its-wavelength/715420)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-energy-of-light-is-determined-by-its-wavelength/715420 "2015-03-21T03:01:53Z")
…then what’s the difference between two light sources of same wavelength but different output power? I would assume that, from the particle point of view of electromagnetic radiation, the wavelength, i.e. frequency, det… --- ## [Does everything become radioactive over time if exposed to intense radiation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-everything-become-radioactive-over-time-if-exposed-to-intense-radiation/715330)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-everything-become-radioactive-over-time-if-exposed-to-intense-radiation/715330 "2015-03-21T02:44:51Z")
Is there any material in existence that can serve as radiation shielding and will not itself become radioactive if exposed to intense radiation indefinitely, or does everything eventually become radioactive itself, too, … --- ## [Principal vs. principle - UK/US usage question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/principal-vs-principle-uk-us-usage-question/715369)
**Author:** [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/principal-vs-principle-uk-us-usage-question/715369 "2015-03-21T02:20:28Z")
I’m an American newly hired on at a British company. I’ve been asked to write my documentation in British English. I’ve long been a regular reader of British books and magazines. Easy enough, or so I thought. Yest… --- ## [Calculating a spaceship position.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-a-spaceship-position/714602)
**Author:** [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-a-spaceship-position/714602 "2015-03-21T01:55:10Z")
Is there an easy way to calculate the position of a space ship at time T, from it’s original speed, mass and the position and masses of nearby gravity sources?. I’m working on a space ship game and so far I can do it by… --- ## [Term for unintentional sexual innuendos?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-unintentional-sexual-innuendos/715349)
**Author:** [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-unintentional-sexual-innuendos/715349 "2015-03-20T23:25:02Z")
I remember three examples in my life, in which I became the perpetrator of remarks that sound like “sexual innuendos” without realizing it before the people all around me laugh loudly. Example 1: In high school psycholo… --- ## [Probable cause to search a car](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probable-cause-to-search-a-car/715508)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probable-cause-to-search-a-car/715508 "2015-03-20T22:57:34Z")
So let’s say I’m stopped by a cop. He starts asking questions and asks to search my car. I say, “I do not consent to a search. Am I free to go?” The cop claims he smells alcohol (or marijuana but we’ll keep this simp… --- ## [iPhone and incompatible accessories](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-and-incompatible-accessories/715379)
**Author:** [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-and-incompatible-accessories/715379 "2015-03-20T21:15:16Z")
I have recently started getting the “This accessory might not work with your phone” warning on several things (cables, car chargers) that used to work just fine with the phone. Is it possible that one of the software up… --- ## [Cut starter solenoid wire to fake a car crash??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-starter-solenoid-wire-to-fake-a-car-crash/715345)
**Author:** [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cut-starter-solenoid-wire-to-fake-a-car-crash/715345 "2015-03-20T21:08:01Z")
So I happen to click on an article featured on Wikipedia’s home page today. It’s about a woman who disappeared on this day 15 years ago. Anyway, being knowledgeable about cars something in the article does not make sense… --- ## [Catholic eschatology: What happens to the soul between death and final judgement?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-eschatology-what-happens-to-the-soul-between-death-and-final-judgement/715310)
**Author:** [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-eschatology-what-happens-to-the-soul-between-death-and-final-judgement/715310 "2015-03-20T21:01:25Z")
I was raised (unsuccessfully) Catholic, and this is a question that has been bugging me since I was a child and still had some kind of faith. So the folk belief is that when somebody dies, the soul is immediately transfe… --- ## [General car steering wheel question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-steering-wheel-question/715437)
**Author:** [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-steering-wheel-question/715437 "2015-03-20T20:09:51Z")
Sort of related to the thread about why they moved the headlight dimmer switch Buttons mounted on the steering wheel (not talking about the stalks) often control the stereo, cruise control and firing the airbag. Probab… --- ## [Too good to be true? \[converting seawater and brackish water into potable water\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-good-to-be-true-converting-seawater-and-brackish-water-into-potable-water/715467)
**Author:** [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-good-to-be-true-converting-seawater-and-brackish-water-into-potable-water/715467 "2015-03-20T20:07:53Z")
I was reading this yesterday, with some skepticism and incredulity, and wanted to find out if it’s actually possible. If it is and the claims are correct, then it can turn seawater and brackish water into potable for a l… --- ## [Simple question about Israeli Democracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-about-israeli-democracy/715110)
**Author:** [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-about-israeli-democracy/715110 "2015-03-20T20:01:44Z")
I apologize in advance for the perhaps remedial nature of these questions, but the rest of the internet was being less than helpful. Do Palestinians get to vote in Israel? Do other non-Jews get to vote in Israel? --- ## [what's the feminization of the word "patronizing?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-feminization-of-the-word-patronizing/715294)
**Author:** [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-feminization-of-the-word-patronizing/715294 "2015-03-20T19:48:19Z")
If being patronizingmeans assuming a fatherly air of paternal know-it-all-edness, is there an equivalent word for when a woman does it? Doesn’t the word have loaded gender-related connotations? Basically, I’m wondering … --- ## [ironing and humidity.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironing-and-humidity/715424)
**Author:** [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironing-and-humidity/715424 "2015-03-20T19:42:31Z")
Weird thing happened today that has me pondering sciency stuff. It is warm and more humid than has been in a while. Last week during my two hours ironing I filled the iron with 6 cups of water. Today I used 3. Would th… --- ## [Best way to backup work e-mail?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-backup-work-e-mail/715435)
**Author:** [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-backup-work-e-mail/715435 "2015-03-20T19:23:09Z")
I need to have a backup of my work email in a separate area so that I can have evidence of certain conversations I have had with management that could be important in case certain things come to a head. I think it is un… --- ## [Clearinghouse for the numbers on those little stickers on produce?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clearinghouse-for-the-numbers-on-those-little-stickers-on-produce/715500)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clearinghouse-for-the-numbers-on-those-little-stickers-on-produce/715500 "2015-03-20T16:27:55Z")
When I shop at Giant, bananas are always produce code 4011. I used to think the code was specific to this grocery store, but Chiquita puts a branding sticker on with that number on it. So I assume it’s the same for all s… --- ## [Outlook 2013 AutoArchive not following folder settings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-2013-autoarchive-not-following-folder-settings/715495)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-2013-autoarchive-not-following-folder-settings/715495 "2015-03-20T15:15:20Z")
I have my Outlook Inbox set up to autoarchive emails older than 24 months, saving them to an archive file. But it looks like emails older than 1 year old are being archived. Worse, they are not showing up in the archive … --- ## [Driver A causes Driver B to crash into Driver C](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-a-causes-driver-b-to-crash-into-driver-c/715398)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-a-causes-driver-b-to-crash-into-driver-c/715398 "2015-03-20T14:17:23Z")
Let’s say Driver A makes an illegal turn. This causes Driver B to have to swerve to avoid the oncoming Driver A, but B smashes into C’s car as a result. Is Driver A legally liable for the crash, assuming he/she can be t… --- ## [Are siblings more closely related to you than your parents and children are?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-siblings-more-closely-related-to-you-than-your-parents-and-children-are/715097)
**Author:** [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-siblings-more-closely-related-to-you-than-your-parents-and-children-are/715097 "2015-03-20T13:58:08Z")
Siblings are the only people who share 100 percent of your lineage. You of course are 50 percent different from both your parents and kids in that regard, but identical to your siblings. Does that mean that genetically t… --- ## [What causes zippers to fail?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-zippers-to-fail/715396)
**Author:** [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-zippers-to-fail/715396 "2015-03-20T13:07:33Z")
I have a nice cycling top with a semi-busted zip. It’s progressively gotten stiffer to zip up over the past few weeks but still does so, but now has started to fail by the two sides separating once it’s zipped up. Thing… --- ## [Can a human actually tear into an abdomen using bare hands?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-human-actually-tear-into-an-abdomen-using-bare-hands/715271)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-human-actually-tear-into-an-abdomen-using-bare-hands/715271 "2015-03-20T11:57:44Z")
Going back to Tom Savini’s SFX work in zombie movies there is a tradition of zombies tearing people apart, and this has always bugged me. Try it, try to say tear half a face off a human being using only your strength. C… --- ## [Hindi song lyrics website (not in transliteration)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hindi-song-lyrics-website-not-in-transliteration/439929)
**Author:** [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2008, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hindi-song-lyrics-website-not-in-transliteration/439929 "2008-03-03T10:20:07Z")
Does anyone know of a website where I can get lyrics for Hindi songs actually in devanagari, rather than transliteration? My Hindi’s not good enough to google-fu such a thing up. --- ## [Monitor Math - Comparing Computer Displays of Different Resolutions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitor-math-comparing-computer-displays-of-different-resolutions/715376)
**Author:** [@andrea\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrea_green)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitor-math-comparing-computer-displays-of-different-resolutions/715376 "2015-03-20T06:39:25Z")
Lately I’ve found myself trying to keep track of a lot of information simultaneously. I’m tracking appointments, virtual office spaces (Slack App), skype, research databases, incoming email etc. I need more screen rea… --- ## [1997 BMW 740 audio question/help](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1997-bmw-740-audio-question-help/715454)
**Author:** [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1997-bmw-740-audio-question-help/715454 "2015-03-20T05:11:16Z")
As usual, the BMW specific boards have failed me completely. They are so compartmentalized that unless someone has the exact model, color, year, tires/wheels, shoe size and problem as me, the will never even see my post.… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1146) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1148)