# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=231 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 232 --- ## [Has the "Hostage(s) threatened in order to get prisoner released" ploy ever worked in the U.S.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-hostage-s-threatened-in-order-to-get-prisoner-released-ploy-ever-worked-in-the-u-s/957930)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-hostage-s-threatened-in-order-to-get-prisoner-released-ploy-ever-worked-in-the-u-s/957930 "2022-01-20T00:50:41Z")
It was attempted recently in the news, and has been attempted many times in the past, but has it ever worked when attempted in the U.S.? --- ## [Diagnosing Low Oil Pressure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnosing-low-oil-pressure/957384)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnosing-low-oil-pressure/957384 "2022-01-19T17:23:21Z")
Let me just list what is going on. 2008 GMC Envoy and I have already changed the sensor - no change. Apparently mine was the last year that did not use the mesh filter. I have an oil leak that is getting worst and the… --- ## ["v/r" in a business email?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/v-r-in-a-business-email/227379)
**Author:** [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/v-r-in-a-business-email/227379 "2022-01-19T15:53:18Z")
OK, so I got an email today that went something like this: What’s the v/r mean? This guy loves to be all ‘official’ n stuff. --- ## [iPhone Pictures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-pictures/957998)
**Author:** [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-pictures/957998 "2022-01-19T14:23:59Z")
I take a lot of pictures with my iPhone. I’m currently using a 13. All of my phones have taken really great pictures. I’ve had many of them enlarged (ordered online at Walmart Photo) and framed. I’ve had blankets made fo… --- ## [What can be done to compel a foreign witness to testify in a US civil tria](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-compel-a-foreign-witness-to-testify-in-a-us-civil-tria/957832)
**Author:** [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-compel-a-foreign-witness-to-testify-in-a-us-civil-tria/957832 "2022-01-19T13:02:20Z")
So I just read this: The civil case against Prince Andrew is likely to involve calling his former equerry to testify. Presumably he’s living in the UK, so is this just wishful thinking in the part of the plantiff? I… --- ## [MS Word (or MS Word 365) Idiosyncracies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-or-ms-word-365-idiosyncracies/958012)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-or-ms-word-365-idiosyncracies/958012 "2022-01-19T02:04:43Z")
Can someone explain the following: 1. When I press the “P” (i.e., the Paragraph-type of “P”) button to reveal spacing in a document, sometimes between sentences there appears a degree symbol adjacent the “dot” indicating… --- ## [Did the USSR have a counterpart to the USGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-ussr-have-a-counterpart-to-the-usgs/957615)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-ussr-have-a-counterpart-to-the-usgs/957615 "2022-01-19T00:27:50Z")
I was randomly inspecting the globe via google maps and discovered this photo that someone posted of an overlook seemingly in the middle of nowhere in Russia. Tilting down, one can view a plaque, you can almost make out… --- ## [What is causing the chip shortage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-causing-the-chip-shortage/957760)
**Author:** [@PozhanPop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PozhanPop)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-causing-the-chip-shortage/957760 "2022-01-18T23:31:46Z")
My friend had to wait 11 months for a Hino truck. Another friend who is a small time network installer has been waiting months for some hardware for $70,000 project. He is really afraid that he will lose his customer. Y… --- ## [Websites That Are Completely Free?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/websites-that-are-completely-free/957953)
**Author:** [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/websites-that-are-completely-free/957953 "2022-01-18T18:45:07Z")
I started a website when I was 16, but YouTube took over, and it wasn’t worth paying. I’m just looking for a completely free place to create a website. I don’t have a dollar to spend, and creating this cheap website to … --- ## [Car distributor making loud buzzing sound.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-distributor-making-loud-buzzing-sound/598385)
**Author:** [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-distributor-making-loud-buzzing-sound/598385 "2022-01-18T18:15:13Z")
Hi all. Have an early 80’s model car. Its been sitting up quite a while. In the process of getting it up and running again. Anyhow, when I put juice to the electrical system the distributor makes a very loud buzzing,spa… --- ## [Factual question about hostage situations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941)
**Author:** [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941 "2022-01-18T16:55:50Z")
Hi SD, Gonna cut to the chase with this one. The hostage situation in TX was 11 hours long. How does the hostage taker go to the bathroom? Not only in terms of the heightened emotions and danger causing the bowels … --- ## [How do I install a lock on my car’s data port?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-install-a-lock-on-my-car-s-data-port/957766)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-install-a-lock-on-my-car-s-data-port/957766 "2022-01-18T16:33:29Z")
So, last month there was an article about car thieves in Toronto using Apple Tags to track cars they want to steal: According to this National Post article, one way to reduce car theft is to : How do I do that, plea… --- ## [Oven Calibration - What is Being Measured?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oven-calibration-what-is-being-measured/957937)
**Author:** [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oven-calibration-what-is-being-measured/957937 "2022-01-18T02:42:59Z")
My wife has recently complained that the oven seemed “off” - that it was not as hot as it was set to be. We had a cheap thermometer that seems to agree but I know they are notoriously inaccurate. I mentioned this to an… --- ## [I cannot clear a Message from my Computer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cannot-clear-a-message-from-my-computer/957952)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cannot-clear-a-message-from-my-computer/957952 "2022-01-18T00:34:15Z")
I am using Windows 11 on my laptop. I have run all the updates. I was saving some large photos. I scanned them, put them on a USB and stuck the USB into my computer. At some point I wearied of waiting for the transfer. … --- ## [How do fevers help us fight infections?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fevers-help-us-fight-infections/957951)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-fevers-help-us-fight-infections/957951 "2022-01-18T00:31:29Z")
The common wisdom is a fever helps our body fight off infections. But how? If higher body temps kill some infections then why haven’t they evolved to be resistant to those higher body temps? Extremophile bacteria exis… --- ## [Help with hanging light fixture terminology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-hanging-light-fixture-terminology/957893)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-hanging-light-fixture-terminology/957893 "2022-01-17T19:32:59Z")
I have a faux-tiffany hanging lamp in one room of my residence. The important bit here is how it is hung, via a chain through which the power cord also runs. This is not my lamp, but this picture does illustrate the pa… --- ## [Some questions about marching bands-- when and what to play](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-marching-bands-when-and-what-to-play/957612)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-marching-bands-when-and-what-to-play/957612 "2022-01-17T15:42:22Z")
Could go here; could go in Cafe Society, but these are factual questions I’d like the answer to. When playing at a sporting event in which both teams have marching bands, how does each marching band know when to play,… --- ## [How are blue eyes adaptive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-blue-eyes-adaptive/957203)
**Author:** [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-blue-eyes-adaptive/957203 "2022-01-17T15:25:43Z")
I’ve wondered about this before, but was reminded of it after seeing Nora O’Donnell on the nightly news. For her, and many others, crystal blue eyes are a strikingly attractive feature. But do they serve another purpos… --- ## [Are there any electric car designs that use a generator engine to charge the battery?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-electric-car-designs-that-use-a-generator-engine-to-charge-the-battery/957213)
**Author:** [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-electric-car-designs-that-use-a-generator-engine-to-charge-the-battery/957213 "2022-01-17T15:05:12Z")
I’ve always thought a transitional electric vehicle model would have something like a 40-60 mile range, but with a backup gas generator (not car engine) that recharged the batteries to extend the range when needed. So y… --- ## [Can I braze a nut to sheet metal for a caster on a cart?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-braze-a-nut-to-sheet-metal-for-a-caster-on-a-cart/957863)
**Author:** [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-braze-a-nut-to-sheet-metal-for-a-caster-on-a-cart/957863 "2022-01-17T14:48:31Z")
(This may be more opinion than factual.) I have a rolling cart my wife uses for hobby supplies. Each leg is a rolled metal tube about 2" in diameter. In each leg, there is a disc of metal tack welded to the sides and … --- ## [So is every website at its core nothing but an HTML file?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-every-website-at-its-core-nothing-but-an-html-file/957375)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2022, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-every-website-at-its-core-nothing-but-an-html-file/957375 "2022-01-17T11:16:26Z")
When I was a teenager in the late 1990s, I was playing around a little creating a website and putting it on Geocities. Of course, being a kid, I didn’t have much content to offer, and the pages looked terrible, but it wa… --- ## [Isn't the planet cooling down?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-the-planet-cooling-down/957605)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-the-planet-cooling-down/957605 "2022-01-17T03:58:08Z")
I’m not talking about the surface, including the atmosphere, but the planet as a whole. Isn’t Earth cooling off, i.e. losing energy to the universe, like other bodies in the universe that don’t have their own sources of… --- ## [Why does my fridge smell like acetone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-fridge-smell-like-acetone/638878)
**Author:** [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-fridge-smell-like-acetone/638878 "2022-01-16T16:18:01Z")
So, about a month ago, my fridge started smelling like acetone (or maybe very strong vinegar, definitely a strong bracing smell). I’m trying to figure out what this is so I can get my landlord to fix it. The strength o… --- ## [Longest false "bilingual" word](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 149\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2022, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168 "2022-01-16T12:26:05Z")
There’s a number of false “bilingual” words. That is, they are coincidentally spelled the same, but are not actually related and have unrelated meanings. Off the top of my head, I can come up with a number of them, all o… --- ## [The right to prosecute crimes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-right-to-prosecute-crimes/957525)
**Author:** [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-right-to-prosecute-crimes/957525 "2022-01-16T00:00:35Z")
There’s been a move lately among DAs in major cities to simply refuse to prosecute certain crimes. (I believe this may have started on a national level under Obama, but it’s taken on a lot of steam lately at the local le… --- ## [Is Uranium ore dangerous?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uranium-ore-dangerous/957775)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-uranium-ore-dangerous/957775 "2022-01-15T15:56:19Z")
From college physics, Uranium only emits Alpha particles, which skin blocks easily. However if I recall, one of the produced daughter elements is Radon, which is pretty radioactive. So, counter intuitively, is Uranium o… --- ## [Mild food poisoning (somewhat unpleasant content) just checking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-food-poisoning-somewhat-unpleasant-content-just-checking/957742)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2022, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-food-poisoning-somewhat-unpleasant-content-just-checking/957742 "2022-01-15T10:50:48Z")
Disclaimer: I know you are not my doctor and I will contact him if necessary. Yesterday I ate my regular meals including a prawn cocktail (prawns in marie-rose sauce.) The prawn cocktail tasted a little funny, but I we… --- ## [How can I find the document I need based on the info below?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-document-i-need-based-on-the-info-below/957779)
**Author:** [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-document-i-need-based-on-the-info-below/957779 "2022-01-15T05:48:40Z")
How can I find the document I need based on the info below? Washington National Records Center, OSD Files, FRC 330–84–0003, Argentina (Jan–15 May) 1982) Thank you very much. --- ## [How can I find the document I need based on the info below?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-document-i-need-based-on-the-info-below/957815)
**Author:** [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-document-i-need-based-on-the-info-below/957815 "2022-01-15T00:44:25Z")
How can I find the document I need based on the info below? Washington National Records Center, OSD Files, FRC 330–84–0003, Argentina (Jan–15 May) 1982) Thank you very much. --- ## [Fiendishly obscure question: Id this (American?/Canadian?/British?) sports announcer: 1948 London Olympics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiendishly-obscure-question-id-this-american-canadian-british-sports-announcer-1948-london-olympics/957809)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiendishly-obscure-question-id-this-american-canadian-british-sports-announcer-1948-london-olympics/957809 "2022-01-14T23:05:12Z")
You can hear the audio here at about 1:12:37. Raymond Glendenning hands off announcing duties to \[Stewart McClussen?\]. That’s an approximation of what I’m hearing. Just can’t make out that last name. For all I knew i… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=230) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=232)