# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=392 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 393 --- ## [Looking for an academic word for Chinese banners you see during formal Chinese receptions/functions.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-academic-word-for-chinese-banners-you-see-during-formal-chinese-receptions-functions/847529)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-academic-word-for-chinese-banners-you-see-during-formal-chinese-receptions-functions/847529 "2020-02-08T17:08:53Z")
Hi I’m for a formal English academic word for Chinese banners (if there is one) you often see during formal Chinese receptions/functions (锦旗 (jǐn qí). They usually drape walls and express traditional Chinese beliefs/vir… --- ## [What kind of animal track is this most likely to be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-track-is-this-most-likely-to-be/847584)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-track-is-this-most-likely-to-be/847584 "2020-02-08T16:16:44Z")
Picture was taken (not by me) in Southwest Oklahoma and posted to a local Facebook page. Whatever it is, it’s pretty big. --- ## [Driving from Kansas City to Los Angeles in March](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-kansas-city-to-los-angeles-in-march/847486)
**Author:** [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-from-kansas-city-to-los-angeles-in-march/847486 "2020-02-08T15:28:11Z")
(I don’t know if this belongs in GQ or IMHO; mods, please move it if it needs to be moved.) I will be driving from Kansas City to the LA (Riverside) area in the middle of March, 2020. I know everything depends on the w… --- ## [iPhone purchase question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-purchase-question/847625)
**Author:** [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-purchase-question/847625 "2020-02-08T15:15:56Z")
In the past, and when I needed a new phone, I purchased a replacement at a local Verizon store. The store transferred all the data, settings, etc. to the new phone. If I purchased a new phone at Costco, does Costco tran… --- ## [Cleaning laptop mouse button](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-laptop-mouse-button/847618)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-laptop-mouse-button/847618 "2020-02-08T14:46:19Z")
The left mouse button on my laptop is misbehaving. I suspect that it’s gotten bread crumbs under it. At least it looks like something is under it and crumbs are the most likely culprit. I could probably pop it off and cl… --- ## [New South Wales](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-south-wales/847605)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-south-wales/847605 "2020-02-08T13:46:54Z")
Why wasn’t New South Wales in Australia just named New Wales? Was there something icky about the northern half of Wales? --- ## [Is it safe to eat bruised parts of a banana?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-bruised-parts-of-a-banana/847382)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-bruised-parts-of-a-banana/847382 "2020-02-08T05:25:37Z")
I’ve always cut out bruised parts on a banana. They look unappealing and gross. I’ve wondered if bruised areas have bacteria? Is it a type of rot? Do some people ignore the bruised areas and eat them? Is it safe? --- ## [Can visual migraines be triggered by stress?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-visual-migraines-be-triggered-by-stress/847510)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2020, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-visual-migraines-be-triggered-by-stress/847510 "2020-02-08T05:01:16Z")
A year ago, my January was particularly crowded with work deadlines and court prep. And hoo boy did I get visual migraines! I think I had about five in three days at the peak period. This January, things have been much… --- ## [Do actors actually hire voice coaches to help RETAIN their accent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-actually-hire-voice-coaches-to-help-retain-their-accent/847606)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-actually-hire-voice-coaches-to-help-retain-their-accent/847606 "2020-02-07T22:37:53Z")
At various points I heard that some non-native English speaking actors (noticably Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan) could be speaking noticably better English, but in fact work with voice coaches to help retain thei… --- ## [Can a HTML page have too many links and stop working?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-html-page-have-too-many-links-and-stop-working/846656)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-html-page-have-too-many-links-and-stop-working/846656 "2020-02-07T18:14:10Z")
Important note: I am not an expert in HTML or computers. Please explain things in simple terms. Context: I have a large number of files that I’ve organized using very basic HTML. I put all of the files in one area, I gi… --- ## [Need help intuiting a few chemistry concepts (rate equation and equilibrium)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-intuiting-a-few-chemistry-concepts-rate-equation-and-equilibrium/847246)
**Author:** [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-intuiting-a-few-chemistry-concepts-rate-equation-and-equilibrium/847246 "2020-02-07T16:21:57Z")
Unfortunately I’m only learning from Crash Course Chemistry on Youtube where every lesson is 10 minutes long but even after searching for quite a while on Google, I’m having trouble getting an intuitive explanation for t… --- ## [Band saw blades - hardness in HRC? (body of blade, not teeth)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-saw-blades-hardness-in-hrc-body-of-blade-not-teeth/847545)
**Author:** [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-saw-blades-hardness-in-hrc-body-of-blade-not-teeth/847545 "2020-02-07T15:07:55Z")
I have old band saw blades that I need to repurpose in a project. I want to know how hard is the “body” of bandsaw blades typically, in Rockwell scale (HRC)? Googling seems to only give the hardnesses of the teeth of var… --- ## [How can I get Safari to stop telling me how wonderful it is?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-safari-to-stop-telling-me-how-wonderful-it-is/847542)
**Author:** [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-safari-to-stop-telling-me-how-wonderful-it-is/847542 "2020-02-07T03:45:46Z")
Frequently in the course of web surfing I will go to put in a URL but am temporarily blocked from doing so by Safari sending a popup message saying “Safari is using an encrypted connection to straightdope.com (or xxx.com)… --- ## [Diameter of a ring network](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diameter-of-a-ring-network/847536)
**Author:** [@MaverocK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaverocK)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2020, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diameter-of-a-ring-network/847536 "2020-02-07T03:44:09Z")
The diameter of a ring network is calculated by n/2: https://www.phy.ornl.gov/csep/ca/node22.html The diameter is defined as: “the longest of all the calculated shortest paths in a network” (source: https://www.phy.o… --- ## [Flights/Aircraft From China](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flights-aircraft-from-china/847538)
**Author:** [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flights-aircraft-from-china/847538 "2020-02-07T03:22:24Z")
Referencing the flights evacuating Americans from China, anyone else notice the 747’s appear to be configured as cargo vs passenger? Curious as to what type of seating is on these aircraft. Anyone? --- ## [Too many pages in an Excel file](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-pages-in-an-excel-file/847567)
**Author:** [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-pages-in-an-excel-file/847567 "2020-02-06T22:19:13Z")
I have an excel file that is supposed to be 1 page. But it lists 11. 10 blank. How do I get it to just the one page? --- ## [What's with these strange battery instructions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-strange-battery-instructions/847170)
**Author:** [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-these-strange-battery-instructions/847170 "2020-02-06T21:38:40Z")
My hearing aid needs a new battery about once every three days. I recently purchased a different brand (Amazon Basics). On the packaging it says: The tab they’re referring to is a small tab that’s is stuck to one surfa… --- ## [Why are photons massless?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-photons-massless/847244)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-photons-massless/847244 "2020-02-06T19:16:22Z")
I’m sure this is a dumb question but here goes. I gather from several places that mass and energy are equivalent and are in fact different forms of the same thing and one can be converted to the other, eg atomic explosio… --- ## [What is going on in certain marine life photos in terms of color mapping or saturation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-in-certain-marine-life-photos-in-terms-of-color-mapping-or-saturation/843308)
**Author:** [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-going-on-in-certain-marine-life-photos-in-terms-of-color-mapping-or-saturation/843308 "2020-02-06T16:26:21Z")
Something I’ve long wondered about, but haven’t been able to find a satisfactory answer for despite googling for the last 20 minutes: There are certain photos of marine life that seem “hyper-spectral” for lack of a bett… --- ## [Solar PV vs Solar thermo-electric](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-pv-vs-solar-thermo-electric/847527)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-pv-vs-solar-thermo-electric/847527 "2020-02-06T13:07:58Z")
Researchers at the University of Rochester have created a ‘perfect’ solar energy absorber. They used lasers to modified the surface of a tungsten plate so it absorbs all wavelengths of light that the Sun produces. One us… --- ## [What in the Huawei 5G technology/protocols is "Huawei-only" (ie, "controllable" by China)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-huawei-5g-technology-protocols-is-huawei-only-ie-controllable-by-china/847233)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-huawei-5g-technology-protocols-is-huawei-only-ie-controllable-by-china/847233 "2020-02-05T03:05:57Z")
The subject has been building steam for years, and now the UK has initiated some sort of national infrastructure agreement with Huawei, the national security issue of China’s access has intensified. What a “national inf… --- ## [Monitoring the deepest oceans](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitoring-the-deepest-oceans/847448)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 5, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monitoring-the-deepest-oceans/847448 "2020-02-05T02:47:49Z")
How are the current ocean depth and ph levels monitored? Could a device be built that would sink to the bottom of the ocean and record data then after maybe a year inflate a float to bring it back to the surface to broa… --- ## [Does anybody know the Unicode for guillemets « » ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-the-unicode-for-guillemets/847478)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-know-the-unicode-for-guillemets/847478 "2020-02-04T21:19:46Z")
The characters in the subject line are used as quotation marks in French and some other languages. You may know them as « double arrows.» Here is why I need to know and cannot simply look it up myself. I am legally … --- ## [Sex selective abortion in China and India](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-selective-abortion-in-china-and-india/847146)
**Author:** [@rosecoloredboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rosecoloredboy)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-selective-abortion-in-china-and-india/847146 "2020-02-04T20:59:36Z")
How prevalent is it really? It seems like East Asian people in general give birth to more male babies, and I’ve heard that the gender ratio figures in China are somewhat exaggerated in official reports because people ar… --- ## [Hazardous Materials Classification](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazardous-materials-classification/847452)
**Author:** [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hazardous-materials-classification/847452 "2020-02-04T14:22:38Z")
I’m having difficulty finding the Hazardous Materials Classification chart for H2CO3. I mean the graphic with the 4 diamonds forming a larger diamond, like this. --- ## [Why haven't E-readers advanced like other tech?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-e-readers-advanced-like-other-tech/846842)
**Author:** [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-e-readers-advanced-like-other-tech/846842 "2020-02-04T13:02:41Z")
I have an old Nook Simple Touch. Came out in 2011, $99 list price. Had mine since 2013, I think. (I right away rooted it and installed Cyanogenmod OS, use FBreader and other, old, Android 2.2 apps on it.) It’s a bit old… --- ## [Help with plant ID please](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plant-id-please/847454)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-plant-id-please/847454 "2020-02-04T05:28:14Z")
Specifically this one. Southern coast area of California. Pen for scale. It’s coming up all over my yard and I’m concerned it might be bad for my cats. Any help appreciated. Thanks. --- ## [Is the Southern Cross visible from my current location?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-southern-cross-visible-from-my-current-location/847077)
**Author:** [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-southern-cross-visible-from-my-current-location/847077 "2020-02-04T02:36:45Z")
(10.24, -85.84) Yes the west coast of Costa Rica. I have been unable to find info online for this date and location, just hints that it should be visible. But at what times and what area of the sky? If someone could … --- ## [Is Planters really getting rid of Mr. Peanut?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-planters-really-getting-rid-of-mr-peanut/847130)
**Author:** [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-planters-really-getting-rid-of-mr-peanut/847130 "2020-02-04T02:34:47Z")
Are they really discontinuing their 100+ year old mascot? Or is the demise of Mr. Peanut a publicity stunt like “IHOB”? --- ## [Evidence Admission in the OJ Trial](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evidence-admission-in-the-oj-trial/847437)
**Author:** [@pigtwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pigtwo)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evidence-admission-in-the-oj-trial/847437 "2020-02-04T00:18:23Z")
Hello all, I’m pretty late to the party but I watched that OJ trial mini-series(The People v. O.J Simpson) and it got me curious about some of the way evidence is admitted(not sure this is the right word). As a note, a… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=391) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=393)