# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=259 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 260 --- ## [Potable water: desalination vs. condensation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potable-water-desalination-vs-condensation/948440)
**Author:** [@doubleminus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doubleminus)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2021, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potable-water-desalination-vs-condensation/948440 "2021-08-25T09:45:39Z")
Say I’m building a raft for crossing the ocean. I have a (fairly limited) solar and/or wind generator and I want to make potable water. What is more energy efficient? Desalination by reverse osmosis or capturing humidit… --- ## [Government forcing everyone to be vaccinated--what specific law prohibits this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-forcing-everyone-to-be-vaccinated-what-specific-law-prohibits-this/949280)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2021, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-forcing-everyone-to-be-vaccinated-what-specific-law-prohibits-this/949280 "2021-08-25T05:56:21Z")
My personal opinion is that it should be a criminal offence to refuse the covid vaccination. But my personal opinion doesn’t matter. What matters is the law. And thus, my question is in the title. Why can’t a democrat… --- ## [Are emergency vehicles allowed to keep going when school buses are stopped?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-emergency-vehicles-allowed-to-keep-going-when-school-buses-are-stopped/949435)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2021, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-emergency-vehicles-allowed-to-keep-going-when-school-buses-are-stopped/949435 "2021-08-25T05:42:45Z")
Everyone’s supposed to stop for school buses that have their flashing red light arm extended, except for on the opposite side of a divided highway. Emergency vehicles routinely go through red lights. Are emergency vehi… --- ## [NHS treatment for tuberculosis in the 1960s](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhs-treatment-for-tuberculosis-in-the-1960s/949325)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2021, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nhs-treatment-for-tuberculosis-in-the-1960s/949325 "2021-08-25T04:32:00Z")
In the film Alfie, which is set in London in the 1960s, the title character (played by Michael Caine) goes for a routine chest X-ray and is discovered to have a lung infection which is implied to be tuberculosis. He’s s… --- ## [How does the US military pay for things when abroad?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284 "2021-08-25T00:16:06Z")
When a US military ship or plane or whatever needs supplies when in a foreign country how do they pay for it? Are they given stacks of cash? Do they carry a Visa or AmEx card? How do they pay for transit through thing… --- ## [Did the word "alot" ever exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-word-alot-ever-exist/589150)
**Author:** [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-word-alot-ever-exist/589150 "2021-08-24T23:07:18Z")
I distinctly remember being taught the word “alot” in public school (early '80s). It was used like, “I enjoy eating nachos alot” or “I have alot of nachos.” Now, in the age of Microsoft Office, the word “alot” gets auto… --- ## [Photog dopers: What kind of 35mm film is this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photog-dopers-what-kind-of-35mm-film-is-this/949442)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photog-dopers-what-kind-of-35mm-film-is-this/949442 "2021-08-24T22:00:22Z")
It is 35mm but I’ve never seen this kind of negative strip. I am scanning some old family negatives, probably 45 years old. It has one sprocket hole per frame, only one one edge of the film. The frame markings are also … --- ## [Graduated Payment / Growing Equity Mortgages?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduated-payment-growing-equity-mortgages/949170)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graduated-payment-growing-equity-mortgages/949170 "2021-08-24T21:52:23Z")
According to the Internet, there are a variety of different mortgage types, including the titular two. However, the Internet is silent on where one can actually find these. Does any company actually offer these types… --- ## [Does bee/wasp/ant venom cause pain when applied topically?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bee-wasp-ant-venom-cause-pain-when-applied-topically/949440)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bee-wasp-ant-venom-cause-pain-when-applied-topically/949440 "2021-08-24T19:33:00Z")
There are many substances that hurt when injected under the skin or applied to an open wound, but don’t cause pain when applied to healthy skin. It hurts to get stung by bees, wasps, and ants, but they’re injecting thei… --- ## [Kleenex Box Conversion Tables](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kleenex-box-conversion-tables/949446)
**Author:** [@GenerallyCute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GenerallyCute)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kleenex-box-conversion-tables/949446 "2021-08-24T17:29:36Z")
Hi, I remember that 30-40 years ago you could look on the bottom of a box of tissues and there was a conversion table. I think it was mainly imperial to metric. I am in Canada and so maybe it was something specific to Ca… --- ## [Unremembering Log-In Info on Websites](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unremembering-log-in-info-on-websites/949419)
**Author:** [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unremembering-log-in-info-on-websites/949419 "2021-08-24T16:15:57Z")
Even though my laptop is not a public computer, I prefer not to save my log-in info on any of the websites I regularly frequent. However, over the past year or two, I have accidentally ticked “Save My Info” or however th… --- ## [Facebook can’t find my location](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-can-t-find-my-location/949420)
**Author:** [@Jimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimpy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-can-t-find-my-location/949420 "2021-08-24T14:50:55Z")
I have a newish iPad. It has a t-mobile account and I can use it anywhere I can get service. Every app and website can find my location perfectly except Facebook. I live in Medina, Ohio, about 25 miles south of Cleveland… --- ## [Traffic legality question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-legality-question/949324)
**Author:** [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-legality-question/949324 "2021-08-24T14:46:49Z")
I just had what could have been a near collision thanks to somebody’s impatience. I was on a street in my subdivision and was about to make a left turn into my driveway. It’s a 25 mph speed limit street just wide enough … --- ## [Can ancient names in ancient languages handed down to us in Latin be de-latinized to give us the original names?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ancient-names-in-ancient-languages-handed-down-to-us-in-latin-be-de-latinized-to-give-us-the-original-names/949137)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ancient-names-in-ancient-languages-handed-down-to-us-in-latin-be-de-latinized-to-give-us-the-original-names/949137 "2021-08-24T12:21:37Z")
Can ancient names in ancient languages handed down to us in Latin be de-latinized to give us the original names? Has I ever been done successfully. I’m thinking of Germanic names that have only come down to us in Latin. … --- ## [Space being hot vs cold](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-being-hot-vs-cold/949132)
**Author:** [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-being-hot-vs-cold/949132 "2021-08-24T11:24:38Z")
Apollo 13 tried to freeze over, but on the moon people had to have cooling in the suits. The suits were so small that the heat got trapped better? The capsule was less insulated? It seems kinda of contradictory. --- ## [What is this 1985 computer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-1985-computer/949155)
**Author:** [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-1985-computer/949155 "2021-08-24T02:44:52Z")
I noticed this in the keyboard area of The Cars performance at Live Aid 1985. He’s got some sort of computer back there, but I don’t recognize it, nor have I had any luck in google image search. Does anyone know what thi… --- ## [Bone or Rock?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bone-or-rock/947668)
**Author:** [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bone-or-rock/947668 "2021-08-23T20:37:37Z")
Images here: Bone or Rock — ImgBB Is this a fossil, a very old bone, or just a funny-looking rock? Just realized that I should have put something in to show scale. The rock is about 1-1/2 inches long. --- ## [Evolutionary advantage of fragrance in flowers, and why are many fragrant flowers tropical?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolutionary-advantage-of-fragrance-in-flowers-and-why-are-many-fragrant-flowers-tropical/949372)
**Author:** [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolutionary-advantage-of-fragrance-in-flowers-and-why-are-many-fragrant-flowers-tropical/949372 "2021-08-23T18:52:28Z")
Pretty much the topic. Understood that some plants have nasty smelling flowers (to humans) that attract specific insects, but by and large most fragrant flowers have pleasing fragrance to humans. So is a fragrant flower… --- ## [Tell me what you know about Delta-8 THC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-you-know-about-delta-8-thc/949168)
**Author:** [@thdudescar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thdudescar)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-you-know-about-delta-8-thc/949168 "2021-08-23T17:50:51Z")
Louisiana is quickly opening up the marijuana market. Still only for only medical use, but any doctor can prescribe it now and in any form. Now we have Marijuana shops that are popping up and legal that are selling Delta… --- ## [Do legislatures ever add statements of intent to legislation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-legislatures-ever-add-statements-of-intent-to-legislation/949029)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-legislatures-ever-add-statements-of-intent-to-legislation/949029 "2021-08-23T17:44:03Z")
Inspired by the thread in MPSIMS about car warranty phone calls. Let’s say Congress decided to make such calls illegal, and wrote legislation to that effect. I’m sure legislation like that would have the potential to b… --- ## [What kind of implement (plough?) is this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-implement-plough-is-this/949370)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-implement-plough-is-this/949370 "2021-08-23T14:15:49Z")
The animated opening sequence for the 1975 BBC show Rutland Weekend Television features someone pushing what looks like some sort of farming implement across a field: Is this supposed to be some sort of pl… --- ## [What the hell flying thing did I record?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-flying-thing-did-i-record/949332)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-flying-thing-did-i-record/949332 "2021-08-23T12:57:24Z")
Early in the morning I was recording a video clip of a piece of acorn cap a spider was using as a web anchor (lifted around 4 feet off the ground) when a moth flew past the light. Except on the recorded video, it doesn’t… --- ## [I can't recall the word. Book related](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-recall-the-word-book-related/949126)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-recall-the-word-book-related/949126 "2021-08-23T12:52:39Z")
It’s a word for a collection of books, usually novels, under one cover. No, not “collected works”, because that’s too complete. Book clubs would issue them, often. Suggestions, Bibilio-Dopers? --- ## [Lord love a duck?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-love-a-duck/647804)
**Author:** [@dabroad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dabroad)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-love-a-duck/647804 "2021-08-23T07:50:55Z")
I know it’s a 1966 movie and Michael Quinion writes of the expression’s uses in early 20th-century literature, but so far I’ve been unable to locate any firm hypotheses about the origins of the exclamation, “Lord love a … --- ## [Improvement to photocopying machines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improvement-to-photocopying-machines/949219)
**Author:** [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improvement-to-photocopying-machines/949219 "2021-08-23T00:45:07Z")
Early models of photocopy machines had the annoying attribute of copies becoming progressively more faint the more copies you made. This technical issue seems to have been solved. How did they do it? --- ## [Oliver Cromwell wore a hat indoors, so why can't I?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oliver-cromwell-wore-a-hat-indoors-so-why-cant-i/948949)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oliver-cromwell-wore-a-hat-indoors-so-why-cant-i/948949 "2021-08-22T21:28:36Z")
This question is apropos of a notable scene in the film Cromwell where, on 4 January 1642, Charles I attempts to dissolve Parliament: One thing that struck me about the scene is that pretty much everyone i… --- ## [Public chaining of criminals on the old west](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-chaining-of-criminals-on-the-old-west/949257)
**Author:** [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-chaining-of-criminals-on-the-old-west/949257 "2021-08-22T14:15:28Z")
Watching the Audie Murphy movie “Showdown.” Prisoners are chained to a tall post with neck shackles in the town square. Was this ever a thing? --- ## [Can you do something equivalent to "buying a savings bond" these days?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-do-something-equivalent-to-buying-a-savings-bond-these-days/949254)
**Author:** [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2021, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-do-something-equivalent-to-buying-a-savings-bond-these-days/949254 "2021-08-22T03:05:56Z")
So, lets just pretend,as ridiculous as it might seem. That I am a clueless old man , And further assume that I have an acquaintance that has recently had a child. And keep the assumption going that this child will be … --- ## [Help word MS Word please](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-word-ms-word-please/949181)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [August 21, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-word-ms-word-please/949181 "2021-08-21T15:54:40Z")
I have an issue that’s driving me crazy and I’m hoping someone here can help me solve it. For work I’ve created several worklists in Word. They are basically running, numbered lists. Example: Blah blah blah Blah blah … --- ## [How much would a human size ant weigh?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-a-human-size-ant-weigh/312515)
**Author:** [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-a-human-size-ant-weigh/312515 "2005-07-14T17:27:43Z")
Once I get some information I’ll be starting another thread. But for now I just need to know how much an ant would weigh if it were about 6 feet long. Can the weight of the creature be exponentially calulated, or does … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=258) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=260)