# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=196 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 197 --- ## [Another cell phone trouble shooting thread (Samsung)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cell-phone-trouble-shooting-thread-samsung/968113)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cell-phone-trouble-shooting-thread-samsung/968113 "2022-07-18T14:22:57Z")
My texting app worked fine. Then it stopped showing text notifications from my daughter (you know, the little number pop-up?), but still did a sound alert, and showed a pop-up from anybody else. Then today, no more pop-u… --- ## [Why is the Mohawk style haircut not considered cultural appropriation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-mohawk-style-haircut-not-considered-cultural-appropriation/968122)
**Author:** [@jonpluc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonpluc)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-mohawk-style-haircut-not-considered-cultural-appropriation/968122 "2022-07-18T12:06:48Z")
Seems to be a missed woke opportunity to get dozens of CEOs to do a walk of shame from bad haircuts from the 80s. Why is this not a thing? --- ## [Are there other countries where voters publicly register their party affiliation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-countries-where-voters-publicly-register-their-party-affiliation/968041)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2022, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-countries-where-voters-publicly-register-their-party-affiliation/968041 "2022-07-18T04:16:06Z")
Not meant to debate whys and wherefores. I’m just curious if there are other countries where voters register their party affiliation with the government, as I understand is the case in some (but not all) states in the US… --- ## [Where can I find short term health insurance?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-short-term-health-insurance/968020)
**Author:** [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2022, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-short-term-health-insurance/968020 "2022-07-18T01:53:09Z")
I need short term health insurance because I have temporarily been kicked off of Medicare. I had been paying my Medicare Part B premiums automatically on my credit card. My credit card was compromised, so I got a new ca… --- ## [Questions about dismissing a murder case](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-dismissing-a-murder-case/968058)
**Author:** [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-dismissing-a-murder-case/968058 "2022-07-18T01:48:54Z")
The questions are about this case. The background: In 2019, Joseph Underwood beat and strangled a woman in Laramie County, Wyoming, then transported her body to Park County, Wyoming, and dumped it in a creek bed. He was… --- ## [Infra red telescopes best for Earth protection?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infra-red-telescopes-best-for-earth-protection/968068)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infra-red-telescopes-best-for-earth-protection/968068 "2022-07-18T01:45:22Z")
Are infra red space based telescopes best for detecting objects that could collide with earth? It seems the James Webb telescope concept is better for this. Objects in our system being likely heated by the Sun. Of cour… --- ## [Imessage failure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imessage-failure/968111)
**Author:** [@dauerbach1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach1)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imessage-failure/968111 "2022-07-18T00:47:26Z")
Ever since my wife got her new phone I cannot text her. When I text, mine shows up as green, and it never gets delivered to her phone. All the other people she texts with seem to have not problem. I have gone round an… --- ## [Compressed powder laundry discs (U.S.) ID](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compressed-powder-laundry-discs-u-s-id/968103)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compressed-powder-laundry-discs-u-s-id/968103 "2022-07-17T18:48:52Z")
In the '70s, we’d sometimes used laundry detergent in the form of compressed powder discs about three inches in diameter and an inch or so thick. They were easier to use than a heavy box of powder and a measuring cup (w… --- ## [Combining animation and python](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combining-animation-and-python/968087)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combining-animation-and-python/968087 "2022-07-17T14:56:56Z")
I want to make a few videos that combing animation and the math library in python. Think of something like a video showing the equation 3x - 2y = 12 (animation) plotting the intercepts (python) drawing the line (pyth… --- ## [White Castle sugar roll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425)
**Author:** [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425 "2022-07-17T13:36:42Z")
I’m watching a show and it highlighting White Castle. On an old menu, hamburgers were 5 cents and a “suger roll” was 7 cents. What is a sugar roll and why was it more expensive than a hamburger? --- ## [Could a big enough telescope “see” the Big Bang?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-big-enough-telescope-see-the-big-bang/967825)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-big-enough-telescope-see-the-big-bang/967825 "2022-07-17T00:57:51Z")
Inspired by the JWST images, could such a telescope be theoretically be made? I recall College physics that said the universe was opaque for the first few hundred thousands years post Big Bang so, I would have thought, n… --- ## [Traveling with a 14 year old. Any ID needed for TSA? (Need answer kinda fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-a-14-year-old-any-id-needed-for-tsa-need-answer-kinda-fast/968050)
**Author:** [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-a-14-year-old-any-id-needed-for-tsa-need-answer-kinda-fast/968050 "2022-07-16T18:58:11Z")
We are taking our 14 year granddaughter with us on vacation later today. Will she need any kind of ID for going through the TSA check point? I looked at the TSA website and all I could find was that children 13 or older … --- ## [Small SUV with "cross" in the name?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-suv-with-cross-in-the-name/968053)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-suv-with-cross-in-the-name/968053 "2022-07-16T18:41:02Z")
I saw two of them yesterday. A small SUV that has an open rear deck like a mini-pickup truck. The name is embossed on the tailgate but is not real high relief and is monotone so all I could make out is the end of the nam… --- ## [Trouble with Gmail account](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-with-gmail-account/968054)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-with-gmail-account/968054 "2022-07-16T18:03:36Z")
How do I get into my Gmail account. I know my password from a gazillion years ago. The problem is my original phone number assc. with the account, is no more. They want to send me a code but they will not send it to my … --- ## [Do new cars really lose value as soon as you leave the lot? Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-cars-really-lose-value-as-soon-as-you-leave-the-lot-why/967508)
**Author:** [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-cars-really-lose-value-as-soon-as-you-leave-the-lot-why/967508 "2022-07-16T17:39:31Z")
I’ve long heard it said that cars lose a significant portion of their value in the first year, which has sometimes been described as starkly as “cars lose X% as soon as you drive them off the lot.” Is this really true? … --- ## [How to: create a post on Facebook using my tablet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-create-a-post-on-facebook-using-my-tablet/967965)
**Author:** [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-create-a-post-on-facebook-using-my-tablet/967965 "2022-07-16T17:32:21Z")
Hey smart people, I would like to send CNN articles to my Facebook friends, but the articles never have the Facebook icon. I know about copying small items, clicking on Mail, copying the URL and copying that to the Creat… --- ## [How do they make contour maps?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-contour-maps/967968)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-contour-maps/967968 "2022-07-16T17:09:25Z")
I’ve used some contour maps recently for hiking and notice that they are pretty comprehensive. You don’t see areas marked “Elevation not available.” How do they collect such a massive amount of information, especially fo… --- ## [Can the secret service charged with protecting Trump arrest him? (and how could it happen))](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-secret-service-charged-with-protecting-trump-arrest-him-and-how-could-it-happen/967973)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2022, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-secret-service-charged-with-protecting-trump-arrest-him-and-how-could-it-happen/967973 "2022-07-16T08:58:05Z")
If it seems like Trump committed an offense that warrants being arrested is there any way that the secret service charged with protecting him would be the ones to arrest him? And if so how would such an order come down?… --- ## [Tongue and groove flooring question re: grooves on the underside](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-and-groove-flooring-question-re-grooves-on-the-underside/968035)
**Author:** [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-and-groove-flooring-question-re-grooves-on-the-underside/968035 "2022-07-15T23:34:03Z")
I’ve been tasked with taking some old flooring, like 1860’s old, and making it into viable flooring for a new application. Planeing it down, new tongue and groove, etc. One of the things asked was to put grooves on the … --- ## [Attention Googlers: help with search](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-googlers-help-with-search/967947)
**Author:** [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-googlers-help-with-search/967947 "2022-07-15T20:27:28Z")
Clearly I have no talent with searching. Here’s the short of it. The New York Times carried a story today about Jason Lary, former mayor of Stonecrest, GA, being sentenced to prison. After I read the story and moved on,… --- ## [Can you continuously sail around the Earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-continuously-sail-around-the-earth/967910)
**Author:** [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2022, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-continuously-sail-around-the-earth/967910 "2022-07-15T17:40:42Z")
This question came up after reading about an Italian Flat-Earther couple who tried to prove this by sailing to, well, the end of the Earth. Of course this did not end well and they ended up quarantined on an island off o… --- ## [Google Photos question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-photos-question/967456)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-photos-question/967456 "2022-07-15T13:42:36Z")
I have a Google account, and the Google Photos app on my phone. But I’ve never really grasped how to make it work efficiently. I’ll start with a basic question: I just took a photo with my phone. I see it in the Google … --- ## [Is it "Summer" in Australia right now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467)
**Author:** [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Replies:** 130\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467 "2022-07-14T22:43:56Z")
Or is it just warm in the Winter? In other words, does the actual name of the season change when you cross the equator? --- ## [Math for a baseball spaceship](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-for-a-baseball-spaceship/967738)
**Author:** [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-for-a-baseball-spaceship/967738 "2022-07-14T22:39:33Z")
As a mental exercise, I created the following specific scenario: Your spaceship, which is out in space traveling at some unspecified speed, has a dry weight mass of 12 tons (12000Kg). It is loaded with a million America… --- ## [Supplement ratio oddity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supplement-ratio-oddity/967826)
**Author:** [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supplement-ratio-oddity/967826 "2022-07-14T22:37:05Z")
Per doctor’s instructions, I’m taking a calcium / vitamin D supplement. Weirdly, the supplement contains 125% of my vitamin D requirement (1000 IU) - but only HALF of my calcium requirement. Why wouldn’t they try to pr… --- ## [How does a Horseshoe Crab find the Water after Breeding?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-horseshoe-crab-find-the-water-after-breeding/967877)
**Author:** [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-horseshoe-crab-find-the-water-after-breeding/967877 "2022-07-14T15:49:30Z")
This year my family and I were able to visit New Jersey during Horseshoe Crab breeding season. To breed, the males attach themselves to the back of a female, and the female crawls out of the ocean at high tide onto the b… --- ## [Why do modern casinos don't have easy places for people to sit?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-modern-casinos-dont-have-easy-places-for-people-to-sit/967813)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-modern-casinos-dont-have-easy-places-for-people-to-sit/967813 "2022-07-14T04:51:41Z")
PREEMPTIVE READ THE TEXT DONT JUST BLURT OUT THE ANSWER AHEAD OF TIME LIKE ITS A GAME SHOW Okay, i understand in the old days you didn’t want seats in a casino because the only places you wanted people to sit in a casin… --- ## [How are Ear buds powered?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-ear-buds-powered/967902)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-ear-buds-powered/967902 "2022-07-14T04:42:53Z")
The usb charger cord plugs into the box. There’s lights on the box that indicate the charge. You can see 2 prongs in the box that makes contact with the ear bud. Is there also a battery in the ear bud? Is it being charg… --- ## [How, exactly, does binary code actually become what is shown on a computer screen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-binary-code-actually-become-what-is-shown-on-a-computer-screen/967493)
**Author:** [@SmartBulbInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartBulbInc)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-exactly-does-binary-code-actually-become-what-is-shown-on-a-computer-screen/967493 "2022-07-14T00:45:25Z")
It is often something that is portrayed in media: “hackers” looking at ones and zeros all day to code. Of course, anyone who has extensively used computers knows that this just is not the case. But, few people actually t… --- ## [What does US customs do with packages?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-us-customs-do-with-packages/967298)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-us-customs-do-with-packages/967298 "2022-07-14T00:32:40Z")
Bought a used guitar from Canada. Does US customs just open it and make sure it’s a guitar and nothing else ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=195) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=197)