# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=18 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 19 --- ## [Can the # of views on an unlisted YouTube video increase without human views?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-of-views-on-an-unlisted-youtube-video-increase-without-human-views/1027066)
**Author:** [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2026, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-of-views-on-an-unlisted-youtube-video-increase-without-human-views/1027066 "2026-01-27T06:40:27Z")
On behalf of our local music group I recently submitted a grant proposal that required work samples, such as a clip from the applicant’s musical performance. In order to meet the strict guidelines (nothing over 3 minutes… --- ## [The disposition of certain breeds of domestic cats towards other breeds of cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disposition-of-certain-breeds-of-domestic-cats-towards-other-breeds-of-cats/1026405)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-disposition-of-certain-breeds-of-domestic-cats-towards-other-breeds-of-cats/1026405 "2026-01-27T03:30:00Z")
Please note: This is not the place to post personal cat stories. Are there breeds of domestic cat that, generally, do not get along well with particular other breeds of domestic cat? --- ## [MacBook Air is giving unwanted notifications](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macbook-air-is-giving-unwanted-notifications/1027043)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2026, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macbook-air-is-giving-unwanted-notifications/1027043 "2026-01-27T02:21:04Z")
Clicking on a link from a Google search, I was repeatedly asked to confirm that I’m not a robot (but with no actual Captcha tests). The fourth time, a warning showed up, telling me that I had been infected, and I must ca… --- ## [Scammers calling to non english speaking countries?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-calling-to-non-english-speaking-countries/1026830)
**Author:** [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-calling-to-non-english-speaking-countries/1026830 "2026-01-26T06:27:26Z")
Got yet another scam call today. Usually I’ll just hang up but this time I decided to waste the guy’s time. Scammer: (Has Indian accent. Says that he is from “TV services” and then asks for my name) Scammer: What is y… --- ## [I was 9 in 1967 and I think I saw a huge asteroid in the sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-9-in-1967-and-i-think-i-saw-a-huge-asteroid-in-the-sky/501122)
**Author:** [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Replies:** 114\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2026, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-9-in-1967-and-i-think-i-saw-a-huge-asteroid-in-the-sky/501122 "2026-01-26T05:42:27Z")
Or around 1967. I was wondering if anyone could help me identify this memory I have. I was playing with a bunch of kids in my front yard near Washington DC. As near as I can remember, I was about 9. And looking at Google… --- ## [Help me understand how to calculate social security benefits](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-how-to-calculate-social-security-benefits/1027014)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 25, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-how-to-calculate-social-security-benefits/1027014 "2026-01-25T20:10:06Z")
Several years ago, I used the Social Security Administration’s “anypia” tool: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/anypia/download.html I tried using it again recently, but it’s inscrutable and has really abysmal documentation, an… --- ## [Any Biblical Greek experts? A Revelation 5:13 question: first person vs third person plural](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-biblical-greek-experts-a-revelation-5-13-question-first-person-vs-third-person-plural/1026993)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 25, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-biblical-greek-experts-a-revelation-5-13-question-first-person-vs-third-person-plural/1026993 "2026-01-25T17:27:43Z")
Greek verb conjugation is way above my pay grade. To very roughly paraphrase, Revelation 5:13 says ‘I heard \[every creature in Heaven and Earth\] saying….’ Is there anything in the Greek of this that indicates whether t… --- ## [Passing counterfeit money](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passing-counterfeit-money/1025471)
**Author:** [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [January 24, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passing-counterfeit-money/1025471 "2026-01-24T15:04:07Z")
Several times when spending a large bill (my tenant insists on paying me in cash-I feel like a drug dealer) the person at the cash register swipes a marker over the bill. I presume this proves that it is real money. What… --- ## [What is the longest distance pair of acoustic mirrors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-distance-pair-of-acoustic-mirrors/1026930)
**Author:** [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 24, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-distance-pair-of-acoustic-mirrors/1026930 "2026-01-24T14:21:52Z")
Also known as “whsper dishes” according to Wikipedia, but I have never heard that phrase. This is where a pair of parabolic dishes are set up fairly far apart from each other, and if you talk quietly into one, a person … --- ## [How do criminals launder marked bills?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-criminals-launder-marked-bills/1025978)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 108\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-criminals-launder-marked-bills/1025978 "2026-01-23T14:40:56Z")
I’ve always been a bit fascinated by the DB Cooper case. Mostly that many of the possible suspects had experience in parachuting and/or military intelligence work. But in my opinion skydiving out of an aircraft on a col… --- ## [Does Hawking Radiation require an event horizon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hawking-radiation-require-an-event-horizon/1026773)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hawking-radiation-require-an-event-horizon/1026773 "2026-01-22T23:22:36Z")
The answers I could find on the web are split about 50% “we genuinely don’t know” and 50% “yes we do know”; only with the latter then equally split between “yes it does” and “no it doesn’t”. Superficially, if Hawking rad… --- ## [Do you have to know the PARTICULAR computers hardware for C programming?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-know-the-particular-computers-hardware-for-c-programming/1026844)
**Author:** [@Nublette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nublette)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-know-the-particular-computers-hardware-for-c-programming/1026844 "2026-01-22T21:12:43Z")
In C, I hear you have to manually allocate the memory, and possibly do other things by hand in a similar realm. This seems to be saying that you need to write C with the particular hardware of the computer you are actua… --- ## [Obscure early chemistry question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-early-chemistry-question/1026831)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-early-chemistry-question/1026831 "2026-01-22T15:41:46Z")
An early practical chemist named Johann Rudolph Glauber is credited as among the first chemists to produce hydrochloric acid in its pure form, and pioneering the method most commonly used thereafter. The literature says … --- ## [Orchestral Windows startup sound bite?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orchestral-windows-startup-sound-bite/1026862)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2026, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orchestral-windows-startup-sound-bite/1026862 "2026-01-22T09:09:14Z")
I trying to find that swelling orchestral music that Windows made when it started up, perhaps XP. I think it had the name of a technology, like “Dolby” but not dolby. It was like surround sound with exaggerated stereo ef… --- ## [Christmas tree longevity strategies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-longevity-strategies/1026881)
**Author:** [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2026, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-longevity-strategies/1026881 "2026-01-22T03:39:12Z")
Every year we buy a cut tree, and pay a pretty price for a nicely-shaped Nordmann pine with soft needles. The last couple of years we have noticed that the garden center is shaving down the bottom 6-8 inches of the trunk… --- ## [Gun sighting equation and trigonometry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-sighting-equation-and-trigonometry/1026697)
**Author:** [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-sighting-equation-and-trigonometry/1026697 "2026-01-21T16:56:44Z")
There is an equation for aligning the rear sight of a firearm. The rear sights can be moved left or right. The movement = (error/distance)x(sight radius) Error=the distance between the point of aim and the actual place… --- ## [Giant flags at football games. Weight?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765)
**Author:** [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giant-flags-at-football-games-weight/1026765 "2026-01-21T02:18:57Z")
Those flags that span the entire field before the game must be very heavy and difficult to control, even if made of light weight material. How do they keep the center of the mass from hitting the ground?. --- ## [How often is a guardian ad litem named in a custody case?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-is-a-guardian-ad-litem-named-in-a-custody-case/1026735)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-is-a-guardian-ad-litem-named-in-a-custody-case/1026735 "2026-01-20T23:46:37Z")
I had never heard of such a thing - a court-appointed attorney representing the children in a messy custody case - until quite recently. Maybe I’ve known people who used one and I didn’t know about it, but it sounds lik… --- ## [Probability problem, please explain it to me!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-problem-please-explain-it-to-me/1026683)
**Author:** [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-problem-please-explain-it-to-me/1026683 "2026-01-20T19:33:04Z")
There is a probability problem on the internet that I really don’t understand. Please explain it to me in a way that makes rational sense to me. I am stealing this text from the webpage linked below. “Mary has 2 childre… --- ## [Why did the power cut have this effect?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-power-cut-have-this-effect/1026816)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-power-cut-have-this-effect/1026816 "2026-01-20T16:44:07Z")
I have two domestic Miele ovens, each with a clock. Recently there was a power cut for about 30 seconds. One clock reset and the other continued as normal? Why?! --- ## [Really weird USPS mailing question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-weird-usps-mailing-question/1026781)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-weird-usps-mailing-question/1026781 "2026-01-20T16:10:39Z")
I’ve posted before about mailing folded self-mailers. In addition to the size and weight requirements for standard mail there is also a limitation on stiffness: the item has to be flexible enough to feed through the mach… --- ## [Name that medication](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715)
**Author:** [@Bishop5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bishop5)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715 "2026-01-20T14:07:19Z")
How do they come up with names for new medications? Most of them look like someone grabbed a random handful of letter tiles. --- ## [Encryption: If it is based off prime numbers why not just have a great big list of prime numbers to break the codes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encryption-if-it-is-based-off-prime-numbers-why-not-just-have-a-great-big-list-of-prime-numbers-to-break-the-codes/1026772)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2026, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encryption-if-it-is-based-off-prime-numbers-why-not-just-have-a-great-big-list-of-prime-numbers-to-break-the-codes/1026772 "2026-01-20T12:17:12Z")
I get the title seems simplistic but why not? If encryption is all about primes then why not make a list of primes to break them? That number has to be massively smaller than all numbers even if it is infinite (smaller … --- ## [Where did the "overlord" phrase originate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466)
**Author:** [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466 "2026-01-18T18:04:10Z")
“Well I, for one, welcome our new (bacony, or whatever) overlords.” Where did this phrase originally come from? Thanks! --- ## [Crowdstrike failure - How? Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crowdstrike-failure-how-why/1004492)
**Author:** [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2026, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crowdstrike-failure-how-why/1004492 "2026-01-18T12:59:27Z")
Massive outage across lots of platforms worldwide. Did they not adequately test the update? Something else? Explain as you would a child! Bonus point for the movie reference. --- ## [Origin of "moon cricket" as a racial slur?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-moon-cricket-as-a-racial-slur/1026188)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-moon-cricket-as-a-racial-slur/1026188 "2026-01-17T23:06:50Z")
I can find no reference to it preceding the 2009 classic Black Dynamite, relevant part starts at about 1:30, where Mr. Dynamite is called thus by Pat Nixon. I can find references to the term, but it seems to refer to a … --- ## [When did the expression "low-key" start being used?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-expression-low-key-start-being-used/977780)
**Author:** [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-expression-low-key-start-being-used/977780 "2026-01-17T16:01:14Z")
Talking about the modern usage, as described here: https://allthings.how/what-does-low-key-slang-mean-and-how-to-use-it/ The article says that it started getting used during the late 2000s, but this song seems to use it… --- ## [Swipe fees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swipe-fees/1025721)
**Author:** [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swipe-fees/1025721 "2026-01-17T15:43:39Z")
I’ve noticed in the last week that merchants are now charging me a 3% credit card “recovery” fee for using my card. This apparently only started after the Visa/Mastercard settlement with the Merchants Association. I wond… --- ## [The longest stretch of highway in the U.S. without an exit?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-stretch-of-highway-in-the-u-s-without-an-exit/1025001)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 108\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2026, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-stretch-of-highway-in-the-u-s-without-an-exit/1025001 "2026-01-17T05:10:39Z")
What is the longest stretch of highway/freeway in the United States without an official exit? --- ## [What conditions get you labeled as 4-F in the military](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-conditions-get-you-labeled-as-4-f-in-the-military/712524)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-conditions-get-you-labeled-as-4-f-in-the-military/712524 "2026-01-16T03:50:35Z")
Obviously conditions like paraplegia, or missing limbs or blindness will get you labeled unfit for service. But I get the impression some conditions that don’t seem that serious get you labeled 4-F. I heard up until Vie… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=19)