# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=174 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 175 --- ## [Fireplace Propane Insert](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireplace-propane-insert/974960)
**Author:** [@dauerbach1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach1)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireplace-propane-insert/974960 "2022-11-15T17:02:22Z")
We want to add a propane insert to our current masonry fireplace. It currently uses propane but when we use it it just makes the room colder so we want an insert with fan. We like the heat n glo escape model. Unfortun… --- ## [Senate and House Obligations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-and-house-obligations/974703)
**Author:** [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2022, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-and-house-obligations/974703 "2022-11-15T06:10:17Z")
Hi SD, Not sure if Politics is a better place for this question, but I am only looking for factual answers–no political opinion. Do Senators and House members frequently vote against the party line? Are they in comple… --- ## [There are four ways to transfer heat? I thought there were three](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-four-ways-to-transfer-heat-i-thought-there-were-three/974714)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-four-ways-to-transfer-heat-i-thought-there-were-three/974714 "2022-11-15T03:58:13Z")
Forever I’ve been told that there are three ways to transfer heat: Conduction Convection Radiation But in a recent thread a doper here mentioned a fourth way to transfer heat: Evaporative Cooling I sort of understa… --- ## [Light Fixture Help --swapping a three screw globe for a single middle screw fixture](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-fixture-help-swapping-a-three-screw-globe-for-a-single-middle-screw-fixture/974763)
**Author:** [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-fixture-help-swapping-a-three-screw-globe-for-a-single-middle-screw-fixture/974763 "2022-11-14T22:42:17Z")
My wife and I just bought our first house and are in the process of making it our own. We added a ceiling fan to our bedroom and the light fixture is the standard globe held up with the three screws at the base. We have… --- ## [Looking for a pre-Roman Cathaginian calendar (Coptic ? Egyptian?) and early Roman calendar correspndence](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-pre-roman-cathaginian-calendar-coptic-egyptian-and-early-roman-calendar-correspndence/974803)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-pre-roman-cathaginian-calendar-coptic-egyptian-and-early-roman-calendar-correspndence/974803 "2022-11-14T22:10:30Z")
I hope someone can help me find a month to month correspondence between months as the Cartheginians would have known them prior to their defeat by the Romans and their Roman equivalents. Did the Romans use the Egyptian c… --- ## [Anyone work in a billing center?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-in-a-billing-center/974901)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-work-in-a-billing-center/974901 "2022-11-14T21:56:01Z")
Every day when I open the day’s mail it is a pain in the ass. Some I just grab the corner and tear. For envelopes I might want to keep I get my handy knife and slit the top open. I know there are machines that cut a smal… --- ## [How effective is black pepper at dissipating THC affects?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-is-black-pepper-at-dissipating-thc-affects/974871)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-is-black-pepper-at-dissipating-thc-affects/974871 "2022-11-14T20:17:54Z")
I could link but it seems to be generally true, no matter where you look, that black pepper has some ability to mitigate the mind altering abilities of Marijuana. However, I can’t find numbers anywhere. Could you sit c… --- ## [Riding a bicycle at 100 mph](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riding-a-bicycle-at-100-mph/974856)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riding-a-bicycle-at-100-mph/974856 "2022-11-14T14:09:44Z")
I had a dream that I rode a regular 10 speed bike down a steep hill and hit 100 mph just by coasting. Could I, a typical bike rider on a “nothing special” bike, survive such a ride? --- ## [How to tell if this is a person's grave](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-if-this-is-a-persons-grave/974477)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [November 13, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-tell-if-this-is-a-persons-grave/974477 "2022-11-13T22:11:42Z")
There’s a recently opened nature preserve near me where I’ve been hiking. I found a spot that looks like a person is buried there. There is a roughly rectangular depression sunken into the ground, maybe 7’ long and 3’ wi… --- ## [Which/what animals could get buff if they were trained to lift weights?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-what-animals-could-get-buff-if-they-were-trained-to-lift-weights/974769)
**Author:** [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 13, 2022, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-what-animals-could-get-buff-if-they-were-trained-to-lift-weights/974769 "2022-11-13T09:42:21Z")
Presuming they could be trained/motivated, I presume that all mammals could develop extra muscle by exercising just like humans. Monkeys would be setting all sorts of records and get freaky huge. Is this self evident i… --- ## [Can milk produce plastic in the stomach?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-milk-produce-plastic-in-the-stomach/666414)
**Author:** [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-milk-produce-plastic-in-the-stomach/666414 "2022-11-12T21:32:45Z")
Short version Is it possible for milk to form a plastic-like substance in the human stomach? Maybe casein? Long version Czarcasm’s thread looking for an iced coffee maker, (link), has reminded me of something… Where… --- ## [What are the limits to the orders that subordinates in the military must obey?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-limits-to-the-orders-that-subordinates-in-the-military-must-obey/974739)
**Author:** [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-limits-to-the-orders-that-subordinates-in-the-military-must-obey/974739 "2022-11-12T20:34:44Z")
It’s common knowledge, and perfectly logical, that in the military it is a serious offense to refuse to obey a direct order from your superior. Obviously, if you are given the order to advance on the enemy, and you decli… --- ## [American accents: "ear" and "air"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-ear-and-air/974503)
**Author:** [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-ear-and-air/974503 "2022-11-12T20:32:56Z")
I’ve lived in northern New Jersey for most of my life, and the way most locals speak has always sounded pretty normal so me. But in the last 5 or 10 years or so, I have found some people, and increasing numbers of them, … --- ## [The Wood Wide Web](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wood-wide-web/972551)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wood-wide-web/972551 "2022-11-12T20:03:05Z")
I’m currently reading a serious and well researched book which makes the claim botanists have recently discovered that trees in a forest, not always of the same species, sometimes communicate with each other. I presume … --- ## [Human consumption of sundew nectar](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-consumption-of-sundew-nectar/974701)
**Author:** [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-consumption-of-sundew-nectar/974701 "2022-11-12T19:11:15Z")
I just read about carnivorous sundew plants (Drosera) and how they attract prey with sweet mucilage on the tips of the tentacles. I’m talking abo… --- ## [Expanding Language Options for the Keyboard, Windows 10](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expanding-language-options-for-the-keyboard-windows-10/974668)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expanding-language-options-for-the-keyboard-windows-10/974668 "2022-11-12T14:40:32Z")
I like to play around with studying languages. Up until recently, I’ve been studying languages that use the Latin alphabet so the default keyboard plus a couple of keystrokes have been sufficient. I’m now expanding to … --- ## [What Roman month was 2 August 216 BCE](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-roman-month-was-2-august-216-bce/974780)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-roman-month-was-2-august-216-bce/974780 "2022-11-12T13:22:54Z")
What Roman month was 2 August 216 BCE? Their 10 months at that time were: Martius, Aprilis, Maius\*,Junius\*, Quintilis\*, Sextilis\*, September\*, October\*, November\*, December --- ## [In war, why is it seemingly difficult to blow up bridges?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-war-why-is-it-seemingly-difficult-to-blow-up-bridges/974440)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2022, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-war-why-is-it-seemingly-difficult-to-blow-up-bridges/974440 "2022-11-12T11:13:55Z")
I was watching this video on the Battle of the Bulge and they noted several times where Germans were able to capture bridges (sometimes they failed). This is one example but there were many others during the war. My qu… --- ## [What is a US military group](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-us-military-group/974761)
**Author:** [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-us-military-group/974761 "2022-11-11T21:24:19Z")
Reading about Chile and the 1973 coup, I’ve come across a “SITREP” by Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick J. Ryan, headed NAVY SECTION, UNITED STATES MILITARY GROUP, CHILE, CASTILLA 141-V VALPARISO, CHILE. His 2013 obituary note… --- ## [What’s the insult?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-insult/974581)
**Author:** [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-insult/974581 "2022-11-11T18:43:30Z")
Been watching UK politics through the last few turns. Of course people were insulting each other, and British insults I find both colourful and amusing. But I’m a bit stumped by calling someone a, ‘bellend’. What the de… --- ## [General Relativity and Imaginary Dimensions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-relativity-and-imaginary-dimensions/974316)
**Author:** [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-relativity-and-imaginary-dimensions/974316 "2022-11-11T16:38:16Z")
Going over some of my old posts I came across this one: ​ ​​ 2 points in 4-space - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board Now, whether or not Time is or is not imaginary is incidental…but can this four dimens… --- ## [Documents on the US assistance to Britain during the Falklands Crisis recorded by the Defense Department](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documents-on-the-us-assistance-to-britain-during-the-falklands-crisis-recorded-by-the-defense-department/974672)
**Author:** [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documents-on-the-us-assistance-to-britain-during-the-falklands-crisis-recorded-by-the-defense-department/974672 "2022-11-11T13:48:57Z")
Hi everyone, Can anyone tell me where I can find declassified documents on how the Department of Defense assisted the UK militarily and logistically before and during the Falklands war? We can find how the Department of… --- ## [Junk Mail Success Rate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junk-mail-success-rate/973383)
**Author:** [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junk-mail-success-rate/973383 "2022-11-11T12:49:40Z")
Hi Straight Dope, I am wondering what the actual success rate is with physical junk mail? We’re talking credit card offers, loan consolidation offers, life insurance offers, and the like. I never respond to them, but … --- ## [Longest period between total solar eclipses in one place?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-period-between-total-solar-eclipses-in-one-place/974621)
**Author:** [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-period-between-total-solar-eclipses-in-one-place/974621 "2022-11-11T12:36:54Z")
When did you last experience a total solar eclipse in your home town? The odds are never…the average time between them in one place is 375 years. But what place on Earth would have the longest gsp? For example, what is … --- ## [Is "Steven" a back-formation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-steven-a-back-formation/974650)
**Author:** [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-steven-a-back-formation/974650 "2022-11-11T12:17:22Z")
I’ve been assuming that the given name “Steven” is not so much an alternate spelling of “Stephen,” but a back-formation (and therefore a kind of mistake). Is there any historical support for the notion that “Steve” emer… --- ## [Is breaking a burner phone effective?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-a-burner-phone-effective/974660)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-a-burner-phone-effective/974660 "2022-11-11T03:02:02Z")
All of a sudden I just recalled Breaking Bad and how there were scenes of characters using “burner phone,” that is, a pay-as-you-go cellular telephone that you paid for with cash at like a Radio Shack or somewhere. When … --- ## [Are kids using this stuff to get high? Help!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-kids-using-this-stuff-to-get-high-help/85528)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-kids-using-this-stuff-to-get-high-help/85528 "2022-11-11T02:31:44Z")
I found a bottle of anbesol and a lighter in my kids coat pocket. He claims he had a sore in his mouth last week, and the lighter was just a show thing, you know, to look cool.:rolleyes: I think he’s full of shit, but I … --- ## [Looking for a Woodrow Wilson quote](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-woodrow-wilson-quote/974725)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-woodrow-wilson-quote/974725 "2022-11-11T01:16:18Z")
If I could remember it precisely I could search for it but I can only remember the gist of it rather than the words. It was something to do with henceforth the common man will be dependent on government to advance his pe… --- ## [Make iPhone image size (not file size) smaller — need answer fast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-iphone-image-size-not-file-size-smaller-need-answer-fast/974704)
**Author:** [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-iphone-image-size-not-file-size-smaller-need-answer-fast/974704 "2022-11-10T21:28:24Z")
I have an image and I need to shrink its size — make it physically smaller while keeping its aspect ratio. How do I do this on an iPhone? My Google-fu isn’t succeeding. Note, I’m not talking about its file size (MB, etc… --- ## [Explain it like I'm five - Filing Probate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-it-like-im-five-filing-probate/974591)
**Author:** [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-it-like-im-five-filing-probate/974591 "2022-11-10T19:47:32Z")
My spouse’s dad passed away back in March 2022. Spouse has been dragging feet in working through the necessary Probate (no Will in place). Spouse wants to act as Personal Representative, in order to avoid paying lawyers.… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=173) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=175)