# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=25 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 26 --- ## [Bogus trivia list](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bogus-trivia-list/92014)
**Author:** [@Ironikinit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ironikinit)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bogus-trivia-list/92014 "2025-11-09T20:53:58Z")
A user posted the following list on a message board I often read. I’m pretty sure it’s not copyrighted. Actually, it’s all over the web. Cecil’s columns, among other sources, such as snopes, have been handy in debunking … --- ## [Mystery of San Francisco's sinking tower](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-of-san-franciscos-sinking-tower/1024643)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-of-san-franciscos-sinking-tower/1024643 "2025-11-09T19:22:41Z")
Supposedly the west corner of the Millennium Tower (corner of Mission and Fremont in SF) has sunk 20 inches since the building was new. No question the building has tilted – if you hang a plumb bob from the west corner o… --- ## [Can a modern jet liner land without the tailplane?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-modern-jet-liner-land-without-the-tailplane/1024686)
**Author:** [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2025, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-modern-jet-liner-land-without-the-tailplane/1024686 "2025-11-09T15:09:58Z")
Can something like an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737 be flown at all, in the absence of the horizontal and vertical tail surfaces? Not just failure of the control surfaces, but removal of the tail. Let’s assume the least-… --- ## [Why do we develop immunity to viruses but not bacteria?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-develop-immunity-to-viruses-but-not-bacteria/1023672)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2025, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-develop-immunity-to-viruses-but-not-bacteria/1023672 "2025-11-09T12:31:18Z")
I asked a few questions in another thread from 2003, and parts of my questions were answered but not the one in my subject line here. There are some vaccines against bacterial infections, like TB, but not for things lik… --- ## [What do thieves do with stolen art?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-thieves-do-with-stolen-art/721116)
**Author:** [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2025, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-thieves-do-with-stolen-art/721116 "2025-11-09T09:26:14Z")
Thieves steal for their own gain, usually financial gain. If they don’t steal cash, they they need a buyer (fence). Who would buy a stolen Mona Lisa? They can’t display it and there are no other uses for art. Do they… --- ## [I have a Sony Hi8 Video camera and I want to transfer my tapes to my Windows computer. How?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-sony-hi8-video-camera-and-i-want-to-transfer-my-tapes-to-my-windows-computer-how/1024694)
**Author:** [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2025, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-sony-hi8-video-camera-and-i-want-to-transfer-my-tapes-to-my-windows-computer-how/1024694 "2025-11-08T23:38:06Z")
99.99% sure this has been asked before. Camera in question: Camera Outputs: S Video, A/V, RFU DC Computer Inputs: HDMI Need advice on cabling, adaptors, and software. Simpler the better. Thank you in advance, ever… --- ## [Literacy gap among the deaf?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literacy-gap-among-the-deaf/1024663)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literacy-gap-among-the-deaf/1024663 "2025-11-08T23:08:52Z")
This article: Judge: White House briefings must provide sign language for deaf Americans : NPR comments fairly far down that: According to the NAD, hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. communicate mainly in AS… --- ## [Why does osteoarthritis pain wax and wane?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-osteoarthritis-pain-wax-and-wane/1024458)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-osteoarthritis-pain-wax-and-wane/1024458 "2025-11-08T22:24:41Z")
I’m posting this in GQ, hoping to get responses other than anecdotal. I have pretty severe arthritis in one hip. It varies from completely asymptomatic, to quite painful - causing a pronounced limp and feeling of insta… --- ## [Another iWoz question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-iwoz-question/1024609)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-iwoz-question/1024609 "2025-11-08T18:44:15Z")
At the end of Chapter 3, starting when Wozniak was in high school (class of 1968) “I got manuals for minicomputers from Varian, Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment, Data General, and many more companies. Whenever I had a… --- ## [Is this an 1800's British expression? Saying "of last importance" when you actually mean "most important."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-1800s-british-expression-saying-of-last-importance-when-you-actually-mean-most-important/1024676)
**Author:** [@CanHandleTheTruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanHandleTheTruth)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2025, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-1800s-british-expression-saying-of-last-importance-when-you-actually-mean-most-important/1024676 "2025-11-08T07:55:44Z")
I’m currently reading a book written in England in the mid-1800’s. The author keeps saying “it is of the very last importance that…” when he actually means it is the most important thing. A very curious way of speaking. --- ## [Half-Life Inquiry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-inquiry/1020665)
**Author:** [@IridiumIodineSulfur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IridiumIodineSulfur)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-inquiry/1020665 "2025-11-07T21:02:30Z")
How do half-lives allow full decay? My understanding is that in time t, half of the radioactive sample decays. I don’t understand how the full sample can decay if it is a half of the sample at a time. Eventually, there … --- ## [If something is "dropped" from ISS altitude, do we need to worry about it burning up on re-entry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-something-is-dropped-from-iss-altitude-do-we-need-to-worry-about-it-burning-up-on-re-entry/1024514)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-something-is-dropped-from-iss-altitude-do-we-need-to-worry-about-it-burning-up-on-re-entry/1024514 "2025-11-07T20:53:14Z")
I know that asteroids, spacecraft, etc. are subject to burning up when entering the atmosphere due to the friction of the object against the atmosphere – which is why great care is taken to safeguard spacecraft and the o… --- ## [Can you identify this person's accent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-identify-this-persons-accent/1024457)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-identify-this-persons-accent/1024457 "2025-11-07T19:40:39Z")
Near the end of the video she says she’s American, but her accent is unlike any American accent I’ve ever heard. She sounds kind of like Barbara Walters … sort of Received Pronunciation meets Trans Atlantic. Can anyone … --- ## [What is the dope on the Farmer's Almanac?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-dope-on-the-farmers-almanac/467531)
**Author:** [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-dope-on-the-farmers-almanac/467531 "2025-11-07T18:48:08Z")
Some folks swear by this thing. I see it all the time at my local grocery. My guess is that it’s just a booklet full of old folklore and hit-or-miss predictions, but folks sure seem almost in awe of it around here (rural… --- ## [Will Abby Zwerner (teacher shot by 6-year-old and awarded $10 million) actually get any money?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abby-zwerner-teacher-shot-by-6-year-old-and-awarded-10-million-actually-get-any-money/1024662)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-abby-zwerner-teacher-shot-by-6-year-old-and-awarded-10-million-actually-get-any-money/1024662 "2025-11-07T15:56:05Z")
Abby Zwerner, a teacher shot by a six-year-old, has been awarded $10 million in her lawsuit against the principal of the school for failing to intervene when it was suspected/known that the lad had brought a loaded gun t… --- ## [Did any of the Founding Fathers advocate for Freedom of Religion, but only for Christians?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-founding-fathers-advocate-for-freedom-of-religion-but-only-for-christians/1024564)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-any-of-the-founding-fathers-advocate-for-freedom-of-religion-but-only-for-christians/1024564 "2025-11-07T02:10:06Z")
That’s basically the question. When the Bill of Rights was being considered, did anyone advocate for Freedom of Religion as long as the practitioner was Christian? And also, at the time (c. 1789), were there any non-Chri… --- ## [Best course with slow leaking tire](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-course-with-slow-leaking-tire/1010310)
**Author:** [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Replies:** 139\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-course-with-slow-leaking-tire/1010310 "2025-11-07T01:52:39Z")
I read a similar thread by HoneyBadgerDC about his slow-leaking tire. A month to drop 15PSI. I reckon mine is not so slow as it’ll go from 30 to 15 in a day and a half. I topped it yesterday and will top it tomorrow wi… --- ## [Trying to pay COBRA premium, payment keeps getting rejected. Bank blames Cobra and vise versa](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-pay-cobra-premium-payment-keeps-getting-rejected-bank-blames-cobra-and-vise-versa/1024630)
**Author:** [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-pay-cobra-premium-payment-keeps-getting-rejected-bank-blames-cobra-and-vise-versa/1024630 "2025-11-06T19:35:52Z")
Got laid off after 28 years last month. Trying to pay my insurance premium to COBRA from my Wells Fargo bank account. Cobra keeps saying the payment can’t go through because it can’t find the account #, which we have v… --- ## [Crops grown almost exclusively in one state (except CA and HI)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crops-grown-almost-exclusively-in-one-state-except-ca-and-hi/1023426)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crops-grown-almost-exclusively-in-one-state-except-ca-and-hi/1023426 "2025-11-06T14:36:33Z")
I’m looking for crops grown almost exclusively in one US state. By “almost exclusively”, I mean over 90% of US production comes from a single state. But I’m excepting California and Hawaii from this question, because the… --- ## [Lost power in my guest room? What happened?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-power-in-my-guest-room-what-happened/1024582)
**Author:** [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-power-in-my-guest-room-what-happened/1024582 "2025-11-06T13:00:47Z")
Not sure if this is more appropriate for FQ or IMHO, so I’ll start here and see where it leads. Last week I finally removed the window unit air conditioners from both of my guest rooms. After carrying them out to the ga… --- ## [PC - Windows 11 - Bitlocker](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-windows-11-bitlocker/1024533)
**Author:** [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-windows-11-bitlocker/1024533 "2025-11-05T23:26:54Z")
I came back to my computer after a few minutes to find a “blue screen of death”, displaying a screen for Bitlocker. I’ve never heard of it, and never (knowingly) installed it. I was prompted for a “recovery key” but my k… --- ## [Does Microsoft record incorrect password attempts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-microsoft-record-incorrect-password-attempts/1024601)
**Author:** [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-microsoft-record-incorrect-password-attempts/1024601 "2025-11-05T23:09:21Z")
(This question could apply to any tech firm or any website) When I sign into Hotmail, occasionally I’m on autopilot and enter my master password for my password manager, instead of my Hotmail password. Does Microsoft re… --- ## [David Copperfield- Orient Express train car disappearance- how?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-copperfield-orient-express-train-car-disappearance-how/78921)
**Author:** [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-copperfield-orient-express-train-car-disappearance-how/78921 "2025-11-05T18:08:18Z")
Many of you will have seen the estimable Mr. Copperfield, illusionist and former ‘beau’ of Claudia Schiffer (???), make a train car from the Orient Express disappear. How did he do it? Does anyone know? --- ## [What might cause this USB cable problem?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-cause-this-usb-cable-problem/1024541)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2025, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-cause-this-usb-cable-problem/1024541 "2025-11-05T06:22:02Z")
Whenever I buy a new USB cable for my phone, for a few days or weeks it may charge at a good speed, but then gets slower and slower. (Currently it is a USB-C cable but I had tge same issues with earlier plugs.) My latest… --- ## [Do people with a lot of jewelry and piercings set off metal detectors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-with-a-lot-of-jewelry-and-piercings-set-off-metal-detectors/1022606)
**Author:** [@LivingGhost371](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingGhost371)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-with-a-lot-of-jewelry-and-piercings-set-off-metal-detectors/1022606 "2025-11-05T01:15:31Z")
This could be either a factual or ancedotal answer so I wasn’t sure where to put it, but was with my niece’s kids at the local amusment park and we passed a stereotypical “Goth” teenage couple with maybe a dozen face, no… --- ## [What would happen if I plugged my 220 -\> 110 transformer into a 110 plug?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-plugged-my-220-110-transformer-into-a-110-plug/1023460)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-plugged-my-220-110-transformer-into-a-110-plug/1023460 "2025-11-05T00:08:31Z")
I have a travel transformer that I use when visiting countries with 220/240 voltage. What would happen if I plugged it into a 110 outlet? Would it output 60V? Explode? Open a rift in the space time continuum? I won’t… --- ## [Corporate valuation and other questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporate-valuation-and-other-questions/1024548)
**Author:** [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [November 4, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporate-valuation-and-other-questions/1024548 "2025-11-04T22:59:23Z")
I’m trying to understand more about how the modern economy works. You may safely assume I know nothing. One thing I’m failing to understand right now is how tech companies are valued at such high levels when they aren’t… --- ## [Buying land vs Buying land with improvements (loan question)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-land-vs-buying-land-with-improvements-loan-question/1024534)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 4, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-land-vs-buying-land-with-improvements-loan-question/1024534 "2025-11-04T22:27:25Z")
I’m looking at a plot of land in Arkansas. I was originally looking for raw land that I could improve and or this I was expecting to buy it on a land contract. But I found a lot that is raw land with electricity, water… --- ## [Lawyer caught using AI-hallucinated cites when defending a disciplinary hearing for using AI-hallucinated cites?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-caught-using-ai-hallucinated-cites-when-defending-a-disciplinary-hearing-for-using-ai-hallucinated-cites/1024471)
**Author:** [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [November 4, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-caught-using-ai-hallucinated-cites-when-defending-a-disciplinary-hearing-for-using-ai-hallucinated-cites/1024471 "2025-11-04T00:38:49Z")
At a seminar I attended recently on “AI for lawyers” a speaker claimed there was a case in the US where a lawyer got caught filing a brief that contained AI-hallucinated citations - but then in his submission in the resu… --- ## [Replacing florescent lighting ballast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacing-florescent-lighting-ballast/1024481)
**Author:** [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/replacing-florescent-lighting-ballast/1024481 "2025-11-03T20:53:35Z")
My semi-finished basement has a drop ceiling with about 4 florescent lighting fixtures that operate at 50% of capacity, mostly with some significant flickering. I’ve replaced the bulbs, and it’s still semi-operational. T… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=26)