# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=254 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 255 --- ## [How often do stoplight bulbs need changed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-stoplight-bulbs-need-changed/950343)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-stoplight-bulbs-need-changed/950343 "2021-09-19T18:18:04Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stoplight bulb out of operation, even though most of them are active for a long period of the day. How often do stoplight bulbs need to be changed? --- ## [During a freeze, what is better - keep running water or block/drain (Texas specific)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-a-freeze-what-is-better-keep-running-water-or-block-drain-texas-specific/950765)
**Author:** [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-a-freeze-what-is-better-keep-running-water-or-block-drain-texas-specific/950765 "2021-09-19T15:12:59Z")
This question is in relation to the houses in southern Texas (Houston area) and a repeat of the freak freeze event. So houses here like mine, have PVC lines buried about a foot deep, run from the curb to the side of the… --- ## [Can an html attachment contain a virus?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-html-attachment-contain-a-virus/950744)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-html-attachment-contain-a-virus/950744 "2021-09-19T15:03:58Z")
I just received a suspicious email. (the ‘from’ line is a person in my contacts, but email address is not his usual one) It says: from John Smith(tommyjones1998@ outlook dot com". His usual email address is Jsmith @ …) … --- ## [Managing tiled basement floor, short term and long term](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managing-tiled-basement-floor-short-term-and-long-term/950929)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managing-tiled-basement-floor-short-term-and-long-term/950929 "2021-09-19T14:36:32Z")
My basement floor is a concrete slab with 1’ square vinyl tile. Two thirds was done more than 30 years ago with troweled on mastic and tiles having no adhesive, and one third was done maybe 20 years ago with peel-and-sti… --- ## [I challenged the moon to a footrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-challenged-the-moon-to-a-footrace/950878)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-challenged-the-moon-to-a-footrace/950878 "2021-09-19T13:29:59Z")
Last night we were driving, and my daughter looked at the moon through the clouds and said, “It’s cool how it looks like the moon is moving, but really it’s still, and it’s the clouds and us that are moving.” And I got t… --- ## [Haitians on the Mexico-US Border at Del Rio, Texas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haitians-on-the-mexico-us-border-at-del-rio-texas/950898)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/haitians-on-the-mexico-us-border-at-del-rio-texas/950898 "2021-09-19T09:38:48Z")
Apparently there are something like 12,000-14,000 people sheltering (or trying to) under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas after wading across the Rio Grand US/Mexico border. Given that Haiti is 1900 miles from Del Rio and mo… --- ## [Did American police departments ever use marked minivans as police vehicles, and for what role?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-american-police-departments-ever-use-marked-minivans-as-police-vehicles-and-for-what-role/950685)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2021, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-american-police-departments-ever-use-marked-minivans-as-police-vehicles-and-for-what-role/950685 "2021-09-19T04:40:22Z")
I noticed in a lot of movies written in the 80’s and 90’s they would usually put a minivan in full police colors as part of a police vehicle lineup in certain scenes. I remember RoboCop used them, and this scene in Preda… --- ## [One slice or two? Toaster question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-slice-or-two-toaster-question/919400)
**Author:** [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-slice-or-two-toaster-question/919400 "2021-09-18T19:00:57Z")
I just got a new toaster. It came with an insert recommending against using only one slot when toasting, as doing so causes uneven browning. A handy chart showed what each side of a piece of toast would look like on each… --- ## [What kind of a computer/client do you need to use Windows365 or AVD?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-a-computer-client-do-you-need-to-use-windows365-or-avd/950786)
**Author:** [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-a-computer-client-do-you-need-to-use-windows365-or-avd/950786 "2021-09-18T15:07:16Z")
Windows365 and Azure Virtual Desktop are “virtual PC’s”. And the technical information always starts and ends with “You need a licence”. Evidently big business is buying these licences and using the products. But what… --- ## [Research re significance of relationship type, for the suicide bereaved](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/research-re-significance-of-relationship-type-for-the-suicide-bereaved/950869)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/research-re-significance-of-relationship-type-for-the-suicide-bereaved/950869 "2021-09-18T13:58:04Z")
Where can I find research, textbooks, et cetera, discussing how suicide bereavement depends on the type of relationship a person had to the deceased? I think grieving and better surviving a loss to suicide has different … --- ## [What's the relationship between C and C++?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-relationship-between-c-and-c/950446)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 143\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-relationship-between-c-and-c/950446 "2021-09-18T13:41:07Z")
I know a little bit of Python (for hobby programming purposes, nothing at professional level) and would now like to get into some compilable languages. C and C++ suggest themselves as popular options here. What’s the rel… --- ## [How long before a dead animal smells?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-dead-animal-smells/950719)
**Author:** [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2021, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-dead-animal-smells/950719 "2021-09-18T12:20:28Z")
Rabbit in a not hot environment in a crawlspace. 1 day? A week? We can’t catch the guy. It refuses to go into live traps with very good bait. --- ## [How do I add images to an existing private album in the Imgur app?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-add-images-to-an-existing-private-album-in-the-imgur-app/950854)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2021, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-add-images-to-an-existing-private-album-in-the-imgur-app/950854 "2021-09-18T02:18:12Z")
Adding images to private albums on the imgur website is simplicity itself, but I can’t figure out how to do it on the app. My best friend is trying to save her phone photos to imgur, and can’t go through her computer be… --- ## [Baby food and blandness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-food-and-blandness/950759)
**Author:** [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-food-and-blandness/950759 "2021-09-17T23:10:37Z")
My impression is baby food sold in Canada and the US is designed to be bland, perhaps designed to appeal to basic preferences for salt and sweet at most. My questions are is this the case? 2 do other societies start b… --- ## [Were any of the large prehistoric marine reptiles venomous?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-any-of-the-large-prehistoric-marine-reptiles-venomous/950479)
**Author:** [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-any-of-the-large-prehistoric-marine-reptiles-venomous/950479 "2021-09-17T17:24:53Z")
I was reading about the mosasaurs, and there seems to be some debate on whether they were most closely related to Komodo dragons or to snakes. So I started wondering whether the mosasaurs could have had some sort of toxi… --- ## [Term for the flint wheel sparkers in toys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-the-flint-wheel-sparkers-in-toys/950760)
**Author:** [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-for-the-flint-wheel-sparkers-in-toys/950760 "2021-09-17T15:39:51Z")
When I was a kid it was not unusual for toys to have a whole mechanical way of creating flashing effects, basically a flint wheel, like on a lighter, behind some colored plastic, and some sort of lever/button to activate… --- ## [Do We Know the Names of the FBI Agents in the Nassar Case?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-the-names-of-the-fbi-agents-in-the-nassar-case/950811)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-the-names-of-the-fbi-agents-in-the-nassar-case/950811 "2021-09-17T15:14:02Z")
It seems a senior FBI agent was monkeying with statements, preventing the Nassar case from going anywhere. At the same time, he was negotiating with USA Gymnastics for a post-retirement job. It looks for all the world li… --- ## [Fire Tablet HD 10 - little tidbits](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-tablet-hd-10-little-tidbits/950730)
**Author:** [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-tablet-hd-10-little-tidbits/950730 "2021-09-17T14:45:11Z")
I’ve had my Fire device for maybe a little over a year now. On the whole it’s…well, a much better deal than either IPad, so I guess I have to stick with it. Since there are, of course, no user manuals for any of these de… --- ## [A Question About Etymology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-etymology/950789)
**Author:** [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-etymology/950789 "2021-09-17T13:22:14Z")
I know that some words are “conserved” to varying degrees as they pass down through the various languages that come out of a protolanguage. For instance, aqua is considered a conserved word, its sound and meaning have r… --- ## [MacOS, Brave Browser -- multiple copies same tab open, hovering seems to open links](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macos-brave-browser-multiple-copies-same-tab-open-hovering-seems-to-open-links/950697)
**Author:** [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macos-brave-browser-multiple-copies-same-tab-open-hovering-seems-to-open-links/950697 "2021-09-17T11:12:36Z")
I seem to be experiencing a new behavior in my web browser lately ( ~ 2 months perhaps less). I’m in the habit of opening links with a right-click and selecting open in a new tab, especially if I’m initially working fro… --- ## [Do bees eat meat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bees-eat-meat/950522)
**Author:** [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bees-eat-meat/950522 "2021-09-17T10:07:58Z")
I dropped a piece of chicken in the garden while eating and a bee kept landing on it. I looked down a few moments later and there were two bees! Now it’s totally gone. --- ## [TurboJet and TurboProp: which came first?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbojet-and-turboprop-which-came-first/950798)
**Author:** [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turbojet-and-turboprop-which-came-first/950798 "2021-09-17T09:47:39Z")
Steam Turbines had a long history, and rockets had a long history, so both turbine aircraft and jet aircraft would have been considered. Propeller aircraft and pulse-jets already existed. Were people trying to build tur… --- ## [Spider ID help?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-help/946871)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-id-help/946871 "2021-09-17T02:48:00Z")
Found this guy in my bedroom tonight (in upper South Carolina). Around 2 1/2 inches wide from toe to toe. I assume some type of wolf spider or huntsman, but I can’t find any photos online to match it. (Nothing with a gra… --- ## [Info that police can collect without a warrant?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/info-that-police-can-collect-without-a-warrant/950331)
**Author:** [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Replies:** 142\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/info-that-police-can-collect-without-a-warrant/950331 "2021-09-17T00:52:39Z")
In this article: Revealed: LAPD officers told to collect social media data on every civilian they stop The writer describes an LAPD practice if demanding that citizens disclose their social media accounts and their so… --- ## [Can a medical office just substitute a NP for the expected doctor at an appointment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-medical-office-just-substitute-a-np-for-the-expected-doctor-at-an-appointment/950563)
**Author:** [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-medical-office-just-substitute-a-np-for-the-expected-doctor-at-an-appointment/950563 "2021-09-16T18:48:10Z")
Yesterday my sister went in for her annual checkup. The normal routine at the office is that a nurse(?) or some such takes care of showing her to a room, handing over one of those embarrassing gowns, weighs her, takes … --- ## [Are any settlements in Europe named after settlements in North America?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 83\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-settlements-in-europe-named-after-settlements-in-north-america/933621 "2021-09-16T15:55:14Z")
North America has plenty of towns and cities named after towns and cities in Europe (New York, NY after the English York; Paris, TX after the French Paris; and so on). Conversely, are there any towns or cities in Europe… --- ## [Is there a possible way to scrub carbon from the atmosphere on a planetary scale?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-possible-way-to-scrub-carbon-from-the-atmosphere-on-a-planetary-scale/950286)
**Author:** [@EmbarrassingDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmbarrassingDad)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2021, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-possible-way-to-scrub-carbon-from-the-atmosphere-on-a-planetary-scale/950286 "2021-09-16T10:36:59Z")
Title says it all. Probably been asked before --- ## [Clogged Catalytic Converter Fuel Treatment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clogged-catalytic-converter-fuel-treatment/950671)
**Author:** [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clogged-catalytic-converter-fuel-treatment/950671 "2021-09-15T22:41:33Z")
Anybody have any experience with resolving a clogged catalytic converted issue using fuel additives that claim to be able to resolve the issue? Just wondering if anybody has had any luck with additives or did you just r… --- ## [How do you go about digging for fossils?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-digging-for-fossils/950613)
**Author:** [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-go-about-digging-for-fossils/950613 "2021-09-15T19:57:41Z")
Let’s grant that some types of the landscape are more likely to contain fossils than other parts. Still, unless it’s something like the La Brea tar pits, you would have to think even in fossil-prone areas, only a minescu… --- ## [Can you load music on an iphone without itunes, for free?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-load-music-on-an-iphone-without-itunes-for-free/950282)
**Author:** [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-load-music-on-an-iphone-without-itunes-for-free/950282 "2021-09-15T18:51:22Z")
Why does this have to be so hard? If you search you get a lot of commercial solutions. I haven’t tried one of those yet. I would if it was a good one. But the free ones seem to be elusive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=253) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=255)