# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=271 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 272 --- ## [Was the Wright Brothers' first flight really "controlled and sustained"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-wright-brothers-first-flight-really-controlled-and-sustained/945143)
**Author:** [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-wright-brothers-first-flight-really-controlled-and-sustained/945143 "2021-07-02T03:06:28Z")
The reason why the Wright Brothers are credited with performing the first successful airplane flight on 17 December 1903 is that supposedly these flights were “controlled” and “sustained”, I.E. the pilot exercised some c… --- ## [Air conditioner: 1999 Jeep Cherokee](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioner-1999-jeep-cherokee/945463)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2021, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-conditioner-1999-jeep-cherokee/945463 "2021-07-02T01:11:42Z")
The a/c in my Jeep works very well… until it doesn’t. It’s icy cold, and after maybe 20 minutes it’s just blowing outside-temperature air. I thought the refrigerant might need topping off. When I put on the a/c filler… --- ## [How do graffiti artists get up on dangerous places?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-graffiti-artists-get-up-on-dangerous-places/945466)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2021, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-graffiti-artists-get-up-on-dangerous-places/945466 "2021-07-02T00:43:35Z")
You’ve all seen highway overpasses that have graffiti on the sides, with nothing between the side and a 20-30 foot fall down into highway traffic except one’s imagination. How in the world do graffiti artists get up the… --- ## [Can someone help me understand why Meng Wanzhou was arrested?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-understand-why-meng-wanzhou-was-arrested/826012)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [July 2, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-understand-why-meng-wanzhou-was-arrested/826012 "2021-07-02T00:22:37Z")
I’ve been trying to understand why Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei, was arrested in Canada at the request of US authorities. From what I can gather, it seems to be related to her somehow helping Huawei get around US sanctio… --- ## [Florida Condo & Ambulance Chasers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-condo-ambulance-chasers/945338)
**Author:** [@DtypeJag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DtypeJag)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-condo-ambulance-chasers/945338 "2021-07-01T18:46:24Z")
There have been reports of lawyers signing up survivors or family members of the missing and dead from the collapsed condo in Florida. Didn’t this used to be illegal or punishable by disbarment by the American Bar Assn?… --- ## [YouTube creator payment amounts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-creator-payment-amounts/945449)
**Author:** [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-creator-payment-amounts/945449 "2021-07-01T17:47:27Z")
I’m not making sense of how much money these creators get. I’ve seen discussions of how some creators are getting as little as $2 per thousand views, and YT takes half. To be somewhat conservative, I made that $4/thousan… --- ## [Taylor Series for Multivariable Calculus?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taylor-series-for-multivariable-calculus/945358)
**Author:** [@Someonewastaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Someonewastaken)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taylor-series-for-multivariable-calculus/945358 "2021-07-01T15:08:38Z")
I recently learned about tangent planes and the general formulas. This got me wondering if, similar to normal calculus, you could express a multidimensional equation with a taylor series. You would take the sum from 0 t… --- ## [Killing tree roots after the tree has been removed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-tree-roots-after-the-tree-has-been-removed/945291)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 1, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-tree-roots-after-the-tree-has-been-removed/945291 "2021-07-01T12:36:23Z")
I can’t seem to find a good answer to this problem, but I think there should be a factual answer. A year and a half ago I bought a house in Northwest Montana adjacent to Flathead Lake. We love the house, but it came wit… --- ## [Spacetime and Work issue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacetime-and-work-issue/944967)
**Author:** [@Someonewastaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Someonewastaken)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacetime-and-work-issue/944967 "2021-06-25T00:35:53Z")
So I recently learned that space and time are the same thing, spacetime. This got me thinking, does this apply to simpler physics concepts, such as work. If work=forcedistance, we could think of 1 second as ~310^8 meter… --- ## [In buildings with external fire escapes, do the residents get training or have an opportunity to practice using them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-buildings-with-external-fire-escapes-do-the-residents-get-training-or-have-an-opportunity-to-practice-using-them/945277)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-buildings-with-external-fire-escapes-do-the-residents-get-training-or-have-an-opportunity-to-practice-using-them/945277 "2021-06-30T21:28:39Z")
In cities with older buildings converted to residential use, it’s common to see fire escape stairs built on the outside to let the residents flee in case of a fire. Typically there are platforms with stairs they can acc… --- ## [What evidence is there that American POWs were left behind in Vietnam?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-evidence-is-there-that-american-pows-were-left-behind-in-vietnam/934087)
**Author:** [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-evidence-is-there-that-american-pows-were-left-behind-in-vietnam/934087 "2021-06-30T18:39:34Z")
My title is my question. Is there credible evidence that Vietnam did not return all the POWs? --- ## [Effect of each body on room temperature?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-each-body-on-room-temperature/945220)
**Author:** [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/effect-of-each-body-on-room-temperature/945220 "2021-06-30T16:34:54Z")
It’s too hot to do anything but lie around pondering who I might be willing to smother if it would lower the temperature in here a few degrees, so I thought I’d kick this question to the board. Assuming you have a 12’12’… --- ## [Is the coastline paradox only applicable to physical coastlines?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-coastline-paradox-only-applicable-to-physical-coastlines/944844)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 210\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-coastline-paradox-only-applicable-to-physical-coastlines/944844 "2021-06-30T14:53:15Z")
The coastline paradox states that due to their fractal-like properties, the length of a given coastline approaches infinity as the “ruler” used to measure it gets smaller and smaller. Suppose that I sketch a map of the … --- ## [House wiring question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-wiring-question/945275)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 30, 2021, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-wiring-question/945275 "2021-06-30T03:56:19Z")
Garbage disposal plugs in under the sink. If the breaker box is to be believed it is on its own circuit. A while back the switch will not turn on the disposal. I get under the sink and plug it into the other outlet an… --- ## [SPACs, can someone explain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacs-can-someone-explain/945273)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spacs-can-someone-explain/945273 "2021-06-29T21:26:02Z")
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies are publicly traded companies set up to acquire private corporations for the purpose of allowing them to public without all the bother, not to mention oversight, involved in setting … --- ## [How does an analog speed indicator / tachometer work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-analog-speed-indicator-tachometer-work/945252)
**Author:** [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-analog-speed-indicator-tachometer-work/945252 "2021-06-29T20:52:39Z")
I’ve been wondering about this for an embarrassingly long time. How does an analog tachometer work ? I have no problem imagining how to do it digitally if the device has some memory and a reliable time reference (quartz… --- ## [Laptop battery charging strangeness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-battery-charging-strangeness/945188)
**Author:** [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-battery-charging-strangeness/945188 "2021-06-29T20:35:33Z")
Last week I bought a 14-in HP laptop at CostCo and have been using it a few hours a day since then. Following the directions I plugged it before turning it on the first time. Sure enough, the battery was down and the C… --- ## [Slightly high cholesterol and food intake](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-high-cholesterol-and-food-intake/945205)
**Author:** [@Stego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stego)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-high-cholesterol-and-food-intake/945205 "2021-06-29T20:32:11Z")
(to mods: not asking for medical advice, but about the science of food intake and how it affects cholesterol level in the blood) Today I was told by my GP that my latest blood work shows a slightly high (not sure about … --- ## [Sonny Bono - High School Anti-Pot Film 1968](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonny-bono-high-school-anti-pot-film-1968/10266)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sonny-bono-high-school-anti-pot-film-1968/10266 "2021-06-29T18:52:47Z")
Now, I am probably dating myself by asking, but does anyone around here remember an anti-marijuana film starring Sonny Bono? The film was in circulation around 1968 and was typical of the high school hysteria stuff of th… --- ## [Family and DNA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-and-dna/945088)
**Author:** [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-and-dna/945088 "2021-06-29T18:19:22Z")
I have never really studied genetics. I don’t have the right terminology for this. Apologies in advance. First, I do know that all humans have the vast majority of their DNA in common. I assume there’s some term that… --- ## [Does this car have to stop, or just yield?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-car-have-to-stop-or-just-yield/945087)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-car-have-to-stop-or-just-yield/945087 "2021-06-29T13:54:51Z")
This intersection is a four-way stop. On one corner, the pavement is painted with a white triangle as seen in the image below. This seems to be a simulation of a raised “island” sometimes found at lighted intersections t… --- ## [3D-Curl Logic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-curl-logic/945192)
**Author:** [@Someonewastaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Someonewastaken)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-curl-logic/945192 "2021-06-29T13:42:05Z")
I recently learned about curl and I was wondering what the reasoning is in taking nabla cross the vector-valued function. --- ## [Is this announcement some "Freeman of the Land" or "Sovereign Citizen" thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-announcement-some-freeman-of-the-land-or-sovereign-citizen-thing/944838)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 96\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-announcement-some-freeman-of-the-land-or-sovereign-citizen-thing/944838 "2021-06-29T10:56:52Z")
This was in the Montreal Gazette in the “Legal Notices” section today. I know that I should attempt to summarize this but I honestly don’t know how I can as it is just so bizarre and drawn out. As the topic title asks, i… --- ## [Disaster insurance for governments](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disaster-insurance-for-governments/945063)
**Author:** [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 29, 2021, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disaster-insurance-for-governments/945063 "2021-06-29T05:30:29Z")
The condo building collapse in Florida made me wonder about something. Individuals can get insurance for just about anything, if they’re willing to pay for it. Standard homeowner’s or renter’s insurance will cover dama… --- ## [Who decides the "centre" of a city?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-the-centre-of-a-city/945100)
**Author:** [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-the-centre-of-a-city/945100 "2021-06-28T20:11:24Z")
Cities are generally big sprawling collections of buildings and so you’d think the location of the centre would be fuzzy in many cases. But road signs will tell you the exact number of miles to towns and cities, and many… --- ## [Why did W.H. personnel applaud when Vindman left?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-w-h-personnel-applaud-when-vindman-left/945080)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-w-h-personnel-applaud-when-vindman-left/945080 "2021-06-28T17:30:22Z")
I have tried unsuccessfully to find out the reason that some White House personnel were applauding when Alexander Vindman was escorted out of the White House in Feb. 2020. Was it a show of support for Trump for firing h… --- ## [2003 NE Blackout: how was service restored so quickly?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2003-ne-blackout-how-was-service-restored-so-quickly/945013)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2003-ne-blackout-how-was-service-restored-so-quickly/945013 "2021-06-28T16:36:59Z")
During the major Texas electrical power outage back in February, large swaths of the grid were shut down in a controlled manner to avoid a catastrophic failure that reportedly could have taken months to recover from. So… --- ## [Black US flag](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-us-flag/944663)
**Author:** [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-us-flag/944663 "2021-06-28T12:52:50Z")
I saw a flag being waved by a truck today. At first I thought it was a solid black flag, but then I saw that it was a US flag, with all of the stars, strips, and canton black. Does that mean something? --- ## [MS Word Question - space around and between pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-question-space-around-and-between-pages/945175)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-question-space-around-and-between-pages/945175 "2021-06-28T12:24:47Z")
Until a few days ago if I created a new document in MS Word, the pages would be white and the areas between the pages and around the pages would be grey. Now, for some reason, the areas between the pages and around the p… --- ## [Was Yiddish ever a kind of lingua franca among European and non-European immigrant Jews to America?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yiddish-ever-a-kind-of-lingua-franca-among-european-and-non-european-immigrant-jews-to-america/944788)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [June 28, 2021, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-yiddish-ever-a-kind-of-lingua-franca-among-european-and-non-european-immigrant-jews-to-america/944788 "2021-06-28T09:34:18Z")
I’ve always wondered whether Yiddish was ever a kind of lingua franca among European and non-European immigrant Jews to America. I haven’t been able to get a satisfactory answer to the question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=270) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=272)