# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=29 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 30 --- ## [1960s drugstore smell - what is it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-drugstore-smell-what-is-it/194175)
**Author:** [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2025, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-drugstore-smell-what-is-it/194175 "2025-10-01T13:01:46Z")
There’s a number of large, although very dated Osco drug stores (chemists, for those across the pond) in the general vicinity of where I live. All of them look like they were built in the 1950s and 1960s, and the interi… --- ## [What happens if there isn't enough money to satisfy a will's provision?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-there-isnt-enough-money-to-satisfy-a-wills-provision/1023435)
**Author:** [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2025, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-there-isnt-enough-money-to-satisfy-a-wills-provision/1023435 "2025-10-01T04:25:33Z")
(This is just random curiosity, we have no wealthy relatives we’re waiting to kick off.) A pleasantly well-off man decides to get his affairs in order. His estate is worth 2 million dollars. He has four children he lov… --- ## [Can I still use CAT5 in the house after upgrading my service to Fiber?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-use-cat5-in-the-house-after-upgrading-my-service-to-fiber/1023487)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-use-cat5-in-the-house-after-upgrading-my-service-to-fiber/1023487 "2025-10-01T00:44:10Z")
I’m currently using a DSL connection. CAT5 was run into three rooms. It required crawling in the attic and fishing wires through walls. My provider is forcing me to upgrade the connection to fiber. They lease DSL lines … --- ## [Is professor Neil Degrasse Tyson ignorant of Newton's laws? (motion of a football)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-professor-neil-degrasse-tyson-ignorant-of-newtons-laws-motion-of-a-football/1023477)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [September 30, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-professor-neil-degrasse-tyson-ignorant-of-newtons-laws-motion-of-a-football/1023477 "2025-09-30T23:24:31Z")
In this (one-minute) video clip, Neil Degrasse Tyson claims that a football game was won because at the final field goal, the flight path of the kicked ball was affected by the rotation of the earth. Now, Tyson is a fam… --- ## [The mathematics of McDonald’s Monopoly](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mathematics-of-mcdonald-s-monopoly/1012108)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [September 30, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mathematics-of-mcdonald-s-monopoly/1012108 "2025-09-30T18:49:18Z")
Most of you will be familiar with the Monopoly-themed sweepstakes promotion periodically held by McDonald’s. Certain products or meals come with a lottery ticket, which may be either an instant win (such as a free desser… --- ## [Can the laws of physics allow something that's never happened in our universe?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-laws-of-physics-allow-something-thats-never-happened-in-our-universe/1023441)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 30, 2025, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-laws-of-physics-allow-something-thats-never-happened-in-our-universe/1023441 "2025-09-30T08:19:27Z")
What I’m specifically thinking of is the assertion that at least since the inflationary period of the early universe, it never got hot enough for some of the more esoteric predictions of Grand Unified Theories to actuall… --- ## [Lincoln - "oln" pronounced "en"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lincoln-oln-pronounced-en/1022291)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lincoln-oln-pronounced-en/1022291 "2025-09-29T18:53:06Z")
Is this construct unique to Lincoln? I can’t think of another word that uses it. Was it really supposed to be “oln” and we just slur it? --- ## [A FQ about the Comey indictment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fq-about-the-comey-indictment/1023415)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fq-about-the-comey-indictment/1023415 "2025-09-29T14:50:12Z")
Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by the Justice Department for lying to Congress and obstruction of justice. The original prosecutor declined to seek the indictment and was summarily fired and replaced … --- ## [Why does Continuously Variable Transmission sound like it's shifting between discreet gears?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-continuously-variable-transmission-sound-like-its-shifting-between-discreet-gears/1023364)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-continuously-variable-transmission-sound-like-its-shifting-between-discreet-gears/1023364 "2025-09-28T16:44:49Z")
I just bought a new car, a Subaru Forester. It has a CVT. However, as it accelerates, it sounds like an automatic transmission car with just a few gears. The motor gradually speeds up, then suddenly steps down in speed a… --- ## [What kind of seeds are these?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-seeds-are-these/1023444)
**Author:** [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2025, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-seeds-are-these/1023444 "2025-09-28T01:55:11Z")
\[Album\] imgur.com In some bear scat. They are maybe 1/2” long. SW … --- ## [When was the most recent time flags were lowered for an ordinary person dying?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-most-recent-time-flags-were-lowered-for-an-ordinary-person-dying/1023000)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-most-recent-time-flags-were-lowered-for-an-ordinary-person-dying/1023000 "2025-09-27T21:31:44Z")
Inspired by Charlie Kirk, but not about him. When was the last time US flags were orders to be flown at half staff for a regular person who had no role in the government? Here are the occasions and people to exclude. N… --- ## [Why Is Trump's Lawsuit Against the New York Times and Penguin Handled in Tampa?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trumps-lawsuit-against-the-new-york-times-and-penguin-handled-in-tampa/1023213)
**Author:** [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trumps-lawsuit-against-the-new-york-times-and-penguin-handled-in-tampa/1023213 "2025-09-27T21:19:45Z")
Press reports say that Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the New York Times, two of its reporters, and Penguin Random House, is assigned to Judge Steven Merryday who works out of the United States District Court Tampa Flori… --- ## [How could World War II have impoverished a wealthy Briton?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-world-war-ii-have-impoverished-a-wealthy-briton/1022683)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-world-war-ii-have-impoverished-a-wealthy-briton/1022683 "2025-09-27T21:11:59Z")
In one of the Chronicles of Narnia novels, mention is made of a once-wealthy fellow who was “made poor by the War.” I’m trying to understand how one’s country being at war could lead to a wealthy citizen becoming impover… --- ## [The Rapture and The Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rapture-and-the-law/1023355)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rapture-and-the-law/1023355 "2025-09-27T20:46:52Z")
Are there any court cases involving people selling or giving away property because they thought the Christian Rapture was coming, then trying to get the property back after the date it was supposed happen came and went? … --- ## [The science of cutting cardboard: Box cutter? Rotary cutter? Scissors? Ceramic? Serrated? Nonstick? Electric?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-cutting-cardboard-box-cutter-rotary-cutter-scissors-ceramic-serrated-nonstick-electric/1023403)
**Author:** [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2025, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-science-of-cutting-cardboard-box-cutter-rotary-cutter-scissors-ceramic-serrated-nonstick-electric/1023403 "2025-09-27T10:28:57Z")
My middling physics education did not prepare me for this predicament of adult life: What is the best tool for cutting up corrugated cardboard boxes, and more importantly, why? Let’s start with your humble box-cutter. Y… --- ## [What does the "missing" component of Baja Gold Sea Salt consist of?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-missing-component-of-baja-gold-sea-salt-consist-of/1023306)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2025, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-missing-component-of-baja-gold-sea-salt-consist-of/1023306 "2025-09-26T11:21:31Z")
I’ve been going down the rabbit hole of various kinds of salts while learning about lacto fermentation and have come across Baja Gold Sea Salt, which is seemingly considered one of the premium salts for such projects. T… --- ## [How does this virus link work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-virus-link-work/1023354)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-virus-link-work/1023354 "2025-09-25T23:36:52Z")
I just received 2 obviously suspicious emails from the same source, one an hour after the other, with similar subject lines, but each had a different order number. They claimed to be about a UPS package that I ordered… --- ## [Satellite collision - direction dependent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satellite-collision-direction-dependent/1007256)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satellite-collision-direction-dependent/1007256 "2025-09-25T17:28:56Z")
If 2 satellites strike each other, what, if any, is the practical difference in the end result depending on the direction each was going? My assumption is any such collision would be a high speed impact (unless for some… --- ## [Is there a way to see a YouTuber’s subscribers over time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-see-a-youtuber-s-subscribers-over-time/1023367)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-see-a-youtuber-s-subscribers-over-time/1023367 "2025-09-24T23:17:43Z")
I had to dislike a video and unsubscribe from a YouTube channel I liked. The host is a devout Christian but only mentions his faith, and then even obliquely, about once in 20 videos. But in yesterday’s video he saw fit t… --- ## [Why do we even have sex/gender on drivers licenses or passports?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-even-have-sex-gender-on-drivers-licenses-or-passports/1023240)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2025, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-even-have-sex-gender-on-drivers-licenses-or-passports/1023240 "2025-09-24T22:41:47Z")
The designation of sex on passports is currently in the news. But why do we even have such designations on photo IDs with facial recognition verification? Rather than arguing over M, F and/or X, I’m wondering why that … --- ## [Military Question: Which officer is in charge?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-question-which-officer-is-in-charge/1023145)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 24, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-question-which-officer-is-in-charge/1023145 "2025-09-24T14:40:35Z")
Moving beyond the basic “the most senior officer is in charge” during an emergency, I have some questions on how far that extends. So for the sake of argument assume an emergency and shit has to be dealt with RFN. If th… --- ## [Private jets and speed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/private-jets-and-speed/441219)
**Author:** [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/private-jets-and-speed/441219 "2025-09-22T23:26:13Z")
A simple question, really. If you had unlimited funds and you wanted to fly from, say, Los Angeles to London, would it be faster to buy a ticket on a commercial airline\*, or would chartering a private jet get you there s… --- ## [A temporary paint for large swaths of road surface?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-temporary-paint-for-large-swaths-of-road-surface/1020034)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-temporary-paint-for-large-swaths-of-road-surface/1020034 "2025-09-22T23:17:40Z")
Some friends are shooting a video that is set in the 1880s and involves a crowd marching down a city street. The city street is asphalt, which does not match the dirt road that it would have been at the time. Some sort o… --- ## [Where do protesters get the giant letters they display over highways?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-protesters-get-the-giant-letters-they-display-over-highways/1023243)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-protesters-get-the-giant-letters-they-display-over-highways/1023243 "2025-09-22T20:34:18Z")
I see them on the news all the time. The letters are about 2 feet high and each letter is printed on a single sheet of something - paper, cardboard. Wherever they get them, it must be interesting when someone orders some… --- ## [Which number is bigger?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-number-is-bigger/1023305)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-number-is-bigger/1023305 "2025-09-22T20:13:07Z")
I include a link to a Reddit post since it is more elegant then I can generate. --- ## [1950s computers: question #1](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-computers-question-1/1021875)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1950s-computers-question-1/1021875 "2025-09-22T14:30:14Z")
In 1953 it seems the IBM 701 could add/subtract two ten-digit decimal numbers in 60 microseconds, so the magazine reported it could do 16666 additions per second. Which isn’t much help to people like me who wonder what s… --- ## [Basing nukes in space](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basing-nukes-in-space/1023062)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basing-nukes-in-space/1023062 "2025-09-21T20:34:16Z")
This was a common idea in science fiction circa 1945-1965; Heinlein especially was convinced that nukes based in space would trump any other strategic weapons system. Yet obviously that didn’t happen so there must have b… --- ## [Do any coal mines ship to power plants and steel plants?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-coal-mines-ship-to-power-plants-and-steel-plants/1022239)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-coal-mines-ship-to-power-plants-and-steel-plants/1022239 "2025-09-21T14:11:12Z")
The same coal, I mean – if it’s good enough to make coke for a blast furnace (or whatever has replaced blast furnaces) is it too expensive for power plants? How about decades ago? Did most met coal come from mines that … --- ## [Can a military pilot who was downed pull rank on his rescue team?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-military-pilot-who-was-downed-pull-rank-on-his-rescue-team/1003193)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-military-pilot-who-was-downed-pull-rank-on-his-rescue-team/1003193 "2025-09-20T23:24:31Z")
So military pilots are almost always officers (yeah yeah warrant officers I know don’t make a weird distinction tangent), so what happens if say a military pilot is shot down over enemy territory, a rescue squad made up … --- ## [Is depleted uranium at all useful for defeating body armor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-depleted-uranium-at-all-useful-for-defeating-body-armor/1023168)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-depleted-uranium-at-all-useful-for-defeating-body-armor/1023168 "2025-09-20T22:47:00Z")
Since the introduction of practical, militarily significant infantry body armor, armaments manufacturers have been working to defeat it. Submachine guns firing pistol rounds have been displaced by Personal Defense Weapon… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=30)