# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=43 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 44 --- ## [First EV road trip - please walk me through](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157)
**Author:** [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157 "2025-05-31T22:29:47Z")
I’m going to drive from Nashville to Knoxville next week. My car should be capable of doing the one-way trip. It has a range of 320 miles, and Knoxville is only about 180 miles away. I plan to use Eco mode and drive 7… --- ## [Will a bad car battery not take a jump and then work just fine?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-bad-car-battery-not-take-a-jump-and-then-work-just-fine/1004290)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [May 31, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-bad-car-battery-not-take-a-jump-and-then-work-just-fine/1004290 "2025-05-31T20:01:29Z")
My car wouldn’t start on Friday and still would not after attempting to jump it for 10-15 minutes. The next day, I had a tow truck out there to tow it to a mechanic. He tried starting it and to my surprise, it started … --- ## [If you were running on a inclined, \*manual\* treadmill with no internal friction, would you eventually end up running infinitely fast?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-running-on-a-inclined-manual-treadmill-with-no-internal-friction-would-you-eventually-end-up-running-infinitely-fast/1018968)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-running-on-a-inclined-manual-treadmill-with-no-internal-friction-would-you-eventually-end-up-running-infinitely-fast/1018968 "2025-05-30T16:44:08Z")
Most treadmills have motors, but there are also unpowered treadmills in which the belt moves just from action of the user running on the treadmill. These manual treadmills are typically on an incline. The incline helps g… --- ## [Converting German Bolt Action Rifles to Semi-automatic fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-german-bolt-action-rifles-to-semi-automatic-fire/1018972)
**Author:** [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2025, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-german-bolt-action-rifles-to-semi-automatic-fire/1018972 "2025-05-30T12:28:43Z")
In WWII, the allies experimented with converting Lee-Enfield rifles to semi-automatic firing weapons. The US already had the semi-auto M1 Garand, and so didn’t have to do this. And the Germans tried to invent semi-auto… --- ## [Question about weightlifting and nutrition - help an old man out](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-weightlifting-and-nutrition-help-an-old-man-out/1018860)
**Author:** [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [May 30, 2025, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-weightlifting-and-nutrition-help-an-old-man-out/1018860 "2025-05-30T12:18:51Z")
I’m 50 years old, have a sedentary job, and except for walking the dog I don’t do much exercise. I did martial arts in my 20’s but haven’t been to the gym in 25 years. A colleague works on muscle wasting in the elderly … --- ## [Question about battery life and distance traveled on an e-scooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-battery-life-and-distance-traveled-on-an-e-scooter/1018845)
**Author:** [@Cachalot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cachalot)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-battery-life-and-distance-traveled-on-an-e-scooter/1018845 "2025-05-29T21:12:04Z")
I ride an electric scooter as my primary method of getting around. I have a question regarding power usage and battery life. I’m hoping that the engineering types here can help me out. Battery life is shown as a display… --- ## [Home phone telephone Easter egg: calling your own phone line?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-phone-telephone-easter-egg-calling-your-own-phone-line/940024)
**Author:** [@Thumper\_Stauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper_Stauss)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2025, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-phone-telephone-easter-egg-calling-your-own-phone-line/940024 "2025-05-29T11:47:16Z")
In the 1980s, was there a way to call your home phone from the same home phone (same line) by calling your telephone number, but in reverse. I know this sounds weird. My adult brain is trying to process how much to belie… --- ## [Getting 3D printing done for me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-3d-printing-done-for-me/990003)
**Author:** [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-3d-printing-done-for-me/990003 "2025-05-28T22:40:45Z")
I’m fairly sure this belongs here rather than CS. I need several small objects for a project I’m working on. I have no experience nor, I assume, talent in sculpting, carving, etc. The easiest thing would be to 3D-print … --- ## [Who was Princess Polny?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-princess-polny/1016877)
**Author:** [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2025, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-princess-polny/1016877 "2025-04-13T09:51:34Z")
In a book I’m reading, I came across this photo of British royal photographer Cecil Beaton and his friends Tilly Losch, Adele Astaire, Tallulah Bankhead, and Princess Polny. Tallulah, many people know – a famous actre… --- ## [Help me figure out if I can use passkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-if-i-can-use-passkeys/1018757)
**Author:** [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-figure-out-if-i-can-use-passkeys/1018757 "2025-05-28T16:38:39Z")
I’m old (pushing 72) and not really all that tech-savvy, so please, bear with me. I’ve read a bit about passkeys on the web, and I kinda understand how they work and why they might be a good thing; however, I have trust… --- ## [Do PCs last longer than they used to?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pcs-last-longer-than-they-used-to/1018816)
**Author:** [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pcs-last-longer-than-they-used-to/1018816 "2025-05-27T17:16:30Z")
I am presently typing this on a laptop I bought almost five years ago. This computer is used daily, and it remains a fast, reliable computer for my job, gaming, and general needs. The battery doesn’t last like it used … --- ## [4 equations, 4 variables. Why can't I solve it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-equations-4-variables-why-cant-i-solve-it/1018582)
**Author:** [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2025, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-equations-4-variables-why-cant-i-solve-it/1018582 "2025-05-26T10:05:45Z")
I found a math/geometry/trig problem online. You’re given a triangle, and some corner angles, and asked to find “X”. \[Album\] Finding X … --- ## [Half-Assed or Half-Fast?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-assed-or-half-fast/78553)
**Author:** [@Photog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Photog)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2025, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-assed-or-half-fast/78553 "2025-05-25T23:41:59Z")
When describing the sloppy or shoddy completion of a task, is the correct term ‘half-assed’ or ‘half-fast’? I’ve always thought it was the former, however SWMBO insists that it is the latter. In any event, what’s the ori… --- ## [How do you properly pluralize "Lucky So and So"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-pluralize-lucky-so-and-so/1018609)
**Author:** [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-pluralize-lucky-so-and-so/1018609 "2025-05-25T00:09:44Z")
The title says it all. Well, not all, but most of it. I’m in the process of renaming my band, and we want to be The Lucky So And Sos. Or is it Lucky So And So’s? Or Lucky So And Soes? Lucky So And Soze? I understand th… --- ## [Interim Pontiff?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interim-pontiff/1017537)
**Author:** [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interim-pontiff/1017537 "2025-05-24T14:02:13Z")
When the Pope…the leader of the Roman Catholic Church…dies, they, of course, have a funeral, and go into a Conclave where they pursue the task of electing a new pope. This could take days, if not weeks. Neither nations… --- ## [Realtor’s lawsuit and current practices](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtor-s-lawsuit-and-current-practices/1017156)
**Author:** [@Sooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sooner)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realtor-s-lawsuit-and-current-practices/1017156 "2025-05-24T01:15:02Z")
The National Association of Realtors recently settled a series of lawsuits. One of the terms was to end the practice, known as “tying,” meant that sellers were essentially required to pay a commission to the buyer’s age… --- ## [No transplants for Primary Pulmonary Hypertension?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-transplants-for-primary-pulmonary-hypertension/1018714)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-transplants-for-primary-pulmonary-hypertension/1018714 "2025-05-23T22:14:58Z")
Nothing personal, something I saw in an ER rerun “Dear Abby” from Season 10. Apparently from the episode (2003), it implies that that’s not something that will get you on a waiting list for a transplant. From the ep: … --- ## [Is there any way of sending the IRS a pdf of your paper tax return?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-of-sending-the-irs-a-pdf-of-your-paper-tax-return/1018639)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-of-sending-the-irs-a-pdf-of-your-paper-tax-return/1018639 "2025-05-22T20:17:22Z")
As usual, I take advantage of the automatic 2 month extension given to non-residents to file US tax returns. I never owe anything anyway, given the foreign tax credit. Usually, I wait till mid-June and, for reasons, al… --- ## [Does Pope Leo XIV have diplomatic immunity in the United States](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pope-leo-xiv-have-diplomatic-immunity-in-the-united-states/1018230)
**Author:** [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pope-leo-xiv-have-diplomatic-immunity-in-the-united-states/1018230 "2025-05-22T18:29:01Z")
Pope Leo XIV (ne Robert Francis Prevost) is now simultaneously a foreign head of state and a US citizen (and also a Peruvian citizen). What’s the protocol if when he visits the USA? Would he have diplomatic immunity duri… --- ## [What's a "Squibb"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-squibb/542260)
**Author:** [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2025, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-squibb/542260 "2025-05-22T05:08:10Z")
I re-read “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” recently. At one point, he tried to remember what his nagging wife wanted him to buy at the store; one of the possible items was “Squibb’s.” Was that a brand name, or a missp… --- ## [Q about "warp" drives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-warp-drives/634206)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-warp-drives/634206 "2025-05-22T00:14:21Z")
It’s been hypothesized that you could travel faster than light by creating a bubble of space that moved faster than light while the ship remained stationary inside it. But according to Special Relativity, for any referen… --- ## [Facebook account blocked](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-account-blocked/1018223)
**Author:** [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-account-blocked/1018223 "2025-05-21T19:50:38Z")
My wife opened her Facebook account yesterday and it had a screen telling her to provide a video identification to get into her account. After some false starts she finally did this (hampered by a crappy camera and the f… --- ## [How to pronounce the new pope’s birth name](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-new-pope-s-birth-name/1018254 "2025-05-21T16:04:41Z")
Robert Prevost. Is it PRE-vost (rhymes with most)? PRE-vost (rhymes with lost)? Accent on the second syllable? Larry? While we’re on the subject, how do we pronounce Karol Wojtyla (JPII)? In my head it’s Carol (like a C… --- ## [Can eyeglass prescriptions start "going the other direction"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-eyeglass-prescriptions-start-going-the-other-direction/1018348)
**Author:** [@LivingGhost371](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingGhost371)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-eyeglass-prescriptions-start-going-the-other-direction/1018348 "2025-05-21T15:53:09Z")
I’m nearsighted and presbyopic, and ever couple of years I need my glasses strengthened a couple of notches. However this time the results reversed and went the other direction New Prescription: DIstance Glasses: -3.75… --- ## [Lithium-Ion batteries: Are there fire extinguishers can can put out a lithium-ion fire?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lithium-ion-batteries-are-there-fire-extinguishers-can-can-put-out-a-lithium-ion-fire/1018434)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lithium-ion-batteries-are-there-fire-extinguishers-can-can-put-out-a-lithium-ion-fire/1018434 "2025-05-20T22:09:32Z")
Title kinda says it all. I have heard Li-ion battery fires are near impossible to extinguish. They have all they need to burn on their own. Like most people these days I live with these batteries (including one fairly… --- ## [What is this? (aerial image in someone's back yard)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-aerial-image-in-someones-back-yard/1018543)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-aerial-image-in-someones-back-yard/1018543 "2025-05-20T14:25:58Z")
I think FQ is the correct spot for this. I was perusing Google Maps and found this in someone’s rural back yard It is two arcs connected by radiating lines (9 x16 meters). THe arcs ‘focus’ on a centered square structu… --- ## [In Newfoundland you can walk on the mantle of the Earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-newfoundland-you-can-walk-on-the-mantle-of-the-earth/1018562)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-newfoundland-you-can-walk-on-the-mantle-of-the-earth/1018562 "2025-05-20T07:16:31Z")
Is it just a huge slab that somehow got to the surface, or does that mean that there’s a gap in the crust and the mantle is poking up? I’m having trouble understanding. Apparently there is an area called the Tablelands … --- ## [Did Carl Sagan say "a physicist is a hydrogen atom's way of learning about hydrogen atoms"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-carl-sagan-say-a-physicist-is-a-hydrogen-atoms-way-of-learning-about-hydrogen-atoms/1018380)
**Author:** [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-carl-sagan-say-a-physicist-is-a-hydrogen-atoms-way-of-learning-about-hydrogen-atoms/1018380 "2025-05-20T03:48:09Z")
Physicist Brian Cox quoted the beautiful aforementioned phrase on Colbert’s show, attributing it to Carl Sagan. Googling it yielded few results but they seem to be all quoting Brian Cox quoting Carl Sagan. Did Sagan re… --- ## [I don’t listen to podcasts. How do I forbid my echo from offering to play them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-listen-to-podcasts-how-do-i-forbid-my-echo-from-offering-to-play-them/1018558)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-listen-to-podcasts-how-do-i-forbid-my-echo-from-offering-to-play-them/1018558 "2025-05-19T23:50:23Z")
I’d also like to configure the Amazon music app so it never lists any podcasts as available programming when I’m listening in my car. TIA --- ## [Could you train a horse to live on the moon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-train-a-horse-to-live-on-the-moon/1018485)
**Author:** [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-train-a-horse-to-live-on-the-moon/1018485 "2025-05-19T19:50:46Z")
Several decades from now travel to the moon is do-able, but still challenging. A bit like going to Antarctica today - you live a little rough, but humans have a foothold. There are pressurized domes and people live there… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=44)