# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=288 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 289 --- ## [How can I get the birds back to my feeder?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-the-birds-back-to-my-feeder/939678)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-the-birds-back-to-my-feeder/939678 "2021-04-14T22:03:14Z")
I’ve used this thistle feeder for many years. We get lots of birds, often starting in very early spring as the goldfinches start to return. Last year, nobody came. I cleaned it out completely, scrubbed it of anything th… --- ## [What are these stainless steel things I bought from a (dairy?) barn auction?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-stainless-steel-things-i-bought-from-a-dairy-barn-auction/646264)
**Author:** [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 7, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-stainless-steel-things-i-bought-from-a-dairy-barn-auction/646264 "2013-01-07T18:48:52Z")
https://picasaweb.google.com/m/viewer#photo/109667390045908457426/5830372657696774737/5830373151143647058 (Bananas for scale) Hopefully this pic works, I’m posting from my phone and having some trouble. About 15 years… --- ## [Why does Venus have retrograde rotation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-venus-have-retrograde-rotation/939930)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-venus-have-retrograde-rotation/939930 "2021-04-14T00:32:20Z")
Are there any theories to explain its retrograde rotation? --- ## [Everyone knows that the moon has craters, right? But when was the last one recorded?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-knows-that-the-moon-has-craters-right-but-when-was-the-last-one-recorded/939807)
**Author:** [@Forever77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forever77)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everyone-knows-that-the-moon-has-craters-right-but-when-was-the-last-one-recorded/939807 "2021-04-13T20:28:27Z")
Plus has anyone even seen the dark side of the moon? Do we even know how many craters are on the dark side of the moon? --- ## [Can a link in a text message contain a virus?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-link-in-a-text-message-contain-a-virus/939702)
**Author:** [@Honolulu\_Lulu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honolulu_Lulu)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-link-in-a-text-message-contain-a-virus/939702 "2021-04-13T19:13:43Z")
Like Elaine Benes, I have a common fake name and address that I give to spammers. No house exists at that address. Today, I received a text message, “Dear Daniel” (my fake name), “This is Joey, your delivery guy.” Joey… --- ## [Math/Probability Question (Percentages Upon Percentages)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-probability-question-percentages-upon-percentages/939794)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-probability-question-percentages-upon-percentages/939794 "2021-04-13T16:40:37Z")
Out of a pool of n white balls, x are chosen at random and painted with a blue dot. Then, from that same pool (which includes the now-painted balls), y are chosen and painted with a red dot. What is the formula to deter… --- ## [How do you get through to a human at the USPS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-through-to-a-human-at-the-usps/939881)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-get-through-to-a-human-at-the-usps/939881 "2021-04-13T16:19:28Z")
We’ve installed a cluster box and I need to speak to a human representative regarding setting it up. I feel like I can not defeat the automated system, and brother I’ve tried. Is there a trick? No matter what numbers I … --- ## [Anonymous lawsuits](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-lawsuits/939862)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-lawsuits/939862 "2021-04-13T14:55:32Z")
If a lawyer files a civil suit on behalf of an anoymous client, at what point do they need to reveal to the court the identity of the plaintiff? Immediately, or at some later point? (If the latter, then it would seem a l… --- ## [Measures a nation would take to prop up its currency during wartime](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measures-a-nation-would-take-to-prop-up-its-currency-during-wartime/939857)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measures-a-nation-would-take-to-prop-up-its-currency-during-wartime/939857 "2021-04-13T13:19:44Z")
Let’s say that Russia invaded Poland. Poland does not use the euro; it uses the zloty, its own currency. A war would likely cause a severe recession and loss of faith in the domestic currency. What measures is a nation … --- ## [What Does ½ Really Round Off To?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-really-round-off-to/939533)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-really-round-off-to/939533 "2021-04-12T03:04:31Z")
Believe it or not, it’s vexed me for years. A number like 1.5 could really round off to either 1 or 2. I remember in grade school, we were taught that it rounds off to 2. No explanation was ever given though (which is w… --- ## [Car people, need your advice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-need-your-advice/939765)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-people-need-your-advice/939765 "2021-04-13T12:42:39Z")
I went to check my oil the other day and the dipstick did not slide out easily as it normally does. I tugged, jiggled, and twisted (big mistake) it, only to have the plastic ring snap off in my hand. Didn’t these used to… --- ## [Origin in the "mock crying" gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-in-the-mock-crying-gesture/939562)
**Author:** [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-in-the-mock-crying-gesture/939562 "2021-04-13T12:23:04Z")
You know, this gesture: Where does that come from, exactly? Nobody actually cries like that, do they? --- ## [Why do I hate bell peppers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-hate-bell-peppers/431786)
**Author:** [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-hate-bell-peppers/431786 "2021-04-12T22:49:04Z")
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been repulsed by the taste of bell peppers. Cooked, they are especially disgusting, but they’re also disgusting raw, and their odor is even more repellent to me in this state. I hate t… --- ## [My water heater’s relief valve is dripping. Cause for concern?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-water-heater-s-relief-valve-is-dripping-cause-for-concern/939639)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-water-heater-s-relief-valve-is-dripping-cause-for-concern/939639 "2021-04-12T20:10:58Z")
I have an electric water heater and hot water is dripping from the relief valve, down the pvc drain pipe, into the pan, and down the drain. The heater is turned all the way up. Yes, I know that’s not recommended but it’s… --- ## [Are the actors in gay male porn films really straight?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-actors-in-gay-male-porn-films-really-straight/86879)
**Author:** [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-actors-in-gay-male-porn-films-really-straight/86879 "2021-04-12T19:36:01Z")
I have heard it asserted several times in the past few years that many (of course not all) actors in gay male porn flicks are really heterosexual when the cameras are not rolling. Does this have any basis in fact? Why wo… --- ## [Question about electricity and house wiring](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-electricity-and-house-wiring/939796)
**Author:** [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-electricity-and-house-wiring/939796 "2021-04-12T19:30:17Z")
Had some wiring repaired at my house this week, that is the thing that got me thinking about this It made me wonder if two wires running 110 volts each and physically in contact, could generate enough of a magnetic fiel… --- ## [My Facebook account is locked and now I'm trapped in FB Hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-facebook-account-is-locked-and-now-im-trapped-in-fb-hell/939797)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-facebook-account-is-locked-and-now-im-trapped-in-fb-hell/939797 "2021-04-12T19:14:40Z")
(Actually, it’s my wife’s account) It started yesterday afternoon. I had FB open on the laptop in my account; but we needed to switch to my wife’s account, so she could post something to a group that she belongs to. S… --- ## [On Pollinators and Pollinating](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-pollinators-and-pollinating/918684)
**Author:** [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-pollinators-and-pollinating/918684 "2021-04-12T18:21:40Z")
I’ve really been enjoying watching all of the pollinators in my yard this summer. Between my milkweed and mimosa, I’ve got scads of honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds and everything else that likes… --- ## [Stimulus checks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stimulus-checks/939328)
**Author:** [@stosh1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh1)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stimulus-checks/939328 "2021-04-12T16:16:33Z")
Does anybody know how these stimulus checks work. I got the first one real fast. I have friends living all around me and their names all start with different letters and they got their checks. There doesn’t seem to be a… --- ## [Buran in Moscow. What did I see?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buran-in-moscow-what-did-i-see/939851)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buran-in-moscow-what-did-i-see/939851 "2021-04-12T14:05:08Z")
I visited Moscow in July 2014, and during a stroll around VDNKh (a strange hybrid between an exposition ground and an amusement park), I came across the Buran spacecraft, the Soviet Union’s equivalent to the Space Shuttl… --- ## [Did late 17th century ships from England take a similar route as Columbus to America?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-late-17th-century-ships-from-england-take-a-similar-route-as-columbus-to-america/939695)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-late-17th-century-ships-from-england-take-a-similar-route-as-columbus-to-america/939695 "2021-04-11T20:42:37Z")
Did late 17th century passenger ships from England take a similar route as Columbus to America? I’m specifically thinking of ships sailing to Virginia or the Carolinas. According to my reading they seemed to have hugged… --- ## [Question regarding collectivisation in Russia under Lenin and China under Mao](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-collectivisation-in-russia-under-lenin-and-china-under-mao/938971)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-collectivisation-in-russia-under-lenin-and-china-under-mao/938971 "2021-04-11T17:04:07Z")
At 9.01 minutes into the discussion on china, this professor of economics (Richard Wolff) seems to be saying that the land distributed under the Lenin/Bolshevik regime was private property. Have I misunders… --- ## [Can a link in a text message contain (revisited)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-link-in-a-text-message-contain-revisited/939707)
**Author:** [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-link-in-a-text-message-contain-revisited/939707 "2021-04-11T14:32:03Z")
A link in a text message may link to something bad, the same as any other link anywhere else. A link in a text message will probably open your (web) browser (Chrome, whatever) when clicked on (touched, whatever). Web s… --- ## [How do I search beyond Google?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-search-beyond-google/939753)
**Author:** [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2021, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-search-beyond-google/939753 "2021-04-11T14:24:12Z")
On March 25 first-time visitors to my website tripled from the average of the previous two months. Weird one-day spikes happen from time to time so I didn’t think much of it. Since then, though, the numbers have stayed h… --- ## [Apple Pencil 2 Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-pencil-2-q/939779)
**Author:** [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-pencil-2-q/939779 "2021-04-11T05:24:32Z")
Is there a hack for making an iPad (7th gen, not the iPad Pro) pair with an Apple Pencil 2? --- ## [Do the Spacex flight suits do anything at all for the astronauts who wear them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-spacex-flight-suits-do-anything-at-all-for-the-astronauts-who-wear-them/854752)
**Author:** [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-spacex-flight-suits-do-anything-at-all-for-the-astronauts-who-wear-them/854752 "2021-04-11T02:14:13Z")
Do the Spacex flight suits do anything at all for the astronauts who wear them? I suspect they merely look good on camera. --- ## [Electrical fan wiring question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-fan-wiring-question/939772)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-fan-wiring-question/939772 "2021-04-11T01:53:41Z")
I salvaged a blower motor assembly from a portable room air conditioner and I am having trouble wiring it up. It may have a bad motor I don’t know for sure. I want to wire it to a standard 3 prong power cord. Blue ( har… --- ## [Which brace position is safest on commercial jets?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-brace-position-is-safest-on-commercial-jets/939649)
**Author:** [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-brace-position-is-safest-on-commercial-jets/939649 "2021-04-10T18:14:36Z")
I’ve been listening to an audiobook on the crash of Flight 232 in Sioux City, IA in 1989. You may remember this crash: the plane lost an engine and all hydraulics. The crash was horrific, and 112 people died, but the fli… --- ## [Read-only contacts in Android](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-only-contacts-in-android/939715)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/read-only-contacts-in-android/939715 "2021-04-10T16:46:19Z")
My mom just got her first smartphone, and so naturally, she’s been consulting a lot with her personal tech support agent. This one, though, has me stumped. The phone automatically imported a bunch of contacts from her … --- ## [How do the different forms of data connection compare?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-different-forms-of-data-connection-compare/939527)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-different-forms-of-data-connection-compare/939527 "2021-04-10T13:11:07Z")
If we were to compare the highest bandwidth connections from a satellite, plane, land vehicle, ship, building or cable, what would it look like? Are there any others? I know this will vary a lot but are there some instru… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=287) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=289)