# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=296 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 297 --- ## [BBQ Smoke Gets In Your Eyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-smoke-gets-in-your-eyes/937133)
**Author:** [@Rix29](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rix29)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-smoke-gets-in-your-eyes/937133 "2021-03-06T20:23:34Z")
Is it straight hallucination or does the smoke from a BBQ grill shift to blow directly into the direction of the person tending the grill? No matter what the direction of the prevailing wind, the smoke seems invariably t… --- ## [Brass to PVC In DWV Plumbing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-to-pvc-in-dwv-plumbing/937282)
**Author:** [@ishamael69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ishamael69)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brass-to-pvc-in-dwv-plumbing/937282 "2021-03-06T20:09:52Z")
I am replacing my drain in my tub. I want to go to a trip lever drain, but the Moen one I am looking at is all brass. Everything else is currently PVC slip joints. Can I just connect the brass into the PVC using the s… --- ## [Origin of Vampire Invitation Myth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563)
**Author:** [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-vampire-invitation-myth/515563 "2021-03-06T18:47:21Z")
Some of the classic qualities of the vampire can be easily explained. Even though sunlight wasn’t considered deadly to them until the film Nosferatu, it makes sense since vampires were always considered to be nocturnal.… --- ## [What does a forensics club do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-forensics-club-do/641759)
**Author:** [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-forensics-club-do/641759 "2021-03-06T18:37:55Z")
On The Simpsons, a flashback reveals that a teenage Marge Bouvier (future Simpson) did poorly at a competition with her “forensics club” because she had stayed up most or all of the night with Homer. If I recall correct… --- ## [Shouldn’t commercial encryption systems be easily crackable by Governments?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldn-t-commercial-encryption-systems-be-easily-crackable-by-governments/934205)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shouldn-t-commercial-encryption-systems-be-easily-crackable-by-governments/934205 "2021-03-06T17:55:02Z")
I am the furtherest thing from an expert in cryptography. But, from what I have seen on TV and read, admittedly things made for laymen, one of the things that made a code crackers life easier is knowing some or part of a… --- ## [Who was the last US president not to bomb another country?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-not-to-bomb-another-country/937294)
**Author:** [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2021, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-not-to-bomb-another-country/937294 "2021-03-06T12:04:55Z")
It was Joe Biden for a whole 36 days… who was the last to get through an entire term without doing this? --- ## [Changing my oil question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-my-oil-question/699721)
**Author:** [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2021, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-my-oil-question/699721 "2021-03-06T09:41:37Z")
I have a 2008 Toyota RAV4, which holds (I believe) just above 4 quarts of oil. I do a lot of driving for work, and put 25 - 30K miles a year on the car. It currently has about 175K. It burns oil, at a rate of about a … --- ## [Carpenter/contractor hourly rate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpenter-contractor-hourly-rate/937269)
**Author:** [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carpenter-contractor-hourly-rate/937269 "2021-03-05T17:45:23Z")
Just started on a bathroom remodel and was paying the carpenter based on the whole job- materials and labor. Materials are on site sitting in the garage. Carpenter broke his wrist slipping on the ice and will be unable… --- ## [Japanese speakers: help with translation of a term](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-speakers-help-with-translation-of-a-term/934120)
**Author:** [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-speakers-help-with-translation-of-a-term/934120 "2021-03-05T17:35:42Z")
The Hamaoka Nuclear Exhibition Center has a dome theater that used to have an OMNIMAX (IMAX dome) film projector, but they converted it to digital in 2018, and renamed it, since they couldn’t use the IMAX brand any more. … --- ## [Mystery Chemicals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-chemicals/933378)
**Author:** [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-chemicals/933378 "2021-03-05T05:13:49Z")
So, suppose you are tidying up your laboratory for, let us say organometallic chemistry, and among the other things you encounter a decades-old brown glass bottle of— you have no idea because the label, if there ever was… --- ## [Quick pronunciation question: "Tuchman"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-pronunciation-question-tuchman/937161)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-pronunciation-question-tuchman/937161 "2021-03-04T17:59:08Z")
What would be the standard pronunciation of this family name in American English? Is is “Tookh-Man”, with the kh representing the /x/ sound that it has in German, where the name comes from? Or would it be “Took-Man”? And… --- ## [Is There a Way to Force Open a Disk Player?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-force-open-a-disk-player/933978)
**Author:** [@Ptolomy57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ptolomy57)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-force-open-a-disk-player/933978 "2021-03-04T07:23:01Z")
Is there a way to force a DVD or CD player to eject? There was a time they had a hole to insert a straight pin to manually eject a disk. Now, they’ve forgotten the needs of the consumer unless they’ve gone to great lengt… --- ## [Is it feasible to put solar panels on the roofs of cars?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-feasible-to-put-solar-panels-on-the-roofs-of-cars/821731)
**Author:** [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-feasible-to-put-solar-panels-on-the-roofs-of-cars/821731 "2021-03-03T20:22:07Z")
Could a car include a solar panel on its roof, not to supplant the entire gasoline/electric motor, but as a supplemental energy source? Perhaps it could run the lights and A/C. Or would it be too heavy? Or is there so… --- ## [What are the consequences for mortgage lenders in getting it wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-for-mortgage-lenders-in-getting-it-wrong/934124)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-consequences-for-mortgage-lenders-in-getting-it-wrong/934124 "2021-03-03T19:02:16Z")
My understanding is that one contributing factor to the subprime mortgage crisis was that since mortgage lenders were selling virtually all the loans that they underwrote anyway, they had less incentive to do sound under… --- ## [Face coverings in East Asian culture: Worn for allergy symptoms, too?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/face-coverings-in-east-asian-culture-worn-for-allergy-symptoms-too/934063)
**Author:** [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/face-coverings-in-east-asian-culture-worn-for-allergy-symptoms-too/934063 "2021-03-03T16:25:18Z")
On another board, a group of us have been discussing whether or not “masking while sick” could take hold in the United States as it seems to have done pre-COVID in countries like Japan, Korea, China, etc. Someone propos… --- ## [Is it common to have vaccines from multiple manufacturers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-common-to-have-vaccines-from-multiple-manufacturers/933965)
**Author:** [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-common-to-have-vaccines-from-multiple-manufacturers/933965 "2021-03-03T16:01:23Z")
This question isn’t specifically about the COVID vaccines, though it’s obviously inspired by them, so I’m putting it here rather than in the Quarantine Zone. Hopefully that’s the right place. Currently there are vaccin… --- ## [Pre-Satellite Global Radio Transmissions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-satellite-global-radio-transmissions/933824)
**Author:** [@Ptolomy57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ptolomy57)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-satellite-global-radio-transmissions/933824 "2021-03-03T14:39:16Z")
Watching the “The Crown” docudrama (which is described as historically accurate except for the personal affairs of the Royal Family), there is a scene where a young Prince Phillip goes on a world tour of the British Empi… --- ## [Have there been significant advances in warm clothing in modern times?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-significant-advances-in-warm-clothing-in-modern-times/933314)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-significant-advances-in-warm-clothing-in-modern-times/933314 "2021-03-03T13:41:26Z")
It certainly seems like that if you take advertising for winter clothing at face value. This or that insulating technology and so on. I’m wondering how legit that all is. You take a typical guy living in a climate where… --- ## [English language usage question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-usage-question/933687)
**Author:** [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-usage-question/933687 "2021-03-03T13:39:01Z")
A Vietnamese student of English asked about, “That was nearly seven years ago. The love and encouragement has never wavered.” wondering if “has” should be “have”. I see his point that “love and encouragement” are two thi… --- ## [Is the air around Mt. Chimborazo thinner than the air around Mt. Everest?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-air-around-mt-chimborazo-thinner-than-the-air-around-mt-everest/934158)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2021, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-air-around-mt-chimborazo-thinner-than-the-air-around-mt-everest/934158 "2021-03-03T06:21:38Z")
On average? I figure that weather might play a part at any given time. My thinking is that, while the earth is fatter around the equator (which is why Chimborazo is further from the Earth’s center than Everest), the at… --- ## [Covid relief \[money\] reaching individuals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-relief-money-reaching-individuals/933961)
**Author:** [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covid-relief-money-reaching-individuals/933961 "2021-03-02T23:00:52Z")
How much? Last night someone told me that only 7% is reaching (or is earmarked in the new bill to reach) individuals. He watches Newsmax so I’m a little skeptical. --- ## [Vacuum hulls for quiet navy submarines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-hulls-for-quiet-navy-submarines/934052)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-hulls-for-quiet-navy-submarines/934052 "2021-03-02T22:23:56Z")
Since sound cannot pass through a vacuum, ISTM that if you had a navy submarine with two hulls, and a vacuum between them, that internal noise would therefore be unable to transmit to the outside, and you’d have a submar… --- ## [WW2 leaders and painters](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-leaders-and-painters/258928)
**Author:** [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-leaders-and-painters/258928 "2021-03-02T20:04:28Z")
I know that both Churchill and Hitler painted. I don’t know about Roosevelt, Tojo, Mussolini, Stalin and the others. Who is considered the Top Dog in terms of painting ability? On average which leader’s painting would be… --- ## [Is this Newsweek description of autism accurate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-description-of-autism-accurate/933376)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-newsweek-description-of-autism-accurate/933376 "2021-03-02T18:36:13Z")
I recall reading an article in Newsweek , roughly 20 years ago, that described autism using the following example scenario: Mary has a bunch of marbles. She goes to her bedroom, puts them in a red box, and then leaves t… --- ## [1099-K tax form from eBay, not sure how to enter it in H&R Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1099-k-tax-form-from-ebay-not-sure-how-to-enter-it-in-h-r-block/934076)
**Author:** [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1099-k-tax-form-from-ebay-not-sure-how-to-enter-it-in-h-r-block/934076 "2021-03-02T12:27:32Z")
I got a 1099-K from eBay. Problem is that I only sold $700 worth of stuff. In looking in to this I’m only supposed to receive this form if I sell over $20,000, but Maryland requires the form over $600. In looking in to … --- ## [What happens if someone continually evades a process server?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-someone-continually-evades-a-process-server/933585)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2021, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-someone-continually-evades-a-process-server/933585 "2021-03-02T06:53:40Z")
Imagine someone is trying to serve you with court documents that you are being sued and you go to great lengths to avoid being served. Can you evade a lawsuit forever by doing this? This is what prompted this question: … --- ## [Can an electrical issue in one house black out the neighborhood?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-electrical-issue-in-one-house-black-out-the-neighborhood/929111)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-electrical-issue-in-one-house-black-out-the-neighborhood/929111 "2021-03-02T04:23:57Z")
The other day we had a blackout in my house. My wife went down to the main circuit panel and the whole house circuit breaker was flipped. Loose and everything, and when she tried to flip it back, it didn’t go. Of further… --- ## [7 bridges/traveling salesman problem for trail networks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-bridges-traveling-salesman-problem-for-trail-networks/934036)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-bridges-traveling-salesman-problem-for-trail-networks/934036 "2021-03-01T22:46:16Z")
There are some local conservation areas that have networks of trails with multiple branch points, lollipop loops, and other complexities. I like to try to cover every section of trail while minimizing the amount of doubl… --- ## [Can callee determine who has called and gotten a busy signal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-callee-determine-who-has-called-and-gotten-a-busy-signal/933919)
**Author:** [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-callee-determine-who-has-called-and-gotten-a-busy-signal/933919 "2021-03-01T22:01:49Z")
Here’s the background: My city is receiving some doses of COVID vaccine. They set up a call center so that eligible residents could make an appointment to get the vaccine. The call center opened this morning. My husb… --- ## [Why do these nuclear reactors flash at startup?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-these-nuclear-reactors-flash-at-startup/934034)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-these-nuclear-reactors-flash-at-startup/934034 "2021-03-01T19:21:27Z")
Video compilation here of several nuclear reactors starting up: The light is obviously Cherenkov radiation: What interests me is the extreme transient nature of it. Why does the light output ramp up (o… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=295) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=297)