# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=430 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 431 --- ## [French grammar question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-grammar-question/839672)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-grammar-question/839672 "2019-09-07T18:36:45Z")
Hi I’d like to know which of the following sentences is correct? I’ve found “tons les pattes” and “toutes les pattes”/“au temps de” and “aux temps de”. I look forward to your feedback. 1. tous or toutes??? …“les din… --- ## [When did federal government regulation of immigration begin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-federal-government-regulation-of-immigration-begin/839712)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-federal-government-regulation-of-immigration-begin/839712 "2019-09-07T15:31:39Z")
At what date in history did the US, or for that matter any other nation, first have official rules of immigration and specific points of entry? Phrased differently, when could you no longer simply step ashore or cross s… --- ## [What property of a PDF file is used for the browser tab title?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-property-of-a-pdf-file-is-used-for-the-browser-tab-title/839746)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2019, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-property-of-a-pdf-file-is-used-for-the-browser-tab-title/839746 "2019-09-07T11:28:44Z")
I just opened a document from a federal government agency for a strategic plan, and the URL tab says “Recipe Book.” How does that happen? --- ## [what does an Internal Auditor do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-an-internal-auditor-do/839787)
**Author:** [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-an-internal-auditor-do/839787 "2019-09-07T03:30:16Z")
I have just had an interesting conversation with a CPA. (that sounds kind of strange in itself. However, she is an interesting person) She tried to explain what an internal auditor in a large company or Government Agenc… --- ## [Night birds](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-birds/839451)
**Author:** [@spikey1006](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spikey1006)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-birds/839451 "2019-09-07T02:33:01Z")
When walking in the evening, we hear quite a lot of noise coming from the foliage and trees. My wife always refers to the sound as “night birds”. It is quite obvious that these are not birds, but what bugs or insects are… --- ## [Are dogs living longer these days?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dogs-living-longer-these-days/839792)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dogs-living-longer-these-days/839792 "2019-09-07T00:54:13Z")
I understand that today many dog owners buy “healthy” food for their pets, and in general give them treatment that parallels current human approaches. Has the life expectancy of dogs increased over the past 20 years or … --- ## [Should I put a vapour barrier on existing indoor wood against foundation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-put-a-vapour-barrier-on-existing-indoor-wood-against-foundation/839571)
**Author:** [@wallewek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wallewek)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-put-a-vapour-barrier-on-existing-indoor-wood-against-foundation/839571 "2019-09-06T23:23:06Z")
Our house is a bilevel, about 50 years old, wood frame, southern Canada. So winters here can get friggin’ cold. The front entrance landing was constructed with a full-width 10-foot spruce 2x8 support beam right against… --- ## [the ecological utility of cremains](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ecological-utility-of-cremains/839476)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ecological-utility-of-cremains/839476 "2019-09-06T23:09:15Z")
People sometimes choose to scatter the ashes of the deceased in natural areas. What is the effect of these cremains on the local ecology? Is there any nutrient value for the plants and trees on which they are scattered… --- ## [My interior door rubs just a bit on the top. Can I saw off a milimeter or so?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-interior-door-rubs-just-a-bit-on-the-top-can-i-saw-off-a-milimeter-or-so/839569)
**Author:** [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2019, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-interior-door-rubs-just-a-bit-on-the-top-can-i-saw-off-a-milimeter-or-so/839569 "2019-09-05T00:50:50Z")
I have used a powersaw to remove small strips on the bottom of a door before. I know there is wood in there that makes the door adjustable without exposing the interior of the door. I believe my doors are hollow except f… --- ## [Hurricane's "engine"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricanes-engine/839676)
**Author:** [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hurricanes-engine/839676 "2019-09-06T06:41:11Z")
I always thought the eye was the “engine” of a hurricane. Going with that I assumed that disruption of the eye via physical obstructions (hills/buildings/etc) or loss of fuel (warm sea water) would be the only way to sl… --- ## [Just prior to Germany invading Poland in 1939...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-prior-to-germany-invading-poland-in-1939/839587)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-prior-to-germany-invading-poland-in-1939/839587 "2019-09-06T03:00:46Z")
…Hitler read an order that blamed the invasion on Poland. Said that Poland had “appealed to weapons.” Referred to “border violations” and Germans that were “driven from house and home,” by the Poles. Was any of that t… --- ## [Q about the Sudan.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-sudan/839617)
**Author:** [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-about-the-sudan/839617 "2019-09-06T02:12:43Z")
My question is about the Sudan region of Africa, the transitional zone where the Sahara gradually becomes the Savannah. This is apparently very desirable real estate and I can’t figure out why. Are there valuable plants … --- ## [Injecting Pure Food Products Like Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/injecting-pure-food-products-like-honey/836829)
**Author:** [@molten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/molten)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/injecting-pure-food-products-like-honey/836829 "2019-09-06T01:48:45Z")
This topic is not about boring and limiting theories, or social norms. Has anyone heard of real life cases of humans or animals being injected stuff like this (into what?) and what were the real life results? --- ## [Have any cults existed without sexual manipulation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-cults-existed-without-sexual-manipulation/839639)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-cults-existed-without-sexual-manipulation/839639 "2019-09-06T01:39:18Z")
Whether it’s a recruitment technique like the Children of God’s Flirty Fishing, a community bonding exercise in Rajneeshpuram, or a means to punish and reward in the the polygamist practicing LDS, Nxivm or Scientology se… --- ## [How to polish a bugle?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-polish-a-bugle/839714)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-polish-a-bugle/839714 "2019-09-06T00:05:52Z")
I have just come into possession of a bugle that was ostensibly a military bugle from when my father was in the Marines in the 1940s. Can this be polished without damaging it? I don’t know if this is lacquered, which I … --- ## [Ses pattes arrière(arrières? )..ses pattes avant/(avants)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ses-pattes-arriere-arrieres-ses-pattes-avant-avants/839688)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2019, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ses-pattes-arriere-arrieres-ses-pattes-avant-avants/839688 "2019-09-05T22:43:29Z")
Hi I’m sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for why I see both ‘pattes arrière/arrières’ and ‘pattes avant/avants’ online. Does it have to do with specificity? I look forward to your feedback. Ses pattes ar… --- ## ["Persistence" of a chemical - what does it mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persistence-of-a-chemical-what-does-it-mean/839740)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persistence-of-a-chemical-what-does-it-mean/839740 "2019-09-05T16:51:44Z")
This articlesays phosgene “persists” for half an hour at temperatures of 21-32 Celsius. Presumably, that isn’t its decomposition temperature, since it remains stable at somewhat high temperatures. So what happens when t… --- ## [Things of the past: Exceeding your time on a public payphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-the-past-exceeding-your-time-on-a-public-payphone/839524)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-of-the-past-exceeding-your-time-on-a-public-payphone/839524 "2019-09-05T15:06:42Z")
I’m in my mid-thirties, which means I’m old enough to remember a time when public coin-operated payphones were ubiquitous but too young to have used them very much before they were replaced by mobile phones. In addition,… --- ## [Taxonomists: help me with the 'ae' ending](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxonomists-help-me-with-the-ae-ending/839679)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxonomists-help-me-with-the-ae-ending/839679 "2019-09-05T14:41:46Z")
As I understand it, the ‘ae’ ending from a taxonomic family is pronounced ‘ah’ or ‘ee’ depending on if it is singular or plural. So I might say the daisy is my favorite Asteraceae (aster-a-cee-ah) -singular- or of all A… --- ## [Apollo 10 vs 11](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-10-vs-11/839570)
**Author:** [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-10-vs-11/839570 "2019-09-05T14:16:35Z")
The crew of Apollo 10 did everything 11 did except land on the moon, get out, and take off from the surface. From a purely technical/difficulty point of view was the Apollo 11 mission significantly more impressive that … --- ## [Dyson Spheres and gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyson-spheres-and-gravity/469078)
**Author:** [@Rapier42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rapier42)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyson-spheres-and-gravity/469078 "2008-10-26T17:31:41Z")
How thick would a Dyson Sphere have to be for a person standing on the inside to experience gravity equal to standing on the Moon? Equal to standing on the Earth? Lets assume it’s constructed of the densest material we… --- ## [Can the melting and boiling points of chemicals be deduced or are they strictly empirical?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-melting-and-boiling-points-of-chemicals-be-deduced-or-are-they-strictly-empirical/839608)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-melting-and-boiling-points-of-chemicals-be-deduced-or-are-they-strictly-empirical/839608 "2019-09-04T23:32:40Z")
With enough computing power could the melting and boiling points of substances be predicted or must they be derived empirically? Could you synthesize/engineer a novel molecule with a particular desired melting or boilin… --- ## [Is "charitable price dumping" legal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-charitable-price-dumping-legal/839537)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-charitable-price-dumping-legal/839537 "2019-09-04T23:28:28Z")
AIUI, it is not legal for big companies like Walmart to deliberately sell products super-cheap for the purpose of driving local competitors out of business. But can a wealthy benefactor price-dump for charitable motives?… --- ## ["Gasoline evaporates at 140 F" - then what is the odor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-evaporates-at-140-f-then-what-is-the-odor/839659)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gasoline-evaporates-at-140-f-then-what-is-the-odor/839659 "2019-09-04T23:03:08Z")
So I read that gasoline evaporates at 140 F, but then what is that strong gasoline odor that is clearly smell-able even at cold air temperature, if not gasoline vapor? Or is that the difference between “evaporate” and “… --- ## [Were electric fans a big hit with consumers from the jump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-electric-fans-a-big-hit-with-consumers-from-the-jump/839456)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-electric-fans-a-big-hit-with-consumers-from-the-jump/839456 "2019-09-04T22:34:57Z")
Although today I am spoiled and won’t settle for less than AC, these must’ve been a godsend in the summer time for people that never had any recourse before, and worked in hot kitchens and factories. Or to help you sle… --- ## [Identify this beetle bug?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beetle-bug/839683)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-beetle-bug/839683 "2019-09-04T17:18:09Z")
Pic. Central South Carolina. --- ## [Who funds the Koch political machine, how much does it cost per year and where does the money go](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-funds-the-koch-political-machine-how-much-does-it-cost-per-year-and-where-does-the-money-go/839565)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-funds-the-koch-political-machine-how-much-does-it-cost-per-year-and-where-does-the-money-go/839565 "2019-09-04T15:19:11Z")
I know the obvious answer is Charles and David Koch fund it, but I read an article once that said the Koch brothers aren’t even the main funders. Supposedly they have a large list of funders\`they organize. So who funds … --- ## [Does male over-representation increase as IQ decreases/mental retardation increases?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-male-over-representation-increase-as-iq-decreases-mental-retardation-increases/839564)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-male-over-representation-increase-as-iq-decreases-mental-retardation-increases/839564 "2019-09-04T14:04:23Z")
To take one study\* which seems to be representative of the overall trend, mental retardation was at 15.1% for males and 9.1% for females. Mental retardation can be broken down into borderline, mild, moderate and severe. … --- ## [Apollo - why the 180 to dock?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-why-the-180-to-dock/837400)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2019, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-why-the-180-to-dock/837400 "2019-09-04T04:22:12Z")
Why did the Apollo commend module have to do a 180 to dock with the lander? --- ## [How do they know Hurricane Dorian will make a sharp right turn?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-know-hurricane-dorian-will-make-a-sharp-right-turn/839588)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-know-hurricane-dorian-will-make-a-sharp-right-turn/839588 "2019-09-03T23:26:13Z")
Based on my experience, I assume that hurricane tracking must be complex and involve a variety of meteorological phenomena, and still leaves us with a good amount of uncertainty. Dorian, as of yesterday, was tracking du… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=429) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=431)