# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1169 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1170 --- ## [Proposing Marriage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposing-marriage/712728)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposing-marriage/712728 "2015-02-15T18:13:18Z")
Why is it traditional for men to get down on one knee to propose marriage? Is the man begging the women to marry him? Where does this tradition come from, and does it only occur in certain cultures? --- ## [HTML 5 book for beginners?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/html-5-book-for-beginners/712107)
**Author:** [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/html-5-book-for-beginners/712107 "2015-02-15T17:26:45Z")
Hi everyone, regular lurker but occasional poster here. I’m interested in learning web design and development. I messed around with HTML back in the early days of the web when dial-up accounts came with 10MB of free web… --- ## [How hard would it be to stab yourself to death?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022)
**Author:** [@shigyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shigyu)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-to-stab-yourself-to-death/446022 "2015-02-15T15:37:25Z")
Like, through the heart? This seems like the most obvious way to kill yourself, but suicides seem to gravitate toward more elaborate/slow measures. I don’t know much about anatomy, is this not as easy as I’m assuming it… --- ## [Bubba: Who is he and why is he so rapey?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubba-who-is-he-and-why-is-he-so-rapey/712520)
**Author:** [@trabajabamos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabajabamos)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubba-who-is-he-and-why-is-he-so-rapey/712520 "2015-02-15T13:37:39Z")
Disclaimer: Rape isn’t funny and no aspect of this thread is meant to imply otherwise. I’ve been subjected by numerous sources to casual, oblique jokes about prison rape throughout my life. The shtick is usually that … --- ## [Can you ferment mushrooms?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776)
**Author:** [@Weaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weaver)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776 "2015-02-15T13:08:32Z")
Okay, I have to admit that this is one of those questions that’s the result of one of those strange lines of thought that occur at stupid o’clock in the morning. I think it started with the theory that you can ferment pr… --- ## [Why is there air?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-air/712624)
**Author:** [@Sizzlefry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sizzlefry)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-air/712624 "2015-02-15T12:32:32Z")
Bill Cosby asked this WAYYY back, but all he could come up with is: " To blow up basketballs". That just isn’t gonna cut it. Why is there air, and why do I have to breathe it? And the ad, what about the ad? “Biggest Ch… --- ## [Length of a segment of a parabola](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/length-of-a-segment-of-a-parabola/712668)
**Author:** [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/length-of-a-segment-of-a-parabola/712668 "2015-02-15T12:32:21Z")
Never mind. --- ## [Dumb medical question of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-medical-question-of-the-day/712403)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-medical-question-of-the-day/712403 "2015-02-15T04:31:20Z")
If you cut a patch of skin down to the dermis on two adjacent fingers, and then tape them such that those wounds are together, will the fingers grow together? FTR, I don’t think it would, but if not, why not? --- ## [A Place to Get Help, Fast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-place-to-get-help-fast/712601)
**Author:** [@Kamakiri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamakiri)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-place-to-get-help-fast/712601 "2015-02-15T04:04:13Z")
Okay, so that’s a little dramatic subject line, but I was wondering if anybody knew of a place – a website – where you can just post some question, where the question can be general, such as “Who is God” to “is there a d… --- ## [Scratches on hardwood floor - any fixes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scratches-on-hardwood-floor-any-fixes/712619)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scratches-on-hardwood-floor-any-fixes/712619 "2015-02-15T03:25:21Z")
Short of complete re-finishing? We were moving some furniture late one night and due to tiredness, scratched the floor. Anything I can do to smooth out the scratches in the finish? --- ## [Could hard disk drives be read remotely (above flying height) by magnetic sensors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-hard-disk-drives-be-read-remotely-above-flying-height-by-magnetic-sensors/712662)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-hard-disk-drives-be-read-remotely-above-flying-height-by-magnetic-sensors/712662 "2015-02-14T21:55:13Z")
See subject. Now, or in the future. Obviously they’re read remotely magnetically by their very nature. According to the Wik, the distance between the read/write head and the platter–the word for that gap, as I just lear… --- ## [Is Lard OK to use, again?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lard-ok-to-use-again/712355)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lard-ok-to-use-again/712355 "2015-02-14T20:14:09Z")
The U.S. government is poised to withdraw longstanding warnings about cholesterol So. Is Lard OK? --- ## [Did New England winters come with huge amounts of snow in the 1950s & 60s?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-england-winters-come-with-huge-amounts-of-snow-in-the-1950s-60s/712433)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-england-winters-come-with-huge-amounts-of-snow-in-the-1950s-60s/712433 "2015-02-14T19:34:53Z")
I’m finding this really hard to search for online… When people bitch about how much snow we’ve gotten this year, older people keep insisting that this winter is like the ones they remember from the 1950s and 1960s, with… --- ## [Were there real advantages to column mounted manual gear shifts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-advantages-to-column-mounted-manual-gear-shifts/708504)
**Author:** [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-advantages-to-column-mounted-manual-gear-shifts/708504 "2015-02-14T18:54:04Z")
So re-reading the cool “Cars of the Classic '30s” book (part of the multi-volume “Cars Of” series, it seems around 1938/39 auto manufacturers start pushing column mounted gear shifts over floor mounted shifts. These vehi… --- ## [How did the Romans perform mathematical calculations?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-romans-perform-mathematical-calculations/712627)
**Author:** [@nschuhrke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nschuhrke)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-romans-perform-mathematical-calculations/712627 "2015-02-14T17:15:10Z")
Obviously, Roman numerals are not suitable for performing mathematical computations, so what did they use. I read that the abacus was invested about 5,000 years ago and that its use quickly spread throughout the world. … --- ## [Quill Pens: Commercially Produced or Always Home Made?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quill-pens-commercially-produced-or-always-home-made/712369)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quill-pens-commercially-produced-or-always-home-made/712369 "2015-02-14T16:47:01Z")
In the days when quill pens were the typical writing instrument did writers have to make their own, or were there people who produced quill pens for a living? Of course, it wouldn’t surprise me that the answer might var… --- ## [Measuring the rotation period of stars](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-the-rotation-period-of-stars/712622)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-the-rotation-period-of-stars/712622 "2015-02-14T16:40:49Z")
I recently heard a segment of the Canadian science program Quirks and Quarks in which an astronomer discussed how they found rotation periods of stars by timing periodic darkening (presumably from “sunspots”, although he… --- ## [Nutrajoint with gelatin product canceled, now what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrajoint-with-gelatin-product-canceled-now-what/712612)
**Author:** [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrajoint-with-gelatin-product-canceled-now-what/712612 "2015-02-14T15:45:12Z")
pre-amble: Years ago my doctor told me to start taking Nutrajoint for osteoarthritis. The problem is their product was made with Glucosamine and a warning for people who were allergic to shellfish not to take it. I’m al… --- ## [Is it normal for U-Verse VoIP not to hang up unless BOTH parties do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-u-verse-voip-not-to-hang-up-unless-both-parties-do/712590)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-normal-for-u-verse-voip-not-to-hang-up-unless-both-parties-do/712590 "2015-02-14T15:21:50Z")
This is bugging me. I have a nice conversation with somebody. Hang up. Phone immediately rings and I pick up. That person is still on my line? They hadn’t hung up yet. I’m really worried about telemarketers and pollers … --- ## [Help with an antique book](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-an-antique-book/712338)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-an-antique-book/712338 "2015-02-14T15:00:33Z")
Okay, I have this book that I bought on ebay years ago. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find information on line as to scarcity or value. The following information applies: Title: The Royal Jubilee History of England, from… --- ## [Is "Celebrity Net Worth" (.com) A Reliable Source?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-celebrity-net-worth-com-a-reliable-source/712641)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-celebrity-net-worth-com-a-reliable-source/712641 "2015-02-14T14:44:18Z")
CelebrityNetWorth.com purports to tell your favorite celebrity’s, uh, net worth, plus their annual income. It also gives brief biographies, yada yada yada. Is the information therein reliable? I get the sense that they’… --- ## [If A Fed Judge Rules That Marijuana's Status As A Class I Controlled Substance Is Unconstitutional..](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-fed-judge-rules-that-marijuanas-status-as-a-class-i-controlled-substance-is-unconstitutional/712587)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-fed-judge-rules-that-marijuanas-status-as-a-class-i-controlled-substance-is-unconstitutional/712587 "2015-02-14T13:39:56Z")
A federal judge is considering arguments on whether or not marijuana’s status as a Class I (no medical benefit, high addictive potential) controlled substance is unconstitutional. If she rules on Tuesday that it’s uncon… --- ## [The Internet in Old Sci Fi](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-in-old-sci-fi/712315)
**Author:** [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-in-old-sci-fi/712315 "2015-02-14T10:07:19Z")
Which if any old science fiction books, movies etc. predicted the internet more or less as we know it now? I’m mainly thinking of things written before the internet existed in any form, say before even the start of resea… --- ## [Should the word "Google" be capitalised when using it as a verb?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-word-google-be-capitalised-when-using-it-as-a-verb/712494)
**Author:** [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-word-google-be-capitalised-when-using-it-as-a-verb/712494 "2015-02-14T09:46:24Z")
Hi everyone, I just wrote “I googled that” in another thread, and it occurred to me to wonder whether it should be capitalised or not. Obviously “Google” is a proper noun, but now that it has been thoroughly verbed, is … --- ## [The 1% owning half the world - has this been true throughout history?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-1-owning-half-the-world-has-this-been-true-throughout-history/712207)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-1-owning-half-the-world-has-this-been-true-throughout-history/712207 "2015-02-14T07:19:01Z")
There’s a lot of brouhaha over here at the moment about the 1% owning half the wealth of the world. But I wonder, has not that pretty much always been the case? Surely wealth has always been concentrated? Remember I’m a… --- ## [Google Apps Download Dates](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-apps-download-dates/712582)
**Author:** [@Shadowfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfyre)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-apps-download-dates/712582 "2015-02-14T04:03:22Z")
I bought the 2nd Gen Moto X back in November. I love it. It is currently running lollipop. Recently - in the last 2 to 3 weeks - the battery life has plummeted. It sucks down the battery to the point where it almost get… --- ## [Does anyone actually win anything from recipt surveys?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-win-anything-from-recipt-surveys/712334)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-win-anything-from-recipt-surveys/712334 "2015-02-14T04:41:18Z")
Almost every receipt has a URL at the bottom and says something like “Take our survey and be entered to win a $1000 gift card!”. I have never heard of anyone actually winning. Is the prize draw a lie? --- ## [...and of course in Canada, the whole thing's flip-flopped!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-of-course-in-canada-the-whole-things-flip-flopped/712476)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-of-course-in-canada-the-whole-things-flip-flopped/712476 "2015-02-14T04:20:02Z")
“Oh my! I’d better get you some cider.” Pretty much as the title; are there many things that are completely reversed when one crosses the U.S.-Canadian border? --- ## [Have any private citizens made an armed UAV?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-private-citizens-made-an-armed-uav/711679)
**Author:** [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-private-citizens-made-an-armed-uav/711679 "2015-02-14T04:17:16Z")
For sake of the discussion, let’s set the boundary at something that can reliably kill a person, say, 9mm or so. Is there anyone out there hunting coyotes or pigs with a UAV? --- ## [Jon Stewart is on a Cable Channel, so why is he censored?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-on-a-cable-channel-so-why-is-he-censored/712615)
**Author:** [@TheUser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheUser)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 14, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-is-on-a-cable-channel-so-why-is-he-censored/712615 "2015-02-14T04:11:20Z")
Jon Stewart’s Daily Show is not on basic channels, such as ABC/NBC/CBS, which are subject to heavy FCC indecency regulations. Rather, his show is on a special cable channel, similar to FX, HBO, etc. So why are all the … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1168) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1170)