# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=359 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 360 --- ## [Does Melatonin do anything?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-melatonin-do-anything/854474)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-melatonin-do-anything/854474 "2020-05-26T22:44:46Z")
Has melatonin ever been proven to help with sleep disorders or is it just the placebo effect? --- ## [Searching dental records](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searching-dental-records/854503)
**Author:** [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/searching-dental-records/854503 "2020-05-26T21:59:01Z")
When an unidentified human body is discovered, and authorities do a dental records search, how is that done? Is there a nationwide database of dental records? Are dentists required to send your records to this database… --- ## [Pronunciation question (one word)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-question-one-word/854119)
**Author:** [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-question-one-word/854119 "2020-05-26T21:56:35Z")
I’m British, resident in UK: have recently encountered some puzzlement about the word which I know as “lambaste” – meaning, to energetically attack and belabour someone (nowadays, usually just with words). I have always… --- ## [What's the term for this property of light at the focal plane of a projector?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-this-property-of-light-at-the-focal-plane-of-a-projector/854315)
**Author:** [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-this-property-of-light-at-the-focal-plane-of-a-projector/854315 "2020-05-26T21:14:19Z")
If you take a standard LCD projector and project a blank white image onto a screen in proper focus, you can observe some interesting effects by holding up objects close to the screen (the focal plane of the projector). S… --- ## [Twitter shutting down the legacy version](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-shutting-down-the-legacy-version/854453)
**Author:** [@Mislav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mislav)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twitter-shutting-down-the-legacy-version/854453 "2020-05-26T18:01:19Z")
Twitter will be shutting down its old (legacy) version on June 1st 2020. Is there any way to keep using it somehow? I assume not, but I just wanted to check. Thank you in advance. --- ## [Who pays for Judge Sullivan's lawyer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-pays-for-judge-sullivans-lawyer/854501)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-pays-for-judge-sullivans-lawyer/854501 "2020-05-26T17:56:45Z")
Judge Emmet Sullivan has hired a top tier defense lawyer to justify his actions in the Michael Flynn case to a panel of appeals court judges who ordered him to explain himself. I’m curious as to who pays the bills. Is a … --- ## [Mistrial tactic, would this really happen? (From Better Call Saul, possible minor spoiler)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistrial-tactic-would-this-really-happen-from-better-call-saul-possible-minor-spoiler/854378)
**Author:** [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistrial-tactic-would-this-really-happen-from-better-call-saul-possible-minor-spoiler/854378 "2020-05-26T16:16:11Z")
In a criminal trial scene, Saul asks an eye witness to identify a robbery suspect (his client). After doing so, Saul reveals that his client is really in the back of the courtroom and the person next to him is a regular … --- ## [Are TV preseners on split screen able to see the 'other half' while looking straight ahead ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-preseners-on-split-screen-able-to-see-the-other-half-while-looking-straight-ahead/854376)
**Author:** [@glaucon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glaucon)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tv-preseners-on-split-screen-able-to-see-the-other-half-while-looking-straight-ahead/854376 "2020-05-26T16:00:11Z")
It’s common in TV new/current affairs to see the presenter talking to someone and the watcher gets to see both parties to the conversation on a split screen. I know TV presenters are able to look straight at the camera … --- ## [Did "World War I Veteran" baseball hats ever exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-world-war-i-veteran-baseball-hats-ever-exist/854471)
**Author:** [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-world-war-i-veteran-baseball-hats-ever-exist/854471 "2020-05-26T14:53:27Z")
I guess another way of asking this question is “when did those Veteran baseball hats become common?” Most Americans are surely familiar with the various Veteran baseball hats. They’re typically black, with “World War II… --- ## [What is the thing on this military-grade phone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-thing-on-this-military-grade-phone/854283)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-thing-on-this-military-grade-phone/854283 "2020-05-26T05:52:04Z")
The square hinged thing with all the cutouts. Some sort of device for attaching it to things? Antenna? --- ## [Help identify this bird? 2 note song.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-bird-2-note-song/854409)
**Author:** [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-bird-2-note-song/854409 "2020-05-26T04:36:23Z")
South central Wisconsin. It’s 2 tone that sounds more like someone whistling than actual birdsong. Second tone is lower pitched than first. Obviously can’t replicate it here but hoping for suggestions to look up to ID it… --- ## [Can a witness statement be made public?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-witness-statement-be-made-public/854454)
**Author:** [@prongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prongo)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-witness-statement-be-made-public/854454 "2020-05-26T03:36:24Z")
In the US, can a witness statement for a court case that has been concluded be publicly posted? (Not seeking legal advice, just a general idea of the situation) So I came across a Facebook post where a friend’s witness … --- ## [Do we know for sure that allergies were under-diagnosed in the past ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-for-sure-that-allergies-were-under-diagnosed-in-the-past/854472)
**Author:** [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-know-for-sure-that-allergies-were-under-diagnosed-in-the-past/854472 "2020-05-26T03:34:19Z")
Per my understanding, the cause for allergies is not fully understood. There was the cleanliness theory which has been debunked. Do we know for sure that there is real increased instances of allergies in the population … --- ## [US military policies when witnessing a human rights violation overseas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-policies-when-witnessing-a-human-rights-violation-overseas/854435)
**Author:** [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-policies-when-witnessing-a-human-rights-violation-overseas/854435 "2020-05-26T00:15:12Z")
I’m writing a story. I’ve done as much Googling as possible, but I can’t find an answer to this particular question/scenario/thingy. My hope is to faithfully convey the experience of a veteran coping with PTSD after a si… --- ## [Optical illusion question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion-question/854365)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion-question/854365 "2020-05-25T21:02:02Z")
Maybe optical illusion is the wrong word, optical effect? Today I’m sitting next to another car at a red light. It’s wheels were sort of like fan blades so that approximately half of what was beyond the wheel was visibl… --- ## [Writing a story: How would an amateur amplify a DNA sample at home?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writing-a-story-how-would-an-amateur-amplify-a-dna-sample-at-home/854278)
**Author:** [@MorrisCody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MorrisCody)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writing-a-story-how-would-an-amateur-amplify-a-dna-sample-at-home/854278 "2020-05-25T18:17:46Z")
I’m helping a friend with a story they’re writing that features an amateur detective. She has found a clue that has a potential suspect’s DNA on it, and she wants to turn a little bit of DNA into a lot of DNA. How could … --- ## [Why does air bubble up through my toilet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-air-bubble-up-through-my-toilet/854444)
**Author:** [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-air-bubble-up-through-my-toilet/854444 "2020-05-25T17:51:23Z")
The toilet is in the basement of a 2 story house right near the plumbing stack. I think this occurs when a lot of water comes down through the drain but I’m not sure. If you look at the toilet bowl. You see the water ris… --- ## [Reeds that look like marshmallows?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeds-that-look-like-marshmallows/854371)
**Author:** [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reeds-that-look-like-marshmallows/854371 "2020-05-24T23:31:22Z")
Are there reeds or reedlike wetland/marsh/swamp plants that look like marshmallows? It’s difficult to search, because apparently marshmallows are a real plant, but they are just white flowers that don’t look like the con… --- ## [Fans: Why Off-High-Med-Low and not Off-Low-Med-High?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-why-off-high-med-low-and-not-off-low-med-high/677874)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fans-why-off-high-med-low-and-not-off-low-med-high/677874 "2020-05-24T23:28:28Z")
Almost every device with a multi-speed fan—fans, space heaters, air purifiers, the vent in the stove hood, etc.—has a switch that goes “off-high-medium-low.” The only exception I can think of is the A/C in my car which g… --- ## [Canadian legal jargon - advice needed.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-legal-jargon-advice-needed/853973)
**Author:** [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-legal-jargon-advice-needed/853973 "2020-05-24T22:07:52Z")
I have a bunch of students, some of whom are Canadian. In Aus (where I am) and most Commonwealth countries, when an appellate court overturns a conviction, the language used is ‘quashing’ the conviction. That is the for… --- ## [Network/wifi experts: explain this mysterious discrepancy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-wifi-experts-explain-this-mysterious-discrepancy/853668)
**Author:** [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/network-wifi-experts-explain-this-mysterious-discrepancy/853668 "2020-05-24T21:58:22Z")
I live in a three-level house, with a basement, first floor, and second floor, total area of about 3,000 sq. ft. (280 sq. m). We have Xfinity (Comcast) cable service with a nominal Internet speed of 150 Mbps. The house i… --- ## [Do larger things fall faster?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-larger-things-fall-faster/854154)
**Author:** [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-larger-things-fall-faster/854154 "2020-05-24T14:40:31Z")
In this video called “Being Big on Land: The bigger they are, the harder they fall” at 1:32, it makes the claim that “larger bodies fall faster because, relative to their weight, air drag slows them down less.” Is that … --- ## [How do social security spousal benefits work](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-social-security-spousal-benefits-work/854301)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-social-security-spousal-benefits-work/854301 "2020-05-24T12:44:04Z")
Assume you have a retired couple, one worked and one was a homemaker their adult lives. I believe SS is set up so the one who worked gets their SS benefits (lets say $1500/month) and their spouse who was a homemaker get… --- ## [Are potatoes that have sprouted safe to eat? (need answer kinda fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-potatoes-that-have-sprouted-safe-to-eat-need-answer-kinda-fast/854147)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-potatoes-that-have-sprouted-safe-to-eat-need-answer-kinda-fast/854147 "2020-05-24T06:34:11Z")
I was preparing a dish for dinner, opened a bag of fingerling potatoes I bought two days ago, and dumped them in the bowl with the sauce I had prepared. Only then did I realize most of them had sprouted…some sprouts as … --- ## [Can you tell me anything about these lamps?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-me-anything-about-these-lamps/854320)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-me-anything-about-these-lamps/854320 "2020-05-24T05:26:00Z")
These lamps are in my late parents’ room: male and female. As you can see they’re a matched set. And hideous. The only thing I know about them is that they were originally my maternal grandparents’ and they predate me, … --- ## [What causes “mouth blisters”?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-mouth-blisters/854350)
**Author:** [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-mouth-blisters/854350 "2020-05-24T03:03:21Z")
I assume I’m not the only person this happens to… Every so often, I will develop a painless blister on the inside of my cheek, typically up above the gumline. If I pop it, it is filled with some clear, salty fluid, and … --- ## [Whats going on with my Nord VPN?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-nord-vpn/854226)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-nord-vpn/854226 "2020-05-24T01:50:33Z")
I have an subscription to Nord VPN. I often leave it connected but there are some sites like Wikipedia that don’t like working with a Nord server. So I disconnected it a couple of days ago. I tried to re-connect today a… --- ## [Can you apply percentage calculations when the changing value crosses the zero point?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-apply-percentage-calculations-when-the-changing-value-crosses-the-zero-point/854290)
**Author:** [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-apply-percentage-calculations-when-the-changing-value-crosses-the-zero-point/854290 "2020-05-23T21:13:43Z")
Recently oil prices went negative, changing from about +20$/barrel to -27$/barrel (citing from memory, the exact numbers are not relevant here), to then become positive again the next day. And I read somewhere that the p… --- ## [Attempted assinations of Queen Victoria](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attempted-assinations-of-queen-victoria/854218)
**Author:** [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attempted-assinations-of-queen-victoria/854218 "2020-05-23T20:37:32Z")
Why were there two attempts on her life? Corn laws, land owners having the only voting rights…MPs, PMs I can understand, but why the young Queen, and possibly her angel, Albert? --- ## [Do you think at the end of losing wars...many soldiers just 'went home'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-at-the-end-of-losing-wars-many-soldiers-just-went-home/854299)
**Author:** [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-at-the-end-of-losing-wars-many-soldiers-just-went-home/854299 "2020-05-23T20:10:14Z")
I’m talking about taking off their uniforms and just going home? It would require: A large area of unoccupied territory at the time of going AWOL. Ideally, home being in that territory. Utter chaos and breakdown of e… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=358) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=360)