# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=40 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 41 --- ## [ID a specific gun from the bullet. Possible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-specific-gun-from-the-bullet-possible/1019982)
**Author:** [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2025, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-a-specific-gun-from-the-bullet-possible/1019982 "2025-06-23T14:53:45Z")
So I am fond of long form journalism, one genre of which is “true crime” (hopefully no relationship to the 80s era tabloid mag!) How can identifying a specific gun from a bullet even be feasible? I mean, sure caliber c… --- ## [Weird Android Chrome ChatGPT problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-android-chrome-chatgpt-problem/1020016)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2025, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-android-chrome-chatgpt-problem/1020016 "2025-06-23T12:20:13Z")
Some time in the last 2 or 3 days, apparently something in Chrome changed that broke ChatGPT. The page now constantly reloads every half-second or so. First showing the normal URL, then a loading URL. … --- ## [Why do classic names have diminutives / nicknames that change the initial?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-classic-names-have-diminutives-nicknames-that-change-the-initial/1019916)
**Author:** [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2025, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-classic-names-have-diminutives-nicknames-that-change-the-initial/1019916 "2025-06-23T10:46:15Z")
There is - or was - a tendency in English to take very common names and for a nickname to develop that changed out the initial. To wit: Richard —\> Rick—\>Dick. In the past (until it started to be common as slang for a ce… --- ## [Question about a failing electric stovetop burner element](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-failing-electric-stovetop-burner-element/1019813)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2025, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-a-failing-electric-stovetop-burner-element/1019813 "2025-06-23T09:07:22Z")
We have an electric stove that has two two-burner cartridge inserts (for a total of 4 burners). The left side cartridge insert has large and small traditional coil-style burners, like the kind Grandma used, where the pan… --- ## [How Much of the USS Constitution Is Original?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-uss-constitution-is-original/632047 "2025-06-22T17:18:58Z")
My guess is…zero. The ship was reconstructed several times (my uncle has an ash tray made from copper removed from the ship in 1927, during rebuilding). Wood rots, and most of the hull probably has been replaced several… --- ## [Could the US destroy Israel's nuclear weapons capability?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-us-destroy-israels-nuclear-weapons-capability/1019979)
**Author:** [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-us-destroy-israels-nuclear-weapons-capability/1019979 "2025-06-22T15:31:59Z")
This thread made me wonder whether Israel’s nuclear capability could be destroyed similarly to Iran’s: Obviously Iran couldn’t do it, and it’s different because Israel is thought to already have operational nuclear we… --- ## [UK / USA inheritance - what sort of professional do I need?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-usa-inheritance-what-sort-of-professional-do-i-need/1018773)
**Author:** [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2025, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-usa-inheritance-what-sort-of-professional-do-i-need/1018773 "2025-06-22T02:33:54Z")
Factual Questions might be the wrong forum, and I’ll self-report this post (if I can). I am looking for a factual answer, related to legal/country-country accounting advice. Tomorrow (May 24) is a bank holiday in the UK… --- ## [What would a diadem made of radium (and diamonds) be like](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-diadem-made-of-radium-and-diamonds-be-like/1019175)
**Author:** [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [June 21, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-diadem-made-of-radium-and-diamonds-be-like/1019175 "2025-06-21T21:46:12Z")
So I was reading some of the lesser Oz books and came across the following passage in The Road to Oz. but before they left the great Throne-Room King Evardo added to Ozma’s birthday presents a diadem of diamonds set in… --- ## [Automotive “Start/Stop” Systems -?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automotive-start-stop-systems/1019820)
**Author:** [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [June 21, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/automotive-start-stop-systems/1019820 "2025-06-21T14:40:34Z")
“Start/Stop” is the name Ford attaches to the system that kills the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop. I don’t know what other manufacturers call it. Be that as it may I’m pretty sure there must be a point of dimi… --- ## [Setting static DNS server addresses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-static-dns-server-addresses/1019897)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setting-static-dns-server-addresses/1019897 "2025-06-20T23:31:30Z")
As a victim of the CenturyLink outage yesterday, I fixed the issue by setting my DNS server to Google’s Pri: 8.8.8.8 Sec: 8.8.4.4 But I could have used Cloudflare’s server at 1.1.1.1 My question is, what would the ef… --- ## [Is there any evidence the Romans knew lead was bad for you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-evidence-the-romans-knew-lead-was-bad-for-you/1019789)
**Author:** [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-evidence-the-romans-knew-lead-was-bad-for-you/1019789 "2025-06-20T23:29:49Z")
Avoiding hijacking another thread on this. It was suggested on this thread that the ancient Romans may have known about the.long term dangers of ingesting lead. Specifically @TriPolar said: I’m pretty skeptical of thi… --- ## [Legal Q: Blackmail/Extortion — in reverse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-q-blackmail-extortion-in-reverse/1019860)
**Author:** [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-q-blackmail-extortion-in-reverse/1019860 "2025-06-20T20:38:55Z")
Sort of a two-part question about blackmail/extortion; if I’m wrong about the first part, I guess it kinda makes the second part moot — but, if I’m right, I don’t recall ever seeing this come up before: Say you’re in a … --- ## [Karen Read Trial?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karen-read-trial/1019819)
**Author:** [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karen-read-trial/1019819 "2025-06-20T18:21:44Z")
Karen Reed has been through 2 lengthy trials. Legal fees must have been astronomical. While I don’t know anything about her, it’s hard to imagine she could could have come up with that amount of money. Anyone know who pa… --- ## [A new irritating quirk with Mac Mail](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-irritating-quirk-with-mac-mail/1019866)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-irritating-quirk-with-mac-mail/1019866 "2025-06-20T16:36:17Z")
Using a Mac Mini with M1 chip, circa 2020. 8 Gigs Ram. Running Mac OS Sequoia 15.5 Somewhere in the last few OS updates, an amazingly irritating bug has emerged. I use a few Gmail accounts and a work account not in any… --- ## [What is the point of the yellow box worn by shark attack girl?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-the-yellow-box-worn-by-shark-attack-girl/1019884)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-the-yellow-box-worn-by-shark-attack-girl/1019884 "2025-06-20T12:13:24Z")
Leah Lendel is the 9 year old recently almost lost her hand to a shark attack. She is wearing a large yellow box shaped like a cheese wedge. It seems too large to be just for protection as a smaller box would do the sa… --- ## [Adding a link to a YouTube video to an iPhone Home Screen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-a-link-to-a-youtube-video-to-an-iphone-home-screen/1019853)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-a-link-to-a-youtube-video-to-an-iphone-home-screen/1019853 "2025-06-20T03:40:42Z")
Is there a way to add a button to the iPhone Home Screen that links to a specific YouTube video and have it open with the YouTube app and not a browser? My google fu has failed me. --- ## [Credit Card Balance Transfer Fees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-balance-transfer-fees/1019733)
**Author:** [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-balance-transfer-fees/1019733 "2025-06-20T02:15:17Z")
So, how exactly do they work? Let’s say, hypothetically, I transfer a balance of $5,000. The initial fee is 3% of the balance transferred which would be $150 for the first 3 months. Does that mean my minimum payment thos… --- ## [Was the attendance at the June 14 USA Parade lower than hoped for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-attendance-at-the-june-14-usa-parade-lower-than-hoped-for/1019663)
**Author:** [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-attendance-at-the-june-14-usa-parade-lower-than-hoped-for/1019663 "2025-06-20T00:53:57Z")
I wasn’t sure how to phrase this question. Many liberal news sites and I think quite a few mainstream middle-ground ones are suggesting or stating that the parade was a flub. Was it? I don’t know what was expected, but … --- ## [New Iranian nuclear bunker impossible to bomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-iranian-nuclear-bunker-impossible-to-bomb/608938)
**Author:** [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [June 20, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-iranian-nuclear-bunker-impossible-to-bomb/608938 "2025-06-20T00:26:43Z")
Writing this on my iPhone, so it’s hard for me to provide a link. But wouldn’t it be possible to do something like land a few hundred helicopters, and just take over and destroy the facility while defending against whate… --- ## [Laptop Internal Speaker not muting with headphones?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-internal-speaker-not-muting-with-headphones/1019833)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-internal-speaker-not-muting-with-headphones/1019833 "2025-06-19T18:34:09Z")
Ok, this is very weird. Wired headphones are plugged in and working. But the internal laptop speaker has sound coming out? The reason someone uses headphones is to avoid disturbing other people. In my experience the … --- ## [Could AI design and create good video games?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-ai-design-and-create-good-video-games/1017543)
**Author:** [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2025, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-ai-design-and-create-good-video-games/1017543 "2025-06-19T16:09:25Z")
I was re-watching The Empire Strikes Back and was thinking it would be cool to have a first-person game focusing on the Battle of Hoth. We could participate from the POV of an Alliance soldier in the snow trenches, or a … --- ## [Mac Mini M1, 2020 question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mini-m1-2020-question/1019815)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-mini-m1-2020-question/1019815 "2025-06-19T16:06:27Z")
This Mini was a gift, one I’m terribly grateful for. But the RAM is native in the Motherboard with no change of expansion. Anyone know of a work-around? Are there external cases one can place a Mini INTO that essentiall… --- ## [Evelyn Romadka, Vampire Queen Of Chicago. Book References?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evelyn-romadka-vampire-queen-of-chicago-book-references/1019832)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2025, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evelyn-romadka-vampire-queen-of-chicago-book-references/1019832 "2025-06-19T13:13:37Z")
Our subject is Evelyn Romadka, a former citizen of Milwaukee, and later, a leader of a gang of female thieves in Chicago in the pre-WW1 era. Does anybody have a good book title on her? Or even a chapter in a more gener… --- ## [Cannabis tolerance and eating vs smoking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-tolerance-and-eating-vs-smoking/1019010)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2025, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-tolerance-and-eating-vs-smoking/1019010 "2025-06-19T11:36:43Z")
I’ve been eating edibles for a few weeks and I find myself needing more and more to get the same effect. If I switched back to smoking or vaping, would I still have a high tolerance and this need more? Should I plan on t… --- ## [Lockers in school corridors... TV trope](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockers-in-school-corridors-tv-trope/1011547)
**Author:** [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Replies:** 298\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockers-in-school-corridors-tv-trope/1011547 "2025-06-18T21:02:29Z")
A common trope in US television shows is school students interacting (often bullying) in front of lockers in a corridor. Are these lockers in corridor actually a thing in US schools or a manufactured storytelling prop? --- ## [I Need a Cite for a Mass Murder](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-cite-for-a-mass-murder/1019722)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-cite-for-a-mass-murder/1019722 "2025-06-18T20:06:31Z")
Years ago, I made an entry for this mass killing; 17 June 1963 Prospect PA, 7\* killed (shot) female killer, familicide As a cite, I used this; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_rampage\_killers\_(familicides\_in\_the… --- ## [Amazon Prime Video says I am streaming the maximum number of movies at once. Not the case](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-prime-video-says-i-am-streaming-the-maximum-number-of-movies-at-once-not-the-case/1019367)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2025, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-prime-video-says-i-am-streaming-the-maximum-number-of-movies-at-once-not-the-case/1019367 "2025-06-18T19:06:59Z")
Title sets things up. I am watching on a fiber connection, on my Mac computer with a 24" monitor. Other video streams smoothly with this setup, including Netflix. For over a year, viewing material on Amazon Prime hasn’t… --- ## [Watch springs how they release energy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-springs-how-they-release-energy/1019782)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-springs-how-they-release-energy/1019782 "2025-06-18T15:08:52Z")
It doesn’t have to be a watch, it could be an old phonograph. I am having a hard time figuring out how they release energy at a controlled speed using a coiled spring that gradually unwinds? I would also be interested in… --- ## [Does ex post facto apply to HOA rules?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ex-post-facto-apply-to-hoa-rules/1019553)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2025, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ex-post-facto-apply-to-hoa-rules/1019553 "2025-06-18T14:13:53Z")
Hypothetical: You build a shed in your back yard. The next month your HOA (assume you live under an HOA) passes a rule that sheds are not allowed on anyone’s property. Do you have to remove your shed? Can you make th… --- ## [Install games on android phone, get a bunch of spam pop-up crap as well. Any way to control this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-games-on-android-phone-get-a-bunch-of-spam-pop-up-crap-as-well-any-way-to-control-this/1019774)
**Author:** [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-games-on-android-phone-get-a-bunch-of-spam-pop-up-crap-as-well-any-way-to-control-this/1019774 "2025-06-17T19:59:12Z")
My wife installs games willy-nilly and after a few weeks the phone becomes unusable due to all the pop-ups. I go into setting and try to restrict Notification Permissions with limited success. Eventually I do a clean re… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=41)