# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=261 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 262 --- ## [How do I copyright a phrase?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-copyright-a-phrase/948630)
**Author:** [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-copyright-a-phrase/948630 "2021-08-14T19:33:37Z")
I just made up what I think is a new phrase. (You know, like Plil Jackson copyrighted “Threepeat” when the Bulls won the championship 3 times.) I’ve never heard anyone use this phrase but as they say, Great minds think a… --- ## [Could the goverment force movie studios out of the streaming business like they did movie theaters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-goverment-force-movie-studios-out-of-the-streaming-business-like-they-did-movie-theaters/948483)
**Author:** [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-goverment-force-movie-studios-out-of-the-streaming-business-like-they-did-movie-theaters/948483 "2021-08-14T18:19:38Z")
I was watching a news report about scarlet johannsen suing marvel/disney for putting black widow on Disney+ because she says its a workaround for paying her a contract bonus based on theatre performance And someone c… --- ## [How Long Does It Take to Die from Burning at the Stake?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-to-die-from-burning-at-the-stake/630163)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-to-die-from-burning-at-the-stake/630163 "2013-01-11T21:42:33Z")
I can’t imagine the agony of dying in such a way. But I also imagine the carbon monoxide fumes will kill you in pretty short order, as in, ~5 minutes. Anyone got the scoop? --- ## [Who is he to me? (Genealogy help)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-he-to-me-genealogy-help/948599)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-he-to-me-genealogy-help/948599 "2021-08-14T13:57:34Z")
A genealogist contracted to help the United States Army contacted me today, looking to get information about a relative of mine who was MIA in Luxembourg during World War 2, in 1944. I’d never heard of him before, and i… --- ## [Can you fake a busy signal like in the movie Blow Out?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-fake-a-busy-signal-like-in-the-movie-blow-out/948586)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-fake-a-busy-signal-like-in-the-movie-blow-out/948586 "2021-08-14T12:18:17Z")
I just saw the movie Blow Out last night. I’ve got a question about a scene in which John Lithgow’s character tampers with the phone of John Travolta’s character. Stop reading now if you don’t want any spoilers for thi… --- ## [Sound barriers on balconies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-barriers-on-balconies/948434)
**Author:** [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-barriers-on-balconies/948434 "2021-08-14T07:51:44Z")
Say you have two balconies close to each other, with a sound proof wall between them, will you be able to hear sound from the other side at all? Assume the building wall is completely straight, the balconies are square … --- ## [Who killed Cleopatra?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-killed-cleopatra/948377)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-killed-cleopatra/948377 "2021-08-14T06:38:58Z")
Well some of the more obvious choices are: Herself. With a snake. Which has been doubted since antiquity. Getting a big ass cobra past the guards is going to be problematic and it is not a reliable way to die. Herself … --- ## [What actually happened to net neutrality](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actually-happened-to-net-neutrality/948481)
**Author:** [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actually-happened-to-net-neutrality/948481 "2021-08-14T04:27:18Z")
i was perusing through Cecil’s archives and found this : and I remember that was a big thing until dump got elected and it sort of was put on the back burner … was it ever resolved ? --- ## ["6+", albedo and glitter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-albedo-and-glitter/948527)
**Author:** [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-albedo-and-glitter/948527 "2021-08-14T01:50:58Z")
In Heinlein’s story “The Man Who Sold the Moon,” one ploy Harriman tries is to scare various people into thinking that a moon rocket could be used to paint the moon with coal dust (or something else dark) with various sy… --- ## [What jobs can someone with only a high school diploma get that a high school dropout can't?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-can-someone-with-only-a-high-school-diploma-get-that-a-high-school-dropout-cant/947924)
**Author:** [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-can-someone-with-only-a-high-school-diploma-get-that-a-high-school-dropout-cant/947924 "2021-08-14T01:49:05Z")
This question is specific only to North America. I graduated from high school in 1998. During my schooling, there was a lot in the media about “staying in school”, which was taken to mean that one should at least finish … --- ## [Why Do Storms Cool Things Down?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-storms-cool-things-down/948474)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 13, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-storms-cool-things-down/948474 "2021-08-13T17:27:26Z")
Just now in fact where I live, Detroit, MI. We had brutally hot weather. Then a storm. Now things are cool again. I know that is what the weathermen say in any event. The upcoming storm is going to cool things down. Tha… --- ## [Maybe GQ, but: duvets with columns, not boxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-gq-but-duvets-with-columns-not-boxes/948555)
**Author:** [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 13, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maybe-gq-but-duvets-with-columns-not-boxes/948555 "2021-08-13T14:39:47Z")
I am trying to find a duvet/down comforter that only has columns, not boxes, because: …my first was a gift from an Irish friend brought it to me from Ireland and that is how it was made. I loved it because I sleep hot a… --- ## [How bright would a lightsaber be in real life?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bright-would-a-lightsaber-be-in-real-life/824193)
**Author:** [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [August 13, 2021, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bright-would-a-lightsaber-be-in-real-life/824193 "2021-08-13T12:18:18Z")
The current best “flashlight”-like lightsaber replicas produce about 700 lumens max in the tube, with cutting edge neopixel string LEDs pushing about double that. Both look fantastic on camera, and look damn near ident… --- ## [Math Question (average based on direction)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-question-average-based-on-direction/948448)
**Author:** [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 13, 2021, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-question-average-based-on-direction/948448 "2021-08-13T05:43:30Z")
Sorry the title wasn’t clearer. My question is: suppose you take something like a stock index. Consider (A) the average price on all days in which the index has dropped for that particular day. Compare to (B) the averag… --- ## [What happens when LIBOR ends?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-libor-ends/948404)
**Author:** [@shh1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shh1313)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-libor-ends/948404 "2021-08-12T18:40:54Z")
The Federal Reserve and other regulators in recent years have encouraged financial institutions and corporate treasurers to substitute SOFR for LIBOR, the reference rate for trillions of dollars in mortgages, derivatives… --- ## [Is the use of ‘de la carte’ (on the menu”) bad French?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-use-of-de-la-carte-on-the-menu-bad-french/948066)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-use-of-de-la-carte-on-the-menu-bad-french/948066 "2021-08-12T13:46:38Z")
Is the use of ‘de la carte’ (on the menu”) bad French? I’ve seen phasing like this online Le plat le plus cher de la carte Does it have a special meaning or is it wrong? --- ## [Who is Matthew Alice?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-matthew-alice/1765)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-matthew-alice/1765 "2021-08-12T13:38:13Z")
Here in San Diego, we also have a weekly Reader that features a column that is uncannily familar. It is called Straight From the Hip and answers the various niggling questions that you can’t get answered anywhere else. M… --- ## [How do NK cells \[large granular lymphocytes\] survive its own components?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-nk-cells-large-granular-lymphocytes-survive-its-own-components/948225)
**Author:** [@longtry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longtry)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2021, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-nk-cells-large-granular-lymphocytes-survive-its-own-components/948225 "2021-08-12T11:24:30Z")
I’ve just read that NK cells have perforins and granzymes that create holes and then activate suicide of other cells. How do they ‘store’ those proteins to keep them from destroying themselves? Whatever mechanism(s) they… --- ## [Lots of Questions about the Automotive Service Excellence tests](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lots-of-questions-about-the-automotive-service-excellence-tests/932914)
**Author:** [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 15, 2021, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lots-of-questions-about-the-automotive-service-excellence-tests/932914 "2021-02-15T11:57:59Z")
I would like to take the Automotive Service Excellence tests, and I have found some books on the subject on Amazon. ASE Certification Test Prep - Car/Light Truck Study Guide Package A1-A9 (Motor Age Training) Spiral-bou… --- ## [What is the slowest a baseball pitch can travel and still land in the strike zone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-slowest-a-baseball-pitch-can-travel-and-still-land-in-the-strike-zone/948328)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-slowest-a-baseball-pitch-can-travel-and-still-land-in-the-strike-zone/948328 "2021-08-12T01:00:38Z")
(This might be more appropriate for the Game forum eventually, but I’m looking for a factual answer). A few days ago, with his team down 12-3 to the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the 8th, Rangers third baseman Broc… --- ## ["the Big Rip" vs. inseparable quarks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-rip-vs-inseparable-quarks/948409)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-rip-vs-inseparable-quarks/948409 "2021-08-11T21:42:52Z")
The Big RIp is the hypothesis in cosmology that if the Dark Energy thought to permeate the cosmos exceeds a certain value in strength, it will eventually lead to an infinite expansion of the universe within a finite time… --- ## [5g phone works on 2g/3g network?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5g-phone-works-on-2g-3g-network/948407)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5g-phone-works-on-2g-3g-network/948407 "2021-08-11T17:10:09Z")
going to Alaska and Tmobile only has 2g/3g in most areas outside anchorage. We are going to national parks so they are in remote areas. Denali and Wrangel St elias. --- ## [Is technology available to embed a camera into a screen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-technology-available-to-embed-a-camera-into-a-screen/811953)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2021, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-technology-available-to-embed-a-camera-into-a-screen/811953 "2021-08-11T07:26:18Z")
I have video chats with my daughter using my desktop computer and it’s always goofy because my camera is at the top of the monitor but I have to look below it to see my daughter on the screen. So my image always shows me… --- ## [Shaving an Eyebrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-an-eyebrow/948269)
**Author:** [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2021, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-an-eyebrow/948269 "2021-08-11T05:53:41Z")
If I did so, how long before it grew back? --- ## [Question about Ancestry.com DNA test](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ancestry-com-dna-test/948273)
**Author:** [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ancestry-com-dna-test/948273 "2021-08-10T23:47:00Z")
I know that I’m 1/4 Danish, yet my DNA came back only 9% England and Northwestern Europe. Should it have said 25% Danish, or doesn’t DNA work that way? --- ## [Columbus in 1492](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbus-in-1492/946837)
**Author:** [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbus-in-1492/946837 "2021-08-10T18:44:13Z")
Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic in 1492, reaching various Caribbean islands about two months after leaving Europe. Since this was completely unknown territory to Europeans at the time, with no idea of ho… --- ## [Hawaiian translation please?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaiian-translation-please/948325)
**Author:** [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hawaiian-translation-please/948325 "2021-08-10T16:53:04Z")
What does Rongo say here? --- ## [How are unwanted tattoos erased?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-unwanted-tattoos-erased/947727)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-unwanted-tattoos-erased/947727 "2021-08-10T16:49:28Z")
I’m thinking more like large and prominent tattoos on the lower back known as ‘tramp stamps.’ Maybe cool ten years ago, but hard to hide without resorting too much or too little clothing. --- ## [Was the pacific theater in WW2 mostly between the US and Japan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-pacific-theater-in-ww2-mostly-between-the-us-and-japan/947809)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-pacific-theater-in-ww2-mostly-between-the-us-and-japan/947809 "2021-08-10T16:25:48Z")
the European War had a lot of combatants but it was mostly Germany vs the USSR from what I know. From what I’ve gathered from documentaries, the pacific theater was mostly the US navy and US marines on one side, and the… --- ## [93-95 octane engine using 87 gasoline, how worried should I be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/93-95-octane-engine-using-87-gasoline-how-worried-should-i-be/948241)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2021, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/93-95-octane-engine-using-87-gasoline-how-worried-should-i-be/948241 "2021-08-10T10:07:57Z")
My mother was driving my car recently and decided to helpfully fill up the tank, unfortunately, she didn’t consult me first and topped it off with 87 octane instead of the 93-95 that the engine needs. How big an issue is… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=260) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=262)