# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=412 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 413 --- ## [Vitamin D in high latitude animals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vitamin-d-in-high-latitude-animals/843268)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vitamin-d-in-high-latitude-animals/843268 "2019-11-11T19:15:21Z")
At high latitudes in winter, it’s virtually impossible to get a significant amount of vitamin D from sunlight. So how do animals in high latitudes manage in winter and early spring? Also the same question about nocturnal… --- ## [Are the Morman's killed in Mexico related to Mitt Romney?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-mormans-killed-in-mexico-related-to-mitt-romney/843178)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-mormans-killed-in-mexico-related-to-mitt-romney/843178 "2019-11-11T17:40:06Z")
I remember after Mitt won the R primary there were news stories about his relatives in a Mormon Mexican community. I think it was a great-great grandfather with several wives? Polygamy creates large extended families. T… --- ## [Fugitive Slave Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-slave-law/843065)
**Author:** [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-slave-law/843065 "2019-11-11T15:18:48Z")
In the movie Harriet, the people involved in the Underground Railroad started panicking immediately upon learning that the Fugitive Slave Law had been passed. Did the law go into effect immediately upon passage, as depi… --- ## [Why did Texas want to be annexed by the United States?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-texas-want-to-be-annexed-by-the-united-states/843091)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2019, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-texas-want-to-be-annexed-by-the-united-states/843091 "2019-11-11T03:43:45Z")
It seems strange that an independent country would want to be annexed by another country\*. I have read three reasons why Texas wanted to be annexed. It was horribly in debt and traded sovereignty for having its debt p… --- ## [Topology & Heating Coils](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topology-heating-coils/843221)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topology-heating-coils/843221 "2019-11-10T21:44:02Z")
For whatever reason, I was thinking about water heaters and considering how you would best wrap a coil of wire around it to keep the contents evenly warm. This brought my mind to a math question. Is it always possible … --- ## [Questions about addiction (from biological and psychological perspectives)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-addiction-from-biological-and-psychological-perspectives/843188)
**Author:** [@Kennedy1960](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kennedy1960)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-addiction-from-biological-and-psychological-perspectives/843188 "2019-11-10T17:46:47Z")
The question I’m asking has several subsets to them, and forgive me if I don’t ask them as eloquently or as intelligently as they should be asked. I come from a family of addicts. My father has suffered almost his entir… --- ## [Freudian Slip?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freudian-slip/843232)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freudian-slip/843232 "2019-11-10T15:48:52Z")
I have wondered for a while now. Is there really such a thing as a Freudian slip? I mean, when people say something that seems to show their hidden intent, is that really subconsciously done? Or is it just coincidence? I… --- ## [Can an acting president (of the US) do anything the president can or are they just a seat warmer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-acting-president-of-the-us-do-anything-the-president-can-or-are-they-just-a-seat-warmer/843160)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2019, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-acting-president-of-the-us-do-anything-the-president-can-or-are-they-just-a-seat-warmer/843160 "2019-11-10T07:00:16Z")
NOTE: This has nothing to do with current politics. I was watching a TV show where Air Force One goes missing with the president and the Secretary of State is sworn in as acting president (I know, I know…tv show manage… --- ## [Towing parked cars - how?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/towing-parked-cars-how/843180)
**Author:** [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/towing-parked-cars-how/843180 "2019-11-10T02:41:48Z")
I watched some you tube videos of cars being towed (much more interesting than it sounds, actually!) and I have some technical questions. The modern tow truck has an undercar hoist. The truck can get under a car and pic… --- ## [Notes on my iPhone keel crashing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notes-on-my-iphone-keel-crashing/843215)
**Author:** [@Mislav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mislav)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notes-on-my-iphone-keel-crashing/843215 "2019-11-09T21:18:21Z")
The notes app on my iPhone keeps crashing. I tried restarting my iPhone, disconnecting from Wi-fi… Nothing changed. I remembet having the same problem few years ago. I remember finding a solution… something with typing i… --- ## [Identify tool being used by highway worker](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-tool-being-used-by-highway-worker/843156)
**Author:** [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-tool-being-used-by-highway-worker/843156 "2019-11-08T22:49:52Z")
A few weeks ago, there was a major traffic accident on a highway nearby my house (a gravel truck hit a car and toppled over). A few hours later, I was driving down that highway and spent some time stopped because sever… --- ## ["Don't fill tank to max on hot days" - still true?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-fill-tank-to-max-on-hot-days-still-true/843105)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-fill-tank-to-max-on-hot-days-still-true/843105 "2019-11-08T22:09:55Z")
Does the advice about not filling a car tank to the max in hot weather still apply? (The fear being that heat-expanded gasoline would start oozing into the catalytic converter or outside the tank) On a relevant note, by… --- ## [Changing An Electrical Outlet Without Turning The Power Off](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-an-electrical-outlet-without-turning-the-power-off/548545)
**Author:** [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-an-electrical-outlet-without-turning-the-power-off/548545 "2019-11-08T21:14:54Z")
I recently had an outlet blow and my landlord came in, turned off the breakers and replaced the outlet in about five minutes. I didn’t realize it was so easy to do. Anyway I was talking to a mechanic at a factory where … --- ## [Group self-sorting: a math question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/group-self-sorting-a-math-question/843080)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/group-self-sorting-a-math-question/843080 "2019-11-08T19:28:22Z")
I have a question about the math of self-sorting behavior in groups. Let’s say I have a high school band of 60 kids. All band kids are introverts who only know x number of other kids from their own band - to start with,… --- ## [Can anyone be taught to fly a plane?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-be-taught-to-fly-a-plane/833682)
**Author:** [@Dunmurry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunmurry)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-be-taught-to-fly-a-plane/833682 "2019-11-08T17:53:11Z")
Well I was wondering if learning to fly a plane like an Airbus or Boeing type aircraft is something anyone can learn or not. For example, I have an aunt who drives a car and always gives it too much rev and had been know… --- ## [Ibuprofen as a sleep aid? WTF!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ibuprofen-as-a-sleep-aid-wtf/205063)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ibuprofen-as-a-sleep-aid-wtf/205063 "2019-11-08T17:38:42Z")
I’ve been married to this beautiful, but crazy \[ethnicity deleted\] woman for over 23 years. So inferring that she’s out of her mind will only be met with agreement. When my wife can’t get to sleep she takes an Ibuprofen… --- ## [How long is a pickled sausage good for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-pickled-sausage-good-for/843165)
**Author:** [@jonpluc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonpluc)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-pickled-sausage-good-for/843165 "2019-11-08T12:26:12Z")
Im talking about Polish sausage floating in a vinager concoction in a deep jar. Something you often see for sale on the counter at a bar or gas station. Letting the sausage link sit in the brine is supposed to pickle it … --- ## [Impeachment sentencing question.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-sentencing-question/842994)
**Author:** [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-sentencing-question/842994 "2019-11-08T05:12:16Z")
Just the facts, so I chose General Questions. Hypothetical : A President is impeached for a crime that would get an ordinary Joe a few years in Prison. The case is absolutely air tight. What happens if the VP/incoming … --- ## [Can a trigger a motion sensor light by turning on a porch light?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-trigger-a-motion-sensor-light-by-turning-on-a-porch-light/843119)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [November 8, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-trigger-a-motion-sensor-light-by-turning-on-a-porch-light/843119 "2019-11-08T00:48:52Z")
What I would like to do is mount a couple of solar powered LED lights deeper back on my property. Solar because I don’t want to run wires to these far places. But I would like them to come on when I flip my porch light… --- ## [What would happen to a body left on the moon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-body-left-on-the-moon/843063)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-a-body-left-on-the-moon/843063 "2019-11-07T21:55:22Z")
Hello Everyone, Just wondering if an astronaut dies on the moon and his body was left there, what would happen to it? Would it decompose or mummify? Would it make a difference if it was in a space suit or not? I was … --- ## [4F = lacking four front teeth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4f-lacking-four-front-teeth/842931)
**Author:** [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4f-lacking-four-front-teeth/842931 "2019-11-07T20:44:00Z")
Claim: The disqualifying code of 4F for military service dates back to the Civil War when recruits were required to have at least four teeth in front. They needed them for tearing open gun powder packages while their ha… --- ## [Does an attorney need consent to represent someone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-an-attorney-need-consent-to-represent-someone/843139)
**Author:** [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-an-attorney-need-consent-to-represent-someone/843139 "2019-11-07T19:30:59Z")
I’m going to try to make this as general as I can. Let’s say that someone gets a desk appearance ticket\* for a misdemeanor. They don’t show up for court on the appointed day. There’s a public defender type assigned to … --- ## [About the Fed supporting the repurchase market (the repo market)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-fed-supporting-the-repurchase-market-the-repo-market/843048)
**Author:** [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-fed-supporting-the-repurchase-market-the-repo-market/843048 "2019-11-07T14:29:32Z")
I am not a financial person, and I don’t understand specialty markets like the overnight repurchase market. The Fed has been intervening in this market a lot lately to prop it up. There is a lot of speculation as to why … --- ## [Generation of random numbers (for one-time pads) before 1950ish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-of-random-numbers-for-one-time-pads-before-1950ish/842954)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generation-of-random-numbers-for-one-time-pads-before-1950ish/842954 "2019-11-07T13:46:43Z")
How were random numbers generated for one-time pads before the late 1940s, i.e. before radioactive decay, thermal noise, or other fundamentally random phenomena could be readily measured? Physical methods that might have… --- ## [What is the point of teaching kids set theory?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-teaching-kids-set-theory/841955)
**Author:** [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Replies:** 90\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-teaching-kids-set-theory/841955 "2019-11-07T13:40:56Z")
This post reminded me of this question. I grew up in the 80s. I took math all through primary education and through two years college math (Calc 1, Calc 2, DiffEq, something else I don’t remember). I don’t ever really… --- ## [Stupid question about potatoes and electricity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-question-about-potatoes-and-electricity/843077)
**Author:** [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-question-about-potatoes-and-electricity/843077 "2019-11-07T13:39:26Z")
My coworker was telling us this morning about how he used that trick where if you break off a light bulb trying to unscrew it, stick a potato on the broken part and unscrew it that way. Of course he was Mr. Safety and s… --- ## [Would a "landmine" that just has bullets pointing upward triggered by weight actually work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-landmine-that-just-has-bullets-pointing-upward-triggered-by-weight-actually-work/843057)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-landmine-that-just-has-bullets-pointing-upward-triggered-by-weight-actually-work/843057 "2019-11-07T03:12:21Z")
In the newest Rambo film Rambo sets up a simple trap but putting a bunch of bullets in metal tubes (looked like 7.62 or 5.56) and burying them so that the bullet tip just barely pokes out of the ground. The implication o… --- ## [BMW oil level indicator](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bmw-oil-level-indicator/842962)
**Author:** [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 7, 2019, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bmw-oil-level-indicator/842962 "2019-11-07T01:43:34Z")
I recently purchased a 2012 BMW X5 with 3.0 L engine. Information tells me the engine takes 6.9 Qt. of oil. Before changing the engine oil, indicator shows oil at MAX Level. So with no dip stick i am interested in how… --- ## [Mac password recovery](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-password-recovery/842952)
**Author:** [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-password-recovery/842952 "2019-11-06T20:19:12Z")
Hi, all! Non-Mac user here. I am trying to help a friend who is an elderly widow, whose late husband passed away early this year. He was quite tech savvy and took care of all the computer needs in the family. She neede… --- ## [More bizarre MS behaviour: Jumping windows](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-bizarre-ms-behaviour-jumping-windows/843079)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-bizarre-ms-behaviour-jumping-windows/843079 "2019-11-06T18:03:33Z")
I have MS Windows 10 on my work computer. Recently it has found a new way to annoy me. I open a drive on my desktop, and go down to the file I want. (There are thousands of files.) I do stuff. For example: I’ll run … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=411) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=413)