# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=44 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 45 --- ## [Solar panels to fast-charge an EV](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-panels-to-fast-charge-an-ev/977619)
**Author:** [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-panels-to-fast-charge-an-ev/977619 "2023-01-08T21:15:29Z")
This story features a Shell station in England that now offers only EV charging (no more gas/petrol sales). One sentence caught my attention: The awnings over each charger are equipped with solar panels and can fully c… --- ## [Question about automobile batteries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-automobile-batteries/1018349)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-automobile-batteries/1018349 "2025-05-18T22:10:36Z")
I had an oil change today, which cost $150 (although that did include an air filter) and they told me that I “needed a new battery.” I just bought one last year! They said it was “charging at 510 when it should be at l… --- ## ["Starfish Prime" space nuclear test: how big was the "fireball"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starfish-prime-space-nuclear-test-how-big-was-the-fireball/1018466)
**Author:** [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2025, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starfish-prime-space-nuclear-test-how-big-was-the-fireball/1018466 "2025-05-18T03:25:08Z")
(Using the term “fireball” for the sake of title shorthand, it should properly be called a “debris cloud.”) Starfish Prime, nuclear test, 1962. 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead, detonated at an altitude of 250 miles. Video … --- ## [Diseases vs. Syndromes: Using an apostrophe vs. Turning away from an apostrophe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diseases-vs-syndromes-using-an-apostrophe-vs-turning-away-from-an-apostrophe/1018302)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diseases-vs-syndromes-using-an-apostrophe-vs-turning-away-from-an-apostrophe/1018302 "2025-05-18T00:17:05Z")
Why are syndromes names after people non-apostrophed (Marfan, Klinefelter, Turner, Down) as opposed to diseases (Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Hansen’s)? Any reason other than, well, “that’s just how we do it?… --- ## [Need an Android text database app (description in post)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-an-android-text-database-app-description-in-post/1018388)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 2025, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-an-android-text-database-app-description-in-post/1018388 "2025-05-15T11:10:21Z")
I’m hoping to find an android app that does this, but I’m not even sure how to describe it for a search. What I want to do: Store an arbitrary number of snippets of text (ranging from a few words to a few paragraphs) fo… --- ## [“JH” in Spanish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jh-in-spanish/1018463)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2025, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jh-in-spanish/1018463 "2025-05-17T05:12:22Z")
The current leader of the PGA Championship tournament is Jhonattan Vegas. He’s originally from Venezuela. Over 40 years ago, I took 4 years of high school Spanish and although my memory is admittedly spotty, I don’t ever… --- ## [Does 80 proof alcohol kept in the freezer have the same coolant properties as the equivalent of ice?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-80-proof-alcohol-kept-in-the-freezer-have-the-same-coolant-properties-as-the-equivalent-of-ice/1018448)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-80-proof-alcohol-kept-in-the-freezer-have-the-same-coolant-properties-as-the-equivalent-of-ice/1018448 "2025-05-16T16:44:29Z")
Just curious. I’m going camping this weekend. I’m doing a low-carb thing, so no beer-- I bought a handle of liquor (I think it’s called a ‘handle’-- it’s like the size of 2 fifths. Not that I plan to drink it all myself … --- ## [Help Me With What I Assume is a Physics Joke](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-what-i-assume-is-a-physics-joke/1018368)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-what-i-assume-is-a-physics-joke/1018368 "2025-05-16T01:19:53Z")
The joke appears in the SMBC comic dated May 14, 2025, here. The strip is hilarious (I do understand enough about quantum mechanics to get it), but the caption, which invokes Einstein-Landauer culinary units is just a b… --- ## [Substitute for paver base?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-for-paver-base/1018350)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substitute-for-paver-base/1018350 "2025-05-15T21:41:51Z")
Need answers before Saturday. I am building a paver walkway on the side of the house. Soil is Colorado clay. Paver base needs to be at least 4" and so quite expensive for a path that will get little use. But wait! I… --- ## [What kind of animal could this bone have come from?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-could-this-bone-have-come-from/1018381)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-could-this-bone-have-come-from/1018381 "2025-05-15T17:36:13Z")
I was doing some gardening work today and came across this bone: I believe it’s a vertebra but I can’t imagine what animal of that size could have been in my yard. We are… --- ## [Origin of Yol Bolsun:](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yol-bolsun/264505)
**Author:** [@Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenback)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 2025, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yol-bolsun/264505 "2025-05-15T10:38:17Z")
What is the origin and background of the phrase Yol Bolsun(sp). I knew of a website that explained that it came form the Turkish area (the Russian steppes?), from an ancient(?) dialect known as qip… something or other. I… --- ## [How, um. iron-clad is co-signing a mortgage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-um-iron-clad-is-co-signing-a-mortgage/1018226)
**Author:** [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-um-iron-clad-is-co-signing-a-mortgage/1018226 "2025-05-14T21:10:34Z")
Just looking for info, and I have the feeling that SOMEONE here knows about EVERYTHING. Brief summary: a youngish couple, she’s mid 20s, he’s just about 30, married about two years, no children, though she says they pl… --- ## [Retroactive copyright](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retroactive-copyright/1018334)
**Author:** [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 2025, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retroactive-copyright/1018334 "2025-05-14T11:23:00Z")
Not sure if copyright questions belong here or in cafe society? Anyway in the current season of Doctor Who there’s been speculation that various new characters (Mrs Flood, Belinda) could secretly be a classic character, … --- ## [Excel - Nesting a Roundup OR Rounddown Function in an If Function](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-nesting-a-roundup-or-rounddown-function-in-an-if-function/984920)
**Author:** [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 13, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-nesting-a-roundup-or-rounddown-function-in-an-if-function/984920 "2025-05-13T16:37:42Z")
I have a rather ordinary Excel table that consists of a series of values (columns) attributed to various “clients” (lines) over a year. In column I there’s a sum of the values per client for the first 6 months and in col… --- ## [Anvil rebound redux](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anvil-rebound-redux/1018257)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 13, 2025, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anvil-rebound-redux/1018257 "2025-05-13T13:52:49Z")
I started this post a while back and wanted to re-examine the question. One poster suggested thinking about an anvil made of sand and how making it less “sand-like” would limit the distortion experienced by the workpiec… --- ## [European rail travel and reserved seats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-rail-travel-and-reserved-seats/1017236)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 13, 2025, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-rail-travel-and-reserved-seats/1017236 "2025-05-13T10:05:47Z")
I just reserved a round trip from Amsterdam (NL) to Münster (DE). I bought first class seats. On the outbound trip I got reserved seats. On the return trip I checked the box for reserved seats, but then it said it could … --- ## [US student loan changes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-student-loan-changes/1018173)
**Author:** [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-student-loan-changes/1018173 "2025-05-09T20:58:19Z")
I’d like the FQ answer before any debate. I’ve done searches, the official sources (studentaid, Mohela) have not updated anything from what I’ve seen and I’ve not had any notice on my own loans while I’m trying to get th… --- ## [Another 'is this a scam' request](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-is-this-a-scam-request/1018042 "2025-05-09T16:52:42Z")
A coworker of mine, whose husband has recently passed, is getting a lot of this type of stuff in the mail. She wasn’t that involved in her husband’s affairs so has no idea if these things are valid or not. To me it smel… --- ## [What's the point of asking for a supervisor at a traffic stop?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-asking-for-a-supervisor-at-a-traffic-stop/1017941)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2025, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-asking-for-a-supervisor-at-a-traffic-stop/1017941 "2025-05-09T16:17:56Z")
One of my new addictions is watching TikTok videos of “sovereign citizens” during traffic stops. Almost without exception, they ask for a supervisor to be called. In fairness, I’ve seen many videos of regular citizens … --- ## [Another conclave question: Maximum number of electors](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-conclave-question-maximum-number-of-electors/1018087)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2025, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-conclave-question-maximum-number-of-electors/1018087 "2025-05-09T12:22:58Z")
The law governing the process for papal elections, Universi Dominici Gregis, mentions a maximum number of 120 cardinals als electors. In the media coverage of the current conclave, however, I hear that 133 cardinals are … --- ## [Does this variant of a thermostatic valve exist as a product I can buy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-variant-of-a-thermostatic-valve-exist-as-a-product-i-can-buy/1017995)
**Author:** [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 2025, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-variant-of-a-thermostatic-valve-exist-as-a-product-i-can-buy/1017995 "2025-05-08T23:44:55Z")
In some parts of the world (such as England) it is compulsory to fit a thermostatic valve to a new shower or bath. This is apparently for safety reasons, to prevent scalding. My problem with thermostatic valves is that … --- ## [Are there any benefits of Infrared Amethyst Mats?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-benefits-of-infrared-amethyst-mats/1017885)
**Author:** [@JoePockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoePockets)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-benefits-of-infrared-amethyst-mats/1017885 "2025-05-08T19:57:55Z")
I have lower back pain that sooner or later needs surgery orthopedic specialist offered epidural injection as a temporary solution….which I’m considering ? Has any one tried infrared mats for pain relief? --- ## [Is sexual assault more common among r-strategist species vs K-strategist species](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-assault-more-common-among-r-strategist-species-vs-k-strategist-species/1017838)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [May 8, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexual-assault-more-common-among-r-strategist-species-vs-k-strategist-species/1017838 "2025-05-08T16:50:40Z")
In ecology, r/K selection theory relates to the selection of combinations of traits in an organism that trade off between quantity and quality of offspring. The focus on either an increased quantity of offspring at th… --- ## [Security camera signs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-camera-signs/1017725)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-camera-signs/1017725 "2025-05-07T19:33:09Z")
I see signs in stores all the time advising customers that they are being watched by a security camera. Are stores legally required to inform customers that there’s a security camera in the area? Or do they just choose … --- ## [Does DNA alone account for intelligence](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-dna-alone-account-for-intelligence/1017321)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-dna-alone-account-for-intelligence/1017321 "2025-05-07T18:51:17Z")
With regards extraterrestrial aliens, I’ve heard Neil deGrasse Tyson say on several occasions, that even though there is a high degree of DNA similarity between humans and chimps (estimated at 98.8%), that the 2% account… --- ## [queen of england](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-of-england/2616)
**Author:** [@eggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eggo)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queen-of-england/2616 "2025-05-07T17:12:42Z")
i was wondering… does the queen of england have any actual (political) power anymore or just alot of influence. also what did he ansestors do to become monarchs? eggo --- ## [What’s the difference between bishops vs. archbishops in the Catholic Church](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-bishops-vs-archbishops-in-the-catholic-church/1017903)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-difference-between-bishops-vs-archbishops-in-the-catholic-church/1017903 "2025-05-07T14:33:25Z")
From what I can gather, it seems like they are essentially the same rank, they just oversee diocese of different sizes. Sort of like comparing the governor of California or Texas to the governor of Vermont or Wyoming. … --- ## [Mail delivery regulation question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-delivery-regulation-question/1017897)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2025, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-delivery-regulation-question/1017897 "2025-05-07T11:35:24Z")
My daughter bought a condo about a year ago. The mail boxes are in the common area of the lobby. Recently there was a sloppily written note on the bulletin board: 'My name is Jill, I am the new mail carrier. From now … --- ## [Can an ADD diagnosis get you out of paying taxes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-add-diagnosis-get-you-out-of-paying-taxes/1017926)
**Author:** [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 6, 2025, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-add-diagnosis-get-you-out-of-paying-taxes/1017926 "2025-05-06T19:51:01Z")
Seems like a longshot to me, but I just had a patient in here insisting that if I write him a letter confirming the diagnosis, the IRS will forgive the various late fees associated with him not having gotten around to fi… --- ## [Help me understand how a diaphragm carburetor works](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-how-a-diaphragm-carburetor-works/1017952)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 6, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-how-a-diaphragm-carburetor-works/1017952 "2025-05-06T17:24:32Z")
The most basic carburetor, typically found on a gasoline-powered lawn mower, is pretty darn simple: Fuel from the tank flows (or is pumped) into a float bowl. When the float bowl is full, a float rises up and shuts a… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=45)