# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1175 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1176 --- ## [Can PayPal pull money from my bank account?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-paypal-pull-money-from-my-bank-account/711962)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-paypal-pull-money-from-my-bank-account/711962 "2015-02-07T04:20:34Z")
I run a (very) small business, with many of my customers paying me via PayPal. I’m very wary of PayPal due to any number of horror stories,, so periodically I move money from my PayPal account to a savings account at on… --- ## ["Beirut is the Paris of the Middle East" and its ilk](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-is-the-paris-of-the-middle-east-and-its-ilk/709951)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-is-the-paris-of-the-middle-east-and-its-ilk/709951 "2015-02-07T03:51:03Z")
I don’t know how popular that was, certainly among Lebanese, but I read that sobriquet (if sobriquet is the right word) now and then, certainly about the city before the 1970s. What other “ is the of ” related to geogr… --- ## [Can someone help me with this Safari plug-in script?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-with-this-safari-plug-in-script/712014)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-with-this-safari-plug-in-script/712014 "2015-02-07T02:45:56Z")
The script is here. I don’t even know how to download it in a sensible format. It’s a way for the Myfitnesspal app to be more useful for carb counting. I want to use it for diabetes management; ketoacidosis is not high… --- ## [Is the phone call I got yesterday a scam of some kind?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-phone-call-i-got-yesterday-a-scam-of-some-kind/711829)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-phone-call-i-got-yesterday-a-scam-of-some-kind/711829 "2015-02-07T02:31:07Z")
Hello Everyone, Yesterday I got a phone call from an out of state number with a South Dakota area code. The caller claimed to be a collection agency saying I owed the state of Georgia $830 in state taxes from 2004. The… --- ## [How is the ch in loch pronounced?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-ch-in-loch-pronounced/711930)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-ch-in-loch-pronounced/711930 "2015-02-07T02:18:00Z")
I was just on the English Wikipedia looking up Julio Iglesias. The pronunciation guide next to his name looked odd. It had an x as the first letter in Julio. When I clicked on the link, it says that the closest sound in … --- ## [Grammar question - have vs. has](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-have-vs-has/711859)
**Author:** [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-question-have-vs-has/711859 "2015-02-07T01:54:47Z")
A friend and I are in disagreement about how the following sentence should be worded. “20 years of false imprisonment (has/have) made him irate.” One argument is that there is only one, singular subject, which is “20 y… --- ## [Minecraft on a Dell Latitude 6420 Laptop?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-on-a-dell-latitude-6420-laptop/711977)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minecraft-on-a-dell-latitude-6420-laptop/711977 "2015-02-06T22:03:50Z")
My 12 year old son wants to play Minecraft, but currently he has an old hand-me-down computer still running XP that will not work for that. We want to get him an inexpensive computer, but a laptop so he’ll be able to us… --- ## [Can I give my dog an Altoid or any type of mint?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-give-my-dog-an-altoid-or-any-type-of-mint/131816)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-give-my-dog-an-altoid-or-any-type-of-mint/131816 "2015-02-06T21:47:31Z")
Are Altoids OK for dogs? Ingredients: Sugar, Artificial Flavor, Gum Arabic, Gelatin, Corn Syrup, Natural Flavor Nothing jumps out at me as bad for the dog, but I would have thought the same thing about chocolate before… --- ## [YouTube and Copyrighted Music](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-and-copyrighted-music/711553)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-and-copyrighted-music/711553 "2015-02-06T20:47:01Z")
Why does YouTube allow people to post copyrighted music that can be easily downloaded to a computer? They don’t allow movies to be posted, do they? Is it because they aren’t CD quality? Does ASCAP and BMI not care? --- ## [What are these road markings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-road-markings/711984)
**Author:** [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-road-markings/711984 "2015-02-06T19:40:17Z")
They appear for about 1.5km on the downslope of a highway west of Hilo. Then, they appear on the upslope side for about 1/2 km at another location on the same highway. Wikimapia Street level Photo: … --- ## [Why would a bleed in the brain spontaneously "fix" itself?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-bleed-in-the-brain-spontaneously-fix-itself/711928)
**Author:** [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-bleed-in-the-brain-spontaneously-fix-itself/711928 "2015-02-06T19:29:46Z")
Hi all, So… I’m writing a medical memoir/nonfic book, and as part of the research, I’m going over old medical records from after a car accident several years ago. There are a lot of xrays and lab reports. One summary of… --- ## [Scientific Mystery: Liquid Escaping From Airtight Container](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientific-mystery-liquid-escaping-from-airtight-container/711970)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientific-mystery-liquid-escaping-from-airtight-container/711970 "2015-02-06T19:18:32Z")
A couple of years ago I bought a 1 gallon container of windshield washer fluid and stuck it in the back of the garage somewhere. Last night I went to dig it up and found it on the top shelf of a rack. Weird thing was tha… --- ## [Why do goats and cats have vertical pupils, instead of round pupils?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goats-and-cats-have-vertical-pupils-instead-of-round-pupils/711582)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goats-and-cats-have-vertical-pupils-instead-of-round-pupils/711582 "2015-02-06T18:47:39Z")
Why? --- ## [How does compressing a .PDF file work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-compressing-a-pdf-file-work/711792)
**Author:** [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-compressing-a-pdf-file-work/711792 "2015-02-06T16:44:09Z")
My wife was having some problems emailing some PDF documents, so I used a website to compress them. How does this compression work, exactly? If there is so much that can be compressed, why doesn’t Adobe just make the fil… --- ## [Understanding back spasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/understanding-back-spasm/711851)
**Author:** [@sara20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sara20)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/understanding-back-spasm/711851 "2015-02-06T16:00:43Z")
I hurt my lower back yesterday and I went to the doctor today and he said I had a low back paraspinal muscle strain, he also said the muscle was in spasm. I don’t get this as I have had a muscle spasm before on my arm an… --- ## [Love/hate relationship....is there something not so hateful?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-hate-relationship-is-there-something-not-so-hateful/711971)
**Author:** [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-hate-relationship-is-there-something-not-so-hateful/711971 "2015-02-06T14:59:47Z")
Are there other terms or descriptions for this situation where on the one hand you definitely love someone but the other side of the coin is well short of “hate”? --- ## [What would happen if another planet (say mars) collided into earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-another-planet-say-mars-collided-into-earth/244404)
**Author:** [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-another-planet-say-mars-collided-into-earth/244404 "2015-02-06T13:10:24Z")
Ok, basic reasoning says it won’t happen, but lets hypothesise that somehow mars lost its orbit, and hurtled towards earth at a similar speed to what it does now. It is going to collide dead on with the surface of earth. … --- ## [Fuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck/711959)
**Author:** [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck/711959 "2015-02-06T11:48:19Z")
Autocorrect me Maybe you’ve noticed, or it’s all in my head., but whatever it is, I’m pretty sure the judgement part of my brain is going a bit sideways. I’m hoping its just a stress thing. But my shoulder still hurts… --- ## [What is it with Latin American news showing dead bodies all the time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-latin-american-news-showing-dead-bodies-all-the-time/711526)
**Author:** [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-latin-american-news-showing-dead-bodies-all-the-time/711526 "2015-02-06T06:00:34Z")
This is something you don’t see often in American news: Dead bodies. But in Latin American stories, every time someone dies, there is a reporter to snap a picture of it and display it prominently in their news article. … --- ## [Skills testing to win prize in Canada?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-testing-to-win-prize-in-canada/711848)
**Author:** [@EdwinAmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwinAmi)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-testing-to-win-prize-in-canada/711848 "2015-02-06T01:19:32Z")
So, we was eating out at Applebee’s My friend notices on the bill that along with all the small print legal mumbo jumbo for a sweepstakes offered on the bill receipt is “Canadian winners subject to skills testing” Pic… --- ## [I just signed an electronical contract, and had to click "Agree" and "Resolve." What's "Resolve?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-signed-an-electronical-contract-and-had-to-click-agree-and-resolve-whats-resolve/711824)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-signed-an-electronical-contract-and-had-to-click-agree-and-resolve-whats-resolve/711824 "2015-02-05T23:14:14Z")
See subject. It was for a gym membership “amenity” at my housing complex, Stuyvesant Town, which is notorious even among NYC landlords as having a crazy hard-core legal department. I have never seen that–just “accept,” … --- ## [Best place to buy Windows 7?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-buy-windows-7/711796)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-buy-windows-7/711796 "2015-02-05T22:45:23Z")
I’m upgrading my old computers operating system from Windows Vista to Windows 7. Any idea where to buy it at a good price? I’m thinking ebay. --- ## [Why are there so many types of batteries, while there are so many devices able to be powered by USB?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-types-of-batteries-while-there-are-so-many-devices-able-to-be-powered-by-usb/711866)
**Author:** [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-so-many-types-of-batteries-while-there-are-so-many-devices-able-to-be-powered-by-usb/711866 "2015-02-05T21:39:07Z")
Are there market forces pushing products toward USB that didn’t push towards a single type of battery? --- ## [Chrome doing weird shit again](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-doing-weird-shit-again/711450)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chrome-doing-weird-shit-again/711450 "2015-02-05T20:30:42Z")
Chrome keeps trying to download a file (Chrome (3).exe, for example). I always discard it, but I can’t figure out how to stop this from happening. Any words of wisdom (other than “buy a Mac!”)? --- ## [Speed of light "slows" Huh?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speed-of-light-slows-huh/711831)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speed-of-light-slows-huh/711831 "2015-02-05T19:27:03Z")
Can some physicist here comment on this story from BBC? Single photon gets messed with and when returned to “free space” is slower than other unfutzed-with photon. I don’t understand it, let alone what to think about i… --- ## [Why do the "fees" in my 401K increase my balance?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-fees-in-my-401k-increase-my-balance/711807)
**Author:** [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-fees-in-my-401k-increase-my-balance/711807 "2015-02-05T18:17:18Z")
My monthly 401K statement looks like this (example) Previous Balance $10,000 Your contribution: $100 Employer contribution: 100 Change in Market value: -50 Final Balance: $10,150 But everyonce in a while, it will h… --- ## [Cross Your Fingers!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cross-your-fingers/711878)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cross-your-fingers/711878 "2015-02-05T16:02:44Z")
It seems the act of crossing one’s fingers of which I am most familiar is a sign of good luck. For example, we always crossed our fingers for good luck as a kid. Only on sitcoms and cartoons did I become familiar with … --- ## [Random Strangers Sending Me Skype Contact Requests - What's The Scam?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-strangers-sending-me-skype-contact-requests-whats-the-scam/711833)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-strangers-sending-me-skype-contact-requests-whats-the-scam/711833 "2015-02-05T15:46:36Z")
Since signing up for Skype several months ago, I’ve gotten a couple dozen contact requests from complete strangers, who will then try to chat with me. Every time, when I’ve asked how we know each other, the answer I’ve r… --- ## [Could you whip cream in a vacuum?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-whip-cream-in-a-vacuum/711627)
**Author:** [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-whip-cream-in-a-vacuum/711627 "2015-02-05T13:56:40Z")
Is the formation of bubbles in cream foam a result of the gas or the structural properties of the liquid? If I tried to whip cream in a vacuum, would it form a foam or remain liquid? --- ## [Are we the perfect size for technology?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-the-perfect-size-for-technology/711469)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-the-perfect-size-for-technology/711469 "2015-02-05T13:12:41Z")
If humans were only one foot tall, could we of still made all the technological advances we have today? like space shuttles, skyscrapers, airplanes, etc…? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1174) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=1176)