# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=23 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 24 --- ## [The creation of the planets in our Solar System](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-the-planets-in-our-solar-system/1022065)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2025, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-the-planets-in-our-solar-system/1022065 "2025-12-01T09:33:02Z")
Prevailing theory is that the planets were all created from leftover “stuff” writ large from the formation of the sun. Is the type of planet and rough distance from Sol predicated upon which materials coalesced into whi… --- ## [Can I "sync" a new iPad to the old one, as I can with a new Mac?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-sync-a-new-ipad-to-the-old-one-as-i-can-with-a-new-mac/1025132)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2025, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-sync-a-new-ipad-to-the-old-one-as-i-can-with-a-new-mac/1025132 "2025-12-01T02:28:17Z")
Hope that question made sense. I know the procedure to connect a new Mac desktop to an old one, do some fancy button-holding-down and the entire old computer hard drive ( minus the older OS ) ports into the new machine.… --- ## [Store credit cards: How would returns affect promotional 0% APRs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/store-credit-cards-how-would-returns-affect-promotional-0-aprs/1025238)
**Author:** [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/store-credit-cards-how-would-returns-affect-promotional-0-aprs/1025238 "2025-11-30T17:10:21Z")
Let’s say I have a Best Buy credit card, and it has a promotion where spending $1000 in a single transaction gets you 24 months 0% APR financing. If I pay off that balance within 24 months, there should be no interest. B… --- ## [How can I tell for sure whether or not I have bats in my belfry (non-metaphorical)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-for-sure-whether-or-not-i-have-bats-in-my-belfry-non-metaphorical/1025211)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-for-sure-whether-or-not-i-have-bats-in-my-belfry-non-metaphorical/1025211 "2025-11-30T16:18:05Z")
I also considered ‘Batsgiving!’ For a title but I figured that would not be factual enough :smirk: So, late Wednesday night, T-Day Eve, I was up in my office area when a bat suddenly started flying around in wild circ… --- ## [Where Did the Meme "I Don't Do Windows" Come From?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-meme-i-dont-do-windows-come-from/465658)
**Author:** [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-meme-i-dont-do-windows-come-from/465658 "2025-11-30T15:54:36Z")
I don’t think I have seen this in a while but TV shows in the '60’s and '70’s would often have a potential maid being interviewed claiming “I don’t do windows”. That seems like an odd thing to say. One example I can thin… --- ## [How long can a bottle of milk last without spoiling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-bottle-of-milk-last-without-spoiling/1024672)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2025, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-a-bottle-of-milk-last-without-spoiling/1024672 "2025-11-30T03:17:11Z")
Assume it is pasteurized, sealed and properly refrigerated. Nitrogen back-filled if that is a thing. Does the fat content make a difference? --- ## [What is this place in Scotland (building where fans watched World Cup qualifying on TV)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-place-in-scotland-building-where-fans-watched-world-cup-qualifying-on-tv/1025195)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2025, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-place-in-scotland-building-where-fans-watched-world-cup-qualifying-on-tv/1025195 "2025-11-28T19:43:16Z")
There’s this sub-genre of YouTube where the videos show fans (who weren’t physically present at the game) reacting to winning goals or what have you. This one is from Scotland’s 4-2 win over Denmark to qualify for the 20… --- ## [What is the finality of "dropping the case"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-finality-of-dropping-the-case/1025175)
**Author:** [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-finality-of-dropping-the-case/1025175 "2025-11-27T13:28:08Z")
Inspired by recent events in Georgia (and less recent events in certain federal cases ) but in FQ so looking for factual answer about the law not opinions on the likelihood of these cases ever being resurrected in practi… --- ## [Help me ID a Ring, Please.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-ring-please/263867)
**Author:** [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 26, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-a-ring-please/263867 "2025-11-26T22:11:55Z")
Last week, I had the unfortunate duty of going through my father’s jewelry box. He won’t need it anymore. :frowning: In addition to the expected stuff, like his class rings, a silver ID bracelet, and some remarkably h… --- ## [Roman Numerals on Buildings-why additive form rather than subtractive](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-numerals-on-buildings-why-additive-form-rather-than-subtractive/1025133)
**Author:** [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [November 26, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-numerals-on-buildings-why-additive-form-rather-than-subtractive/1025133 "2025-11-26T01:41:58Z")
I work at a public library, built as a Carnegie library, where the year of its construction,1903, is represented on its facade as ’MDCCCCIII’ rather than ‘MCMIII’. Cursory examination of other same-era buildings suggests… --- ## [GO JO orange hand cleaner ingredients](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-jo-orange-hand-cleaner-ingredients/1025107)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-jo-orange-hand-cleaner-ingredients/1025107 "2025-11-24T22:54:34Z")
The label claims NATURAL\* ORANGE\* with those darn asterisks. Here is the ingredient list. Which of these is the orange ingredient? I note that the bottle I have at home (probably 10 years old) does not list petroleum dis… --- ## [NJ Motorcycle helmet law](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-motorcycle-helmet-law/1025074)
**Author:** [@MuleSkinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MuleSkinner)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-motorcycle-helmet-law/1025074 "2025-11-24T20:23:20Z")
Not really looking for legal advice and I do know what the helmet requirements are in NJ, at least in practice if one gets pulled over. This is more about how the law is vaguely written and where one is supposed to find … --- ## [Spherical geometry question - directions and non-great circles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spherical-geometry-question-directions-and-non-great-circles/1022593)
**Author:** [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spherical-geometry-question-directions-and-non-great-circles/1022593 "2025-11-23T20:38:37Z")
So on a sphere, the shortest distance between two points is a portion of a great circle. A great circle is a circle which has its center at the center of the sphere (right?). If I’m picturing things correctly, on the Ear… --- ## [Writing style: British demonym conventions "new Yorker"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writing-style-british-demonym-conventions-new-yorker/1025018)
**Author:** [@InfraBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InfraBlue)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writing-style-british-demonym-conventions-new-yorker/1025018 "2025-11-23T00:57:37Z")
In the BBC article, “Trump to meet incoming New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani,” Madeline Halpert wrote “. . . Trump - a born-and-raised new Yorker. . .” Is it British convention to write the word “new” in miniscule in demon… --- ## [Cats and Keyboards](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-keyboards/1025004)
**Author:** [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [November 22, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-keyboards/1025004 "2025-11-22T19:30:13Z")
What F key or combination of F keys above the number keys on a keyboard does a cat have to step on to flip the display on the monitor screen 180° ? And will that same key or combination repeated reverse the flip? --- ## [Name of this 80s/90s PBS educational cartoon about business?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-this-80s-90s-pbs-educational-cartoon-about-business/1025051)
**Author:** [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 22, 2025, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-of-this-80s-90s-pbs-educational-cartoon-about-business/1025051 "2025-11-22T16:34:25Z")
I was a single-digit age when I walked past a TV that had been left on either PBS or some other local station, and it aired a cartoon that was meant to teach business concepts, not really to entertain but to educate. I … --- ## [I don't understand just what Jeffrey Epstein was guilty of](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-just-what-jeffrey-epstein-was-guilty-of/1024863)
**Author:** [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [November 22, 2025, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-just-what-jeffrey-epstein-was-guilty-of/1024863 "2025-11-22T09:07:13Z")
Setting aside all political intrigue and implications… Just what did Jeffrey Epstein do? I understand that he had minors perform sex acts and that he paid them for those acts. I don’t mean to trivialize that at all, b… --- ## [Do schools, grades 1 thru 12 share transcripts of completed work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-schools-grades-1-thru-12-share-transcripts-of-completed-work/1025027)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [November 22, 2025, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-schools-grades-1-thru-12-share-transcripts-of-completed-work/1025027 "2025-11-22T01:46:13Z")
What happens when a child is moved to a new school? Do the schools request transcripts like colleges? I attended grades 1 thru 3 in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts in the mid 1960’s. My family moved to Arkansas. I r… --- ## [How did Trump make money from failed businesses?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-trump-make-money-from-failed-businesses/1024960)
**Author:** [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [November 21, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-trump-make-money-from-failed-businesses/1024960 "2025-11-21T20:35:25Z")
I’m looking for a factual answer to this question. I have asked in the appropriate forum, FQ. It has frequently been said that Trump is a poor businessman. His businesses don’t make a profit, and then they cease trading… --- ## [Why am I still getting Windows updates?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-still-getting-windows-updates/1025000)
**Author:** [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 21, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-still-getting-windows-updates/1025000 "2025-11-21T00:44:32Z")
I am typing this on an old HP Elitebook with Windows 10 that cannot be upgraded to Win 11. I have not paid for an extra year nor have I done anything else to try to extend security services. I was under the impression th… --- ## [Spammimic: Fun, but how is the message encoded?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spammimic-fun-but-how-is-the-message-encoded/238232)
**Author:** [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spammimic-fun-but-how-is-the-message-encoded/238232 "2025-11-20T22:03:39Z")
Ever heard of Spam Mimic? Researching Steganography recently, I ran across this interesting site, spammimic.com. Anyone can type a short message and have it encoded into spam-like text. For example, “Now is the time” … --- ## [How many shuffles of a deck before it's back in the original order?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-shuffles-of-a-deck-before-its-back-in-the-original-order/1024852)
**Author:** [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-shuffles-of-a-deck-before-its-back-in-the-original-order/1024852 "2025-11-20T13:48:20Z")
Suppose I had a brand new deck of cards, still in factory order. Assuming a “perfect” shuffle (deck cut exactly on half, then exactly one card from each stack interlaced together, then repeated), how many shuffles would … --- ## [What exactly changes when Congress declares war?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-changes-when-congress-declares-war/1024982)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-changes-when-congress-declares-war/1024982 "2025-11-20T13:18:07Z")
It seems like the President has a lot of freedom under the War Powers Act to conduct war without an actual declaration of war. It seems to me that someone could commit treason (as per the Constitution) without a formal … --- ## [Amazon shipping infinite loop](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-shipping-infinite-loop/1024983)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-shipping-infinite-loop/1024983 "2025-11-20T12:54:56Z")
Just curious – what’s up with those Amazon orders when the delivery tracker starts reporting that they are bouncing back and forth between a facility near me and a facility hundreds or thousands of miles away? By the tim… --- ## [In the (US) military, is it forbidden, or considered dishonorable, to relieve a dead enemy's corpse of his valuables?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-military-is-it-forbidden-or-considered-dishonorable-to-relieve-a-dead-enemys-corpse-of-his-valuables/1024167)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2025, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-military-is-it-forbidden-or-considered-dishonorable-to-relieve-a-dead-enemys-corpse-of-his-valuables/1024167 "2025-11-20T04:58:53Z")
That’s basically it. Are US servicemen and -women forbidden, or at the very least discouraged, from taking things from the corpses of slain enemies? A guy I knew in junior high school had a WWII German officers’ sword th… --- ## [Removal from the court room](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-from-the-court-room/1024933)
**Author:** [@Humbagger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humbagger)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2025, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-from-the-court-room/1024933 "2025-11-20T03:06:40Z")
Can a US judge order the defendant to be removed from the court room for most of or the entire trial? Let’s assume a criminal offence, a defendant that wants to be present in the court room and a sufficiently disruptive … --- ## [Why do gold nuggets exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-gold-nuggets-exist/1024966)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 19, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-gold-nuggets-exist/1024966 "2025-11-19T18:50:22Z")
From Chapter 19 of In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson, copyright 2000: “Here, near the \[west Australian\] coast, there are a few towns and quite a lot of visible farming, but head inland over the pale green hills to … --- ## [What is the breakdown by weight of the elements in the food we eat each year?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-breakdown-by-weight-of-the-elements-in-the-food-we-eat-each-year/1024984)
**Author:** [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 19, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-breakdown-by-weight-of-the-elements-in-the-food-we-eat-each-year/1024984 "2025-11-19T17:18:05Z")
Just something I started to wonder about while staring at the nutrition panel on this morning’s cereal. We consume stuff every day (pretty much) in the form of food and drink and we mostly talk about it in terms like fa… --- ## [When did it become widespread for Evangelical Christians to underline/write/scrawl on the pages of their own bibles?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-widespread-for-evangelical-christians-to-underline-write-scrawl-on-the-pages-of-their-own-bibles/1021805)
**Author:** [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [November 19, 2025, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-it-become-widespread-for-evangelical-christians-to-underline-write-scrawl-on-the-pages-of-their-own-bibles/1021805 "2025-11-19T07:49:51Z")
I’m researching a snake-oil type medical scam at the moment (about a supposed miracle cure for every type of visual impairment) and one of the things that happens in the long rambling video salesletter thing is that the … --- ## [Does this congressional ban on hemp-derived THC products affect state-level marijuana legalization](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-congressional-ban-on-hemp-derived-thc-products-affect-state-level-marijuana-legalization/1024844)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 19, 2025, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-congressional-ban-on-hemp-derived-thc-products-affect-state-level-marijuana-legalization/1024844 "2025-11-19T03:46:31Z")
Apparently the bill that the POTUS signed, following the shutdown, bans hemp-derived THC products. Except I already thought that was the case, considering THC’s status as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Regardless, it… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=24)