# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1164 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1165 --- ## [Frequency detection on a real-valued signal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frequency-detection-on-a-real-valued-signal/712636)
**Author:** [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2015, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frequency-detection-on-a-real-valued-signal/712636 "2015-02-23T07:29:41Z")
For a little DSP project I’m playing with, I need to perform a frequency detection on a real-valued signal. Specifically, I need to tell whether I’m hearing a 1200 Hz or 2200 Hz tone (maybe some of you can guess what I’… --- ## [Can probation officers lie to their clients?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-probation-officers-lie-to-their-clients/713097)
**Author:** [@Tuxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuxie)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-probation-officers-lie-to-their-clients/713097 "2015-02-23T06:03:50Z")
I heard a rumor that probation officers can call up one of their clients, tell them their probation ended early, then later nail them for some violation of their probation if it turned out they were in fact still on prob… --- ## [Reversed cable jumpstart - oops](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reversed-cable-jumpstart-oops/713384)
**Author:** [@tom-mn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tom-mn)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reversed-cable-jumpstart-oops/713384 "2015-02-23T05:30:01Z")
OK, I screwed up by reversing the cables when jump starting a 2001 Ford E250 (4.2 l) van. After correcting the connections the engine turned over fine but would not fire. I suspect that I at least blew a fuse, possibly… --- ## [Cellphone monitoring. Is this one real or crap?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellphone-monitoring-is-this-one-real-or-crap/713238)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cellphone-monitoring-is-this-one-real-or-crap/713238 "2015-02-22T22:42:20Z")
We all know about cellphone spy software that someone can put on a phone and monitor everything. But access to the actual phone is needed to attach such programming. These ads suggest such software can be downloaded on … --- ## [How is it statistically more likely to die in an apocalyptic asteroid strike than win the lottery?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-statistically-more-likely-to-die-in-an-apocalyptic-asteroid-strike-than-win-the-lottery/712160)
**Author:** [@erocked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erocked)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-statistically-more-likely-to-die-in-an-apocalyptic-asteroid-strike-than-win-the-lottery/712160 "2015-02-22T20:56:31Z")
If obviously we have lottery winners every few months or so and never in recorded history, as it is my understanding has any human died of and asteroid, then how is it statistically more likely to die in an asteroid apoc… --- ## [USB to network drive converter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-to-network-drive-converter/713036)
**Author:** [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-to-network-drive-converter/713036 "2015-02-22T19:56:00Z")
I’ve been looking in the usual places, and came up short. Is there a device available I can plug A USB based external hard drive into that makes it a full-fledged network drive? --- ## [How many mah do batteries have](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mah-do-batteries-have/713303)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-mah-do-batteries-have/713303 "2015-02-22T19:39:06Z")
By batteries, I mean the common disposable alkaline ones. AAA AA C D 9V lantern battery etc. but mostly the first 5 in that list. --- ## [Name for style of shirt](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-style-of-shirt/713351)
**Author:** [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-style-of-shirt/713351 "2015-02-22T19:26:14Z")
Is there a name for the kind of shirt in \[=142631680&filters\[recent\]=1&sort=1&o=0"\]this photo\](http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/Octarine1/media/Screenshot%202015-02-22%20at%2011.56.23%20AM\_zpsjytbcwqp.png.html?filters\[u… --- ## [Shelf life of peanut butter..............](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-peanut-butter/551427)
**Author:** [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shelf-life-of-peanut-butter/551427 "2015-02-22T19:20:35Z")
Reading the post about the shelf life of honey… What is the shelf life of peanut butter? I have never seen rotten or spoiled peanut butter. This seems like a product that if kept sealed in a container (like what they ar… --- ## [Why weren't Native Americans enslaved?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-werent-native-americans-enslaved/712946)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-werent-native-americans-enslaved/712946 "2015-02-22T18:39:15Z")
It seems odd to fetch slaves from a different continent over thousands of miles of ocean when a ready supply was available much nearer at hand. Were any attempts made to utilize the American natives as slaves? --- ## [How to Fix This in Word 2003?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fix-this-in-word-2003/713300)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fix-this-in-word-2003/713300 "2015-02-22T18:06:24Z")
Yes, I work on an old laptop with Word 2003. When my Word docs open, two things are happening at the bottom of the screen which I do not like. Hopefully, someone knows a trick to display my Word document properly: a) T… --- ## [Whats Up with Antillia and Hy-Brasil?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-antillia-and-hy-brasil/713308)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-antillia-and-hy-brasil/713308 "2015-02-22T16:07:03Z")
Okay, they are non-existent islands off the coasts of Spain and Ireland, respectively. But the myths came from somewhere, right? Hybrasil was on maps as late as 1865. --- ## [Recycling plastic question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-plastic-question/713143)
**Author:** [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-plastic-question/713143 "2015-02-22T15:15:18Z")
Not too long ago I worked a temporary job in a recycling facility. Plastic was shipped to China, except for clamshell containers. Those got thrown away. I asked my coworkers why, but none of them knew. So I’m asking … --- ## [Comatose for 2 months question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comatose-for-2-months-question/713076)
**Author:** [@paste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paste)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comatose-for-2-months-question/713076 "2015-02-22T09:41:49Z")
Hi! I’m planning to write a story about a person who had a car accident and because of that he became comatose for 2 months. Aproximately how long would be the recovery period? Can a person who had been comatose for 2 m… --- ## [How do obtain copies of old Soviet physics journal articles?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-obtain-copies-of-old-soviet-physics-journal-articles/606661)
**Author:** [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-obtain-copies-of-old-soviet-physics-journal-articles/606661 "2015-02-22T09:17:30Z")
I have accumulated a number of references, to obscure physics journal articles published in the 1970’s in the Soviet Union. Does anyone know how I can find copies of the original (or translated) articles today? --- ## [Real-world usefulness of microeconomics?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-usefulness-of-microeconomics/713286)
**Author:** [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-usefulness-of-microeconomics/713286 "2015-02-22T04:22:42Z")
Microeconomics, as a branch of economics, is sometimes seen as too abstract, too theoretical, making unrealistic assumption about what goes on in the real world. Does the academic study of microeconomic concepts: produc… --- ## [What's the gardening implement with a single pointy thing.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-gardening-implement-with-a-single-pointy-thing/713171)
**Author:** [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-gardening-implement-with-a-single-pointy-thing/713171 "2015-02-22T03:26:18Z")
My dad used to have a long handled gardening tool that looked like a hoe but just had a single bent finger or tine. Kinda like a really skinny hoe :). I’ve been trying to track one down because I have a bunch of weeds g… --- ## [The creation process of the fundamental particles of the atomic nucleus.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-process-of-the-fundamental-particles-of-the-atomic-nucleus/713261)
**Author:** [@RTCPhysics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTCPhysics)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-process-of-the-fundamental-particles-of-the-atomic-nucleus/713261 "2015-02-22T02:17:54Z")
Ever wonder how the first atomic nucleus came into being? The nuclei of every element of the Periodic Table must have arisen from the same process being repeated over and over again, giving the atom’s nucleus both its st… --- ## [What Is The Highest-Altitude Building in the World?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-altitude-building-in-the-world/611003)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-altitude-building-in-the-world/611003 "2015-02-22T01:34:01Z")
What useful building (could be a house, temple, storage facility, etc.; it counts so long as it occupies human beings from time to time and was built by human beings (so caves or whatever don’t count)) is at the highest … --- ## [Slavery in the South vs Bible slavery](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slavery-in-the-south-vs-bible-slavery/713023)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 22, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slavery-in-the-south-vs-bible-slavery/713023 "2015-02-22T00:33:33Z")
Bit of a broad question I know but I hope some specifics can be gleaned - simply put, how did the institute of slavery compare in the United States and Confederacy to slavery in the Biblical context? To be precise, how … --- ## [From fastest to slowest, absence of ... kills you](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-fastest-to-slowest-absence-of-kills-you/712950)
**Author:** [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-fastest-to-slowest-absence-of-kills-you/712950 "2015-02-21T22:30:49Z")
Imagine you step into a chamber that is exactly like where you are now only it has 1 thing completely absent. Heat or food or water or oxygen or pressure, etc. What will be the fastest to kill you and what would be the … --- ## [Do ALL British and Irish people have Scandinavian ancestry?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-british-and-irish-people-have-scandinavian-ancestry/713181)
**Author:** [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-british-and-irish-people-have-scandinavian-ancestry/713181 "2015-02-21T22:15:31Z")
Do you think pretty much anyone from the UK or Ireland has at least a small amount of Norse heritage or only certain individuals? Not only did they rape and pillage but they also founded Dublin and ruled large parts of t… --- ## [Most number of cars in a NASCAR race?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-number-of-cars-in-a-nascar-race/713291)
**Author:** [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-number-of-cars-in-a-nascar-race/713291 "2015-02-21T21:53:55Z")
What is the highest number of cars that have been in a NASCAR race since its conception in 1948? --- ## [Grammar question-need kind of fast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-need-kind-of-fast/713209)
**Author:** [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-need-kind-of-fast/713209 "2015-02-21T21:22:06Z")
Sentence in question below: I am writing one of our pricing guys requesting a “as low as price” on the unit. “a” or “an”? “an” sounds wrong, but the article precedes an “a” word. --- ## [3 Japanese Internment Camp Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-japanese-internment-camp-questions/713211)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-japanese-internment-camp-questions/713211 "2015-02-21T20:51:30Z")
I know it was a different time, and there were real fears that the Japanese who had already engineered a sneak attack might have spies on the West Coast. Rounding up Japanese Americans back then probably didn’t worry peo… --- ## [Moon photos](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-photos/713263)
**Author:** [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-photos/713263 "2015-02-21T20:29:55Z")
When I was a kid all the photos the astronauts took on the moon’s surface had these small black crosses on them. Like this: What’s the point of those crosses? I assume to help the as… --- ## [Hot water heating system thermostat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heating-system-thermostat/713278)
**Author:** [@dcromer4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dcromer4)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-water-heating-system-thermostat/713278 "2015-02-21T19:58:46Z")
I have a 30 year old Burnham boiler heating system. I replaced the old thermostat with a Honeywell programmable. The new thermostat doesn’t keep up with the heat setting when the outside temps get really cold. Example: … --- ## [Is electrocution by felling a tree onto a power line likely?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-electrocution-by-felling-a-tree-onto-a-power-line-likely/713227)
**Author:** [@WWWWWW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WWWWWW)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-electrocution-by-felling-a-tree-onto-a-power-line-likely/713227 "2015-02-21T19:28:51Z")
Last summer I started clearing land out for a driveway that will go to a future home. The driveway runs perpendicular to a private road that has a power line which services a few cottages further down the road. Never be… --- ## [A non-$$$ RFID system I could throw in shopping baskets?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-rfid-system-i-could-throw-in-shopping-baskets/712838)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-rfid-system-i-could-throw-in-shopping-baskets/712838 "2015-02-21T18:50:57Z")
See subject. Radio frequency ID tag. I’d settle for a big one I could drop like electronic bread. I’m so tired of putting down my shopping basket and spending 1/2 hour finding it. I don’t need an incredibly near-field … --- ## [Car mystery: six week old car battery completely dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-mystery-six-week-old-car-battery-completely-dead/712654)
**Author:** [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [February 21, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-mystery-six-week-old-car-battery-completely-dead/712654 "2015-02-21T17:09:10Z")
2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. Just before the beginning of the year, when we had a sub-zero cold snap, the battery decided it was time to die. I had the battery replaced, and everything has been fine… until today. I was gettin… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1163) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1165)