# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=180 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 181 --- ## [Physics-related question involving car crash scenario](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physics-related-question-involving-car-crash-scenario/972528)
**Author:** [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physics-related-question-involving-car-crash-scenario/972528 "2022-10-09T18:14:50Z")
I’m reading a book that mentions an incident involving a teenage girl deliberately crashing head-on into oncoming traffic in order to commit suicide. The author (not a physicist) writes the following: Her focus on her … --- ## [Post-bombing radiation levels in Hiroshima/Nagasaki?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-bombing-radiation-levels-in-hiroshima-nagasaki/972820)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-bombing-radiation-levels-in-hiroshima-nagasaki/972820 "2022-10-09T17:22:11Z")
The residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 were subjected to large doses of radiation when those cities were attacked with nuclear weapons, as well as in the hours and days afterwards as nuclear fallout raine… --- ## [Why hot glue and not just room temperature glue?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hot-glue-and-not-just-room-temperature-glue/972930)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hot-glue-and-not-just-room-temperature-glue/972930 "2022-10-09T13:59:49Z")
I see hot glue used frequently for various crafts. But why? There are so many adhesives out there, most of which are used at room temperature. Why fuss with a machine that heats it up and not just squirt some glue out… --- ## [How do those "Pay as little as $25..." coupons for prescription meds work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-those-pay-as-little-as-25-coupons-for-prescription-meds-work/972838)
**Author:** [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-those-pay-as-little-as-25-coupons-for-prescription-meds-work/972838 "2022-10-09T02:49:15Z")
The cash price for a medication I take is around $1000 per month. My insurance provider does not believe that I am worth such an investment. (To be somewhat fair, my premiums, including the employer portion, is less th… --- ## [Explain a Fourteen Foot Storm Surge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-a-fourteen-foot-storm-surge/972316)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-a-fourteen-foot-storm-surge/972316 "2022-10-08T17:11:50Z")
Florida expect as 14’ storm surge. I am in Pennsylvania, and my house is 12’ above sea level. I am (say) five miles from a tidal river. I am at least twenty miles from salty water. If the nearby coast were to experience… --- ## [Domestic pornographic magazines and films in the USSR/Warsaw Pact countries?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-pornographic-magazines-and-films-in-the-ussr-warsaw-pact-countries/972826)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2022, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-pornographic-magazines-and-films-in-the-ussr-warsaw-pact-countries/972826 "2022-10-08T13:04:20Z")
Was there any sort of a domestic pornographic industry in the old USSR? How about other Warsaw Pact counties such as Czechoslovakia or Hungary? Or, was most of the material imported from the West? Obviously a potential… --- ## [Does my 2018 Honda Accord have an emergency brake?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-my-2018-honda-accord-have-an-emergency-brake/972772)
**Author:** [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2022, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-my-2018-honda-accord-have-an-emergency-brake/972772 "2022-10-08T03:23:07Z")
My grandson wants to take his driving test. My state requires that the test administrator have access to an emergency brake should the applicant screw up. My Dodge Caravan can’t be used because the emergency brake is o… --- ## [Was my kid struck by lightning?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-my-kid-struck-by-lightning/972835)
**Author:** [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-my-kid-struck-by-lightning/972835 "2022-10-07T22:22:31Z")
Last month we got the first rainstorm in a long time, and it turned out to be a big electrical storm. My girls were in bed and I was sitting on the terrace eagerly watching the first raindrops fall. Suddenly there was an… --- ## [Re: material released into the air during cremation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-material-released-into-the-air-during-cremation/972760)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-material-released-into-the-air-during-cremation/972760 "2022-10-07T20:06:08Z")
Some time ago I read/heard that when a person is cremated and the results of the combustion are released into the air, it eventually mixes and disperses into the atmosphere to the degree that if one were to take a breath… --- ## [The Neutron Bomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-neutron-bomb/972831)
**Author:** [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-neutron-bomb/972831 "2022-10-07T18:12:45Z")
This post was inspired by Machine\_Elf’s thread on radiation levels. When I was in high school studying U.S. history, I remember a blurb on “The Neutron Bomb” and how a former president, Jimmy Carter, banned its producti… --- ## [YouTube Help (Can't Get Any Help On YouTube Forums)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-help-cant-get-any-help-on-youtube-forums/972900)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-help-cant-get-any-help-on-youtube-forums/972900 "2022-10-07T14:35:46Z")
Prior to last night (October 6 2022), whenever I accessed YouTube on my ONN Smart TV, my options were Home, Search, Subscriptions, Library, This, That, Some Other Thing, Settings, Log Out. Now Subscriptions, Library, Thi… --- ## [Identify a Caterpillar (Millipede?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-a-caterpillar-millipede/972866)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-a-caterpillar-millipede/972866 "2022-10-07T04:30:37Z")
Very small - maybe an inch long and a millimeter or so wide - hanging out on a yarrow flower in Southern California. https://ibb.co/0XMrLpF Brown with yellow stripes (or vice versa), with a very consistent diameter thr… --- ## [ID theft - do I need to worry?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652)
**Author:** [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652 "2022-10-06T19:28:28Z")
An “Amazon” rep fooled me into confirming my name, zip code and cell number today. (They already had all three; I didn’t volunteer anything.) I hung up as soon as I figured out it was a scam. (They claimed there were pen… --- ## [Why no widespread underground power utilities?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-widespread-underground-power-utilities/972557)
**Author:** [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-widespread-underground-power-utilities/972557 "2022-10-06T01:02:34Z")
Regarding post 90 in the current Hurricane Ian thread: I don’t want to hijack that thread with my question so I’ll start this new thread: why aren’t power utilities laid underground? Regarding the above comment, it loo… --- ## ['India' flag (yellow background, black circle) meaning](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/india-flag-yellow-background-black-circle-meaning/972741)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/india-flag-yellow-background-black-circle-meaning/972741 "2022-10-06T00:32:14Z")
I recall ‘India’ flags being used on Southern California beaches. I think they might have been used to warn against rip tides, but I don’t remember. What did the India flag mean in this context? --- ## [Why third party?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-third-party/972759)
**Author:** [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-third-party/972759 "2022-10-05T23:59:55Z")
There’s a company that uses another company to verify employment.This company isn’t associated in any other way with the first company. Why is this company called a third party rather than a second party? --- ## [Why Does My Windows 7 PC Hate Being Left Alone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-windows-7-pc-hate-being-left-alone/972744)
**Author:** [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-windows-7-pc-hate-being-left-alone/972744 "2022-10-05T21:28:32Z")
I normally leave my W7 PC in Sleep mode but do power it all the way down once or twice a week. In these cases it restarts normally. But if I power down for more than a few days–say if I go on a 7-day trip–then I have al… --- ## [In what languages is a tap an animal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-languages-is-a-tap-an-animal/972683)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-languages-is-a-tap-an-animal/972683 "2022-10-05T19:33:42Z")
The word cock in English can refer to a tap—i.e., a faucet or spigot; a spout with some mechanism for controlling the outflow of liquid. It’s theorized that this meaning derives from the other meaning of cock (i.e., a r… --- ## [Was this used car purchase a scam? How?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-used-car-purchase-a-scam-how/972335)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-used-car-purchase-a-scam-how/972335 "2022-10-05T18:29:29Z")
My friend just sold her used car and had a weird unsettling experience. We think it may have been a scam but aren’t sure how. Dramatis personae (anonymized, made alphabetical in order of appearance): Amy (my friend sel… --- ## [Transient minor anomalies in the visual field](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transient-minor-anomalies-in-the-visual-field/972330)
**Author:** [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transient-minor-anomalies-in-the-visual-field/972330 "2022-10-05T15:36:45Z")
This is not floaters or any kind of ocular phenomenon I’ve searched. This is something different from everything else I’ve read about vision. I have floaters and stuff like that, but this bears no resemblance. I’ve been … --- ## [Is there a German equivalent to the phrase “teach your grandmother to suck eggs”?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-german-equivalent-to-the-phrase-teach-your-grandmother-to-suck-eggs/972397)
**Author:** [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-german-equivalent-to-the-phrase-teach-your-grandmother-to-suck-eggs/972397 "2022-10-05T09:51:09Z")
This is a purely curiosity-driven question arising from a silly conversation at work. In English, we have the phrase “teach your granny to suck eggs” meaning “explain to someone how to do a task they already understand … --- ## [What happens with British throne if a child is in the womb?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-british-throne-if-a-child-is-in-the-womb/971423)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-with-british-throne-if-a-child-is-in-the-womb/971423 "2022-10-05T09:36:23Z")
I was reading a bio of Queen Elizabeth II, which made me wonder about the following: She became queen because her father, King George VI only had 2 daughters and no sons. But what would have happened if the Queen Mothe… --- ## [Old pottery and ancient lamps (Greek presumably)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-pottery-and-ancient-lamps-greek-presumably/972584)
**Author:** [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2022, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-pottery-and-ancient-lamps-greek-presumably/972584 "2022-10-05T05:30:07Z")
https: //en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John\_F.\_Kennedy\_Special\_Warfare\_Center\_and\_School#/media/File%3AJFKSWCS\_SSI.gif The emblem on this patch is supposed to depict a lamp. What kind of lamp is this? What is it called? I’ve … --- ## [The Invasion of the Kiwi-Fruit People! (into Android) Run away!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-invasion-of-the-kiwi-fruit-people-into-android-run-away/972710)
**Author:** [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-invasion-of-the-kiwi-fruit-people-into-android-run-away/972710 "2022-10-04T23:32:08Z")
As a great many of you must have already discovered not too long ago (don’t know when), one day when you wanted to select an emoji or the like showing a human face carrying the emotion you want to express, you found to y… --- ## [Do any snakes eat their own skin after shedding/moulting?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-snakes-eat-their-own-skin-after-shedding-moulting/403061)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-snakes-eat-their-own-skin-after-shedding-moulting/403061 "2022-10-04T20:40:02Z")
My seven-year-old asked me today, and I didn’t know, so of course I now turn to the collective wisdom of the SDMB… --- ## [How to I keep my iPhone 8 Plus from making butt calls?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-i-keep-my-iphone-8-plus-from-making-butt-calls/972550)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-i-keep-my-iphone-8-plus-from-making-butt-calls/972550 "2022-10-04T16:29:54Z")
This can’t just be happening to me, although I haven’t heard others complaining about this feature/bug. At least five times a week, I mistakenly recall the last person I talked to. My phone has a case, and I keep it in … --- ## [Question regarding Edward Snowden? Isn't a valid US passport needed to apply for dual US-Russian citizenship? \[Update: Putin granted citizenship to Snowden\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-edward-snowden-isnt-a-valid-us-passport-needed-to-apply-for-dual-us-russian-citizenship-update-putin-granted-citizenship-to-snowden/924546)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-edward-snowden-isnt-a-valid-us-passport-needed-to-apply-for-dual-us-russian-citizenship-update-putin-granted-citizenship-to-snowden/924546 "2022-10-04T16:24:59Z")
I understand that a valid US passport isn’t needed to retain US citizenship. But isn’t a valid US passport needed to apply for dual US-Russian citizenship as Snowden is doing? Doesn’t he have to provide a valid US passpo… --- ## [Coughing while laughing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-while-laughing/972566)
**Author:** [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coughing-while-laughing/972566 "2022-10-04T16:08:28Z")
Hi Straight Dope, Sometimes people laugh so hard they start coughing. However, as curious as I am about the physics of why that happens, I am more curious about how coughing seems to lessen the humor. Never have I see… --- ## [Is unauthorized product placement and portrayal of real people in fiction legal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-unauthorized-product-placement-and-portrayal-of-real-people-in-fiction-legal/972105)
**Author:** [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-unauthorized-product-placement-and-portrayal-of-real-people-in-fiction-legal/972105 "2022-10-04T12:45:26Z")
Already as a child, I noticed that branded things rarely appeared in fiction (at least in that which was aimed at kids). I remember when I saw “E.T the Extra Terrestrial” (probably during its 1985 re-release, at 5 years … --- ## [What happens to a lawyers case files after they retire and/or die?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-a-lawyers-case-files-after-they-retire-and-or-die/972428)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2022, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-a-lawyers-case-files-after-they-retire-and-or-die/972428 "2022-10-04T04:50:03Z")
I don’t feel like spending $450 asking my lawyer this question as it does not pertain to me. An aquaintence has a realative who died. They know he had a will made out but can’t find it. They looked up the attorney they … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=179) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=181)