# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=398 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 399 --- ## [Trivial Sublime?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-sublime/846294)
**Author:** [@MG2580](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MG2580)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trivial-sublime/846294 "2020-01-13T15:23:19Z")
Does anyone know what this means? --- ## [Why are laptop hard drives more expensive than USB hard drives?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-laptop-hard-drives-more-expensive-than-usb-hard-drives/846124)
**Author:** [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-laptop-hard-drives-more-expensive-than-usb-hard-drives/846124 "2020-01-13T03:45:11Z")
I can buy a 4tb USB3 external hard drive for around about 50GBP It contains a 2.5" 5400RPM SATA hard drive and a small circuit board to interface SATA to USB3 I can’t buy a 4TB 2.5" 5400 RPM hard drive on its own for l… --- ## [2008 Toyota Solara (Camry) idling too fast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2008-toyota-solara-camry-idling-too-fast/846311)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2008-toyota-solara-camry-idling-too-fast/846311 "2020-01-12T18:56:12Z")
This car is idling at 1500. I don’t know what spec is on this car but this seems faster than it used to be and the engine sounds like it’s revving up, like it’s getting some gas from the pedal. I can’t find what it shoul… --- ## [Trump Presidential Library](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-presidential-library/846299)
**Author:** [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-presidential-library/846299 "2020-01-12T13:12:30Z")
I’ve just seen an articlespeculating about a possible location for the Trump Presidential Library in coastal Florida. Leaving aside his well-known dislike of books and reading, and that the discussed site just looks lik… --- ## [At Illinois Indoor Gardening Stores, Are You Allowed To Speak Openly About What You're Growing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-illinois-indoor-gardening-stores-are-you-allowed-to-speak-openly-about-what-youre-growing/846034)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-illinois-indoor-gardening-stores-are-you-allowed-to-speak-openly-about-what-youre-growing/846034 "2020-01-11T21:29:29Z")
…or do you have to play this game you play at the head shop, where you pretend what you’re buying is for “tobacco” or unspecified “herbs,” when everyone knows what you’re buying is for cannabis? I plan to visit a couple… --- ## [Low Dose/Baby Aspirin ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-dose-baby-aspirin/846158)
**Author:** [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-dose-baby-aspirin/846158 "2020-01-11T19:38:16Z")
How did it come to be this product is 81 mg? Why not 80? 82? 100? --- ## [Could I get the Straight Dope on the Millennium Challenge 2002?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-get-the-straight-dope-on-the-millennium-challenge-2002/845924)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-get-the-straight-dope-on-the-millennium-challenge-2002/845924 "2020-01-11T18:15:09Z")
Ever since the exercise was done, the Millennium Challenge 2002 has been always brought out as an example of the US military/government ignoring any results that contradict their own set-in-stone doctrines and as an exam… --- ## [Camera phone question.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-phone-question/846227)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camera-phone-question/846227 "2020-01-11T13:32:41Z")
Why does the “selfie” mode of my smartphone camera show me as though I’m looking in a mirror? Is there some technological reason it can’t take my real picture? I really hate it. --- ## ["Locked for editing by another user"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locked-for-editing-by-another-user/846223)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locked-for-editing-by-another-user/846223 "2020-01-11T05:32:49Z")
I went to open a passworded Word document this morning and got this message. But there is only one other computer in the house and it is presently turned off. Additionally, I know that this file is NOT open on that compu… --- ## [What happens if a newly transplanted heart simply won't start beating? (don't need answer fast!)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-newly-transplanted-heart-simply-wont-start-beating-dont-need-answer-fast/846189)
**Author:** [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-newly-transplanted-heart-simply-wont-start-beating-dont-need-answer-fast/846189 "2020-01-11T00:33:29Z")
As heart transplants have become more and more common, I’ve been wondering about this. It’s not as if there’s a second heart in case the first one won’t work. There’s a living person on the operating table with a hole in… --- ## [Smartphone questions from a Luddite](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-questions-from-a-luddite/846232)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-questions-from-a-luddite/846232 "2020-01-10T20:55:18Z")
OK - as I mentioned last week, I finally got a smartphone. I ended up with a Samsung Galaxy s7. For now I am still using my Page Plus account which only has 100 KB data each month. I can see that will probably not work! … --- ## [Why did the water freeze in this pattern?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-water-freeze-in-this-pattern/846102)
**Author:** [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-water-freeze-in-this-pattern/846102 "2020-01-10T20:33:20Z")
We moved from California to Connecticut last year, and one of the joys (?) of New England living is the cold winters. On our back balcony is a big empty plant pot, waiting for spring planting, along with the small dish-… --- ## [Going postal over postage. Need answer fast!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-postal-over-postage-need-answer-fast/846165)
**Author:** [@WhyWhyWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyWhyWhy)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-postal-over-postage-need-answer-fast/846165 "2020-01-09T16:28:59Z")
Help! I can’t risk getting fired over this. Making a mistake would be hugely costly and I have kids that get hungry from time to time. I’ve spent an embarrassingly large amount of time at the US Postal Service website an… --- ## [AWS S3 backup has objects not files](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aws-s3-backup-has-objects-not-files/844842)
**Author:** [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aws-s3-backup-has-objects-not-files/844842 "2020-01-10T19:06:54Z")
Can anyone explain why AWS S3 doesn’t use a file system like Linux? My understanding is that it uses objects. What is the logic in doing this? What is this catering to? Here is my concern about this. Using Linux, for ba… --- ## [Going Out in the Cold with a Cold](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-out-in-the-cold-with-a-cold/846117)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-out-in-the-cold-with-a-cold/846117 "2020-01-10T15:44:25Z")
Okay, I know going out in the cold doesn’t give you a cold. But if you have a cold, does going out in the cold make it worse? I’m going either way, because I have to. --- ## [Ordering Personal Checks vs. Business Checks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-personal-checks-vs-business-checks/846008)
**Author:** [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2020, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-personal-checks-vs-business-checks/846008 "2020-01-10T08:56:28Z")
I have a small business (I’m the only employee) and a business checking account. My bank only provided me with 6 free checks upon opening my business checking account, so I need to order more. In the past, I’ve only ever… --- ## [Is there an official unit for “seconds per second”?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-official-unit-for-seconds-per-second/846093)
**Author:** [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2020, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-official-unit-for-seconds-per-second/846093 "2020-01-10T07:41:51Z")
I have a joke I do from time to time where I announce I’m a time traveller. I can travel forward in time! Specifically, I can travel forward in time at a rate of one second per second. :slight\_smile: (I didn’t say it wa… --- ## [High Deductible Health Insurance - weird amount applied to deductible](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-deductible-health-insurance-weird-amount-applied-to-deductible/846082)
**Author:** [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-deductible-health-insurance-weird-amount-applied-to-deductible/846082 "2020-01-10T00:26:59Z")
I’ve been trying to get better educated on high deductible health plans, and my googling on a specific question wasn’t fruitful so I thought I might come to the dope (long time lurker, infrequent poster). Since it’s the… --- ## [Can wearing contacts too long damage your eyes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-wearing-contacts-too-long-damage-your-eyes/339782)
**Author:** [@spankari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankari)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-wearing-contacts-too-long-damage-your-eyes/339782 "2020-01-09T22:16:37Z")
I’ve been wearing contacts for about 10 years now and I typically leave them in for up to 6 months at a time. I’ve used mostly Acuvue but recently switched to Night and Day disposable contacts which are supposed to be s… --- ## [What has completely disappeared from planet earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-completely-disappeared-from-planet-earth/845899)
**Author:** [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-completely-disappeared-from-planet-earth/845899 "2020-01-09T21:32:46Z")
Other than extinct organisms and species what else animate or inanimate material, element or form has completely disappeared from planet Earth. --- ## [Help ID this bird please](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-bird-please/846011)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-id-this-bird-please/846011 "2020-01-09T20:36:32Z")
Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/dfb9a210-4033-4d9b-8b25-87cf25308ee7.png Any help appreciated, thanks. --- ## [Is there a common food that could serve as Bachelor Chow? Or would be close?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-could-serve-as-bachelor-chow-or-would-be-close/845350)
**Author:** [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-could-serve-as-bachelor-chow-or-would-be-close/845350 "2020-01-09T19:16:04Z")
In “Futurama,” Philip Fry is often seeing consuming “Bachelor Chow,” which as the name would suggest is a commercial food made to feed a human. The implication is that it’s boring to eat but provides a person with the r… --- ## [Why are houses blowing up all the time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-houses-blowing-up-all-the-time/846077)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-houses-blowing-up-all-the-time/846077 "2020-01-09T18:25:31Z")
Seems like about once a week, the evening news reports another house somewhere in the US has exploded due to a natural gas leak. I don’t recall hearing about these with such frequency in the past, even as recently as te… --- ## [Samsung Galaxy s10e problem with notifying me of texts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samsung-galaxy-s10e-problem-with-notifying-me-of-texts/846147)
**Author:** [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samsung-galaxy-s10e-problem-with-notifying-me-of-texts/846147 "2020-01-09T16:28:26Z")
My Samsung Galaxy plays a little “bing-bong” when I get a text. But only for some texts. Sometimes it’s resolutely silent, and I don’t know that a new text has arrived (which puts a hitch into text conversations). Try… --- ## [Is heroin/alcohol withdrawal really fatal? Don’t need answer fast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-heroin-alcohol-withdrawal-really-fatal-don-t-need-answer-fast/845634)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-heroin-alcohol-withdrawal-really-fatal-don-t-need-answer-fast/845634 "2020-01-09T05:58:14Z")
Most of my drug and alcohol education came from the worst of the DARE program where one sip of coffee was considered a dangerous drug. I do remember hearing about mental and physical addictions. Marijuana is supposedly … --- ## [Holiday pay for working](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holiday-pay-for-working/846057)
**Author:** [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holiday-pay-for-working/846057 "2020-01-09T04:16:33Z")
Our company got bought out last year and one of the changes is that we don’t get paid extra for working on a holiday. We can work that day or one of the weekend days but nothing extra. I work at a nursing home that is pa… --- ## [Workwear around the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workwear-around-the-world/846032)
**Author:** [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workwear-around-the-world/846032 "2020-01-09T01:23:47Z")
What do carpenters and laborers wear in other countries? In the US, the usual standard is carpenter pants. Usually made of cotton denim or duck/drill fabric, loose fit, and extra pockets on the legs in tall skinny shape… --- ## [How long did it take the workings of communism to die out in eastern Europe?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-the-workings-of-communism-to-die-out-in-eastern-europe/846019)
**Author:** [@rosecoloredboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rosecoloredboy)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-the-workings-of-communism-to-die-out-in-eastern-europe/846019 "2020-01-08T23:12:30Z")
I know the secret police and the authoritarian trappings of communism disappeared pretty much immediately, but I imagine that it took a while for people to figure out capitalism, and that a lot of the old socialist indus… --- ## [Why did grapes become the defacto wine making fruit?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-grapes-become-the-defacto-wine-making-fruit/845713)
**Author:** [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2020, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-grapes-become-the-defacto-wine-making-fruit/845713 "2020-01-08T22:59:48Z")
The tread title pretty much sums up the question. Why did grapes become the defacto wine making fruit? Obviously you can make wine from a wide variety of sugar containing plant material. I’ve got an uncle that makes a ve… --- ## [Disguised as dancing bear?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disguised-as-dancing-bear/845951)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disguised-as-dancing-bear/845951 "2020-01-08T22:34:04Z")
In the Aubrey-Maturin novel by Patrick O’Brian “Post Captain”, Aubrey is forced to wear a bear costume and pass as a dancing bear to get out of France. Am I completely imagining it that this was inspired by a supposed tr… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=397) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=399)