# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=161 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 162 --- ## [Is there a way to connect wireless headphones to this not-very-new TV?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-connect-wireless-headphones-to-this-not-very-new-tv/978974)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 1, 2023, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-connect-wireless-headphones-to-this-not-very-new-tv/978974 "2023-02-01T05:02:03Z")
My mom has this TV: Sony KDL-32BX320 She wats to know if there’s some way to connect wireless headphones to it. (If it helps, it has a Roku connected to it.) Anyone have any ideas? --- ## [Selling a single piece of fine art](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-single-piece-of-fine-art/978992)
**Author:** [@ASanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASanders)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [January 31, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-single-piece-of-fine-art/978992 "2023-01-31T22:37:12Z")
Many years ago I inherited an original contemporary fine art piece by a famous artist. That artist has just recently died, presumably increasing the value of his works. I have no attachment to the painting and would love… --- ## [Can Cantor's proof of uncountable sets be done without a positional number system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cantors-proof-of-uncountable-sets-be-done-without-a-positional-number-system/978541)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [January 31, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cantors-proof-of-uncountable-sets-be-done-without-a-positional-number-system/978541 "2023-01-31T20:07:54Z")
Cantor’s famous diagonal argument demonstrates that the real numbers are a greater infinity than the countable numbers. But it relies on the decimal expansions of irrational numbers. Is there any way to demonstrate an eq… --- ## [What are these cyrillic languages?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-cyrillic-languages/978109)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [January 31, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-cyrillic-languages/978109 "2023-01-31T18:43:18Z")
I bought a candy bar from Ukraine. The ingredient list is like a Rosetta Stone of Slavic languages. Does anyone know what they are? --- ## [NYC Historians: A question about early 20th Century gangs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-historians-a-question-about-early-20th-century-gangs/978584)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 31, 2023, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-historians-a-question-about-early-20th-century-gangs/978584 "2023-01-31T06:58:59Z")
In an early P.G. Wodehouse novel from around 1910, the author, who was living in New York at the time, refers to several contemporary street gangs , but mostly disguising their names. The East Side Gang is mentioned;… --- ## [Explain Texas Counties to Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-texas-counties-to-me/294127)
**Author:** [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [January 31, 2023, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-texas-counties-to-me/294127 "2023-01-31T05:26:03Z")
Take a gander at this county map of Texas. I have 2 questions: What is up with the layout? Look at north Texas and into the panhandle; the counties are so uniform it’s nearly a perfect grid. Check out the first 4 “r… --- ## [What kind of tube fitting do I want?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tube-fitting-do-i-want/978991)
**Author:** [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 30, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tube-fitting-do-i-want/978991 "2023-01-30T22:38:21Z")
I want to have a 3/16" OD plastic hose pass through a hole in the side of a plastic bin so that some of the hose is inside the bin and some outside. The hole through the bin will be under water so I don’t want it to leak… --- ## [In Taffy 3 in WW2, did Evans order the Johnston to attack independent of Sprague's orders?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-taffy-3-in-ww2-did-evans-order-the-johnston-to-attack-independent-of-spragues-orders/979006)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 30, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-taffy-3-in-ww2-did-evans-order-the-johnston-to-attack-independent-of-spragues-orders/979006 "2023-01-30T21:22:52Z")
Ever since reading Hornfischers book “Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors” I always thought it was settled that Captain Evans took the initiative himself for the USS Johnston to break away and start a torpedo run against t… --- ## [Fountain pen: What's the scam here?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountain-pen-whats-the-scam-here/978979)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [January 30, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountain-pen-whats-the-scam-here/978979 "2023-01-30T16:21:59Z")
Pretty pen. With a ‘value’ of $35, it’s a cheap pen. But they’re giving it away free. So what’s the scam? --- ## [Looking for the origins of the three day pillaging tradition in ancient, medieval and post-medieval warfare](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-the-origins-of-the-three-day-pillaging-tradition-in-ancient-medieval-and-post-medieval-warfare/975723)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [January 30, 2023, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-the-origins-of-the-three-day-pillaging-tradition-in-ancient-medieval-and-post-medieval-warfare/975723 "2023-01-30T10:07:11Z")
I’m looking for the origins of the three day pillaging tradition in ancient, medieval and post-medieval warfare. Who that we know of was first to institute this convention ? Was it the Romans? the Goths? and was it just… --- ## [Multiple registrations / tags on vehicles?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-registrations-tags-on-vehicles/978923)
**Author:** [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 30, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-registrations-tags-on-vehicles/978923 "2023-01-30T01:55:00Z")
Travelling back home from the airport this afternoon, heading up I-25 northbound, I passed a newer-model Winnebago RV that had Indiana and Minnesota plates attached to it. I immediately though, “Hrm, ID & MN are kinda i… --- ## [Why don't EV's have solar panels too?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-evs-have-solar-panels-too/843621)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [January 30, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-evs-have-solar-panels-too/843621 "2023-01-30T01:02:41Z")
I’ve been shopping for a new car lately and looking at electric vehicles, so I’ve been thinking a lot about batteries and recharging options and stuff like that. And I have a question: Why don’t electric vehicles also … --- ## [Is there any way to 'shuffle' a collection of .jpgs or other images?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-shuffle-a-collection-of-jpgs-or-other-images/978978)
**Author:** [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-shuffle-a-collection-of-jpgs-or-other-images/978978 "2023-01-29T23:29:26Z")
The question is pretty much there in the topic - whether I’m talking about a slideshow or manually advancing through them, is there any way to show a collection of photos in random order? Preferably so that it can repea… --- ## [Can you refuse to fill in a W9?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-refuse-to-fill-in-a-w9/978941)
**Author:** [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2023, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-refuse-to-fill-in-a-w9/978941 "2023-01-29T15:37:58Z")
So this happened to someone I know… They were hired at a startup, as a permanent employee. Startups being startups (and this being a pretty disorganized one even by standup standards) the founder was not organized enoug… --- ## [Linguistics term for blurring words/sounds together](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistics-term-for-blurring-words-sounds-together/978949)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2023, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistics-term-for-blurring-words-sounds-together/978949 "2023-01-29T10:46:32Z")
When you sing the alphabet song, there comes a point when you hit “h, i, j, k, elemenohpee”. I wouldn’t quite call it a contraction since there aren’t any sounds being dropped. I’m struggling to come up with a better Eng… --- ## [Forensic cause of death question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forensic-cause-of-death-question/978687)
**Author:** [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forensic-cause-of-death-question/978687 "2023-01-28T18:55:14Z")
Just curious about delayed cause of death identification, specifically alcohol. I just saw a news report about a guy found in his car under a bridge a month after he’d gone missing. Apparently, he’d crashed into a ditc… --- ## [Is there a clear difference in speed between a motorcycle and car?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-clear-difference-in-speed-between-a-motorcycle-and-car/977613)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-clear-difference-in-speed-between-a-motorcycle-and-car/977613 "2023-01-28T15:17:47Z")
Chases between a car and motorcycle often occur in tv and movies. Does either vehicle have a clear advantage? Specifically between stock vehicles on a highway. For example, John is driving a 2022 Mustang GT. The Ford … --- ## [Underground nuclear weapons (not for testing; as offensive weapons)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-nuclear-weapons-not-for-testing-as-offensive-weapons/978705)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/underground-nuclear-weapons-not-for-testing-as-offensive-weapons/978705 "2023-01-28T15:12:21Z")
There were some post-WWII plans to bury atomic weapons in Germany, to be detonated by timer or remote control in the event of a Soviet invasion. This would mess up the Soviet plans by contaminating large areas and genera… --- ## [Do Europeans use 1.000 to express "one thousand" rather than 1,000?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-europeans-use-1-000-to-express-one-thousand-rather-than-1-000/978884)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-europeans-use-1-000-to-express-one-thousand-rather-than-1-000/978884 "2023-01-28T14:14:53Z")
I have noticed that some Europeans would report numbers as 4.500 to represent “four thousand five hundred”, 1.000 to express “one thousand,” rather than using commas. Is this typical in Europe? --- ## [Are eyes naturally open or closed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eyes-naturally-open-or-closed/978908)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eyes-naturally-open-or-closed/978908 "2023-01-28T14:10:57Z")
Do we use muscles to close our eyes, e.g. to blink, to sleep, to keep out foreign objects, or do we use them to open our eyes, as it seems when we wake up? That is, are they naturally closed so that they have to be musc… --- ## [Is Diurex Ultimate and Doans the same?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diurex-ultimate-and-doans-the-same/978907)
**Author:** [@Jaw52284](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaw52284)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diurex-ultimate-and-doans-the-same/978907 "2023-01-28T12:14:39Z")
Is Diurex Ultimate the same as Doans? Diurex Ultimate contains magnesium salicylate. Doans contains magnesium salicylate tetrahydrate. If they are the same, does that mean Doans are also effective as water pills? Or is… --- ## [Looking for a term of art about eroded fossils](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-term-of-art-about-eroded-fossils/978667)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2023, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-term-of-art-about-eroded-fossils/978667 "2023-01-28T10:55:35Z")
Is there a term of art to describe fossils that are degraded, infilled with later material, invaded by roots, etc.? ‘Reworked’ seems to imply that a fossil has been re-embedded in younger strata, but what of a fossil tha… --- ## [Asymetrical Animals?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asymetrical-animals/978678)
**Author:** [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2023, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asymetrical-animals/978678 "2023-01-27T23:56:55Z")
I think that a flounder is because it has a bottom and a top side with two eyes IIRC. But I wonder if there are any others. Maybe other sea creatures? --- ## [Did The Early Monarchs Of England (William the Conqueror through John I) Hold Court, Settle Disputes, etc](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-early-monarchs-of-england-william-the-conqueror-through-john-i-hold-court-settle-disputes-etc/978845)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-early-monarchs-of-england-william-the-conqueror-through-john-i-hold-court-settle-disputes-etc/978845 "2023-01-27T22:52:41Z")
In various iterations in fiction, I’ve seen monarchs (those with power and not just figureheads) depicted as holding court, receiving entrities from civilians who had some personal dispute (Joffrey Baratheon, First of Hi… --- ## [Statins and grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statins-and-grapefruit/978598)
**Author:** [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statins-and-grapefruit/978598 "2023-01-27T18:51:46Z")
I think most of us are aware that grapefruit or its juice are contraindicated for those of us taking statins (in my own case, I’m on Lipitor, aka atorvastatin). Since I’m no grapefruit fan anyway, not a problem for me pe… --- ## [Are elite male sports actually "open" competitions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-elite-male-sports-actually-open-competitions/978761)
**Author:** [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-elite-male-sports-actually-open-competitions/978761 "2023-01-27T15:29:26Z")
Are the elite male competitions in major professional sports generally fully “open” or do they have rules saying they are open only for men? I could see it being either way - maybe the rules are gendered, or maybe the r… --- ## [Fuse, or fuze?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuse-or-fuze/978850)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2023, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuse-or-fuze/978850 "2023-01-27T08:08:40Z")
Something used to set off an explosive. Something in old houses before circuit breakers. Something in your car to protect the wiring and components. Which is the correct spelling? ‘Fuse’, or ‘fuze’? Not that I use o… --- ## [Wiki links: "Pages for logged out editors learn more"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-links-pages-for-logged-out-editors-learn-more/978807)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-links-pages-for-logged-out-editors-learn-more/978807 "2023-01-27T00:09:41Z")
The past few days, every time I’ve seen a link to Wikipedia on this board, the linkbox that shows up has this text at the start of it. For instance, in the space elevator thread, a link to suspension bridges says Is a… --- ## [I'm an assassin but I've lost my memory!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-assassin-but-ive-lost-my-memory/978277)
**Author:** [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-an-assassin-but-ive-lost-my-memory/978277 "2023-01-26T23:29:16Z")
So I’m an assassin but due to a bump on the head, I’ve lost my memory and I now believe my cover story. Fortunately, this also seems to have reset my moral compass and I no longer want to be an assassin. As my memories r… --- ## [Croquet - French translation of the original name](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/croquet-french-translation-of-the-original-name/978432)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/croquet-french-translation-of-the-original-name/978432 "2023-01-26T22:20:00Z")
I’ve developed a fascination with croquet, of late. And reading all the articles I can get my hands on, I repeatedly come across this fact: “Poor people in the southern part of France played an outdoor game that involve… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=160) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=162)