# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=48 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 49 --- ## [2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee intermittent no start - brake switch?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-jeep-grand-cherokee-intermittent-no-start-brake-switch/1016864)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2025, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2012-jeep-grand-cherokee-intermittent-no-start-brake-switch/1016864 "2025-04-11T12:19:45Z")
Since I WFH I don’t drive nearly as much as I used to. My Jeep will often site for several days before I drive it again. The last two times I tried starting it after sitting for 2-3 days, it did not start at all for 4 or… --- ## [Origin of candy canes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146)
**Author:** [@beagle1971](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagle1971)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2025, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146 "2025-04-11T11:12:46Z")
OK, I searched the forums and the archive, but I didn’t find a post addressing this specifically. I’ve received more than once a story proclaiming the “true story of the candy cane,” saying it was designed as a christia… --- ## [Phil Foden's mum called a 's\*\*g' \[what is a 's\*\*g' (British English insult)\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phil-fodens-mum-called-a-s-g-what-is-a-s-g-british-english-insult/1016818)
**Author:** [@SpicyDuckBillyHunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpicyDuckBillyHunt)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phil-fodens-mum-called-a-s-g-what-is-a-s-g-british-english-insult/1016818 "2025-04-11T10:57:30Z")
Phil Foden’s mum called a ‘s\*\*g’. Can someone please tell me what a s\*\*g is. --- ## [How do courts collect on financial judgments?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-courts-collect-on-financial-judgments/1016594)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-courts-collect-on-financial-judgments/1016594 "2025-04-10T23:35:34Z")
If someone is injured in, say, a car accident that isn’t their fault, and a judge awards them like $5 million, far more than the person responsible could ever hope to make in a lifetime, how does the victim get the money… --- ## [Modern Military Jeeps](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-military-jeeps/1016815)
**Author:** [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-military-jeeps/1016815 "2025-04-10T17:46:11Z")
Back in the day, Willys, Kaiser, and American Motors supplied the US Military with the iconic 4WD Jeep. But how about modern times? Has/Does Jeep under ownership from Chrysler, Daimler Benz, and Fiat/Stellantis still m… --- ## [Updating Global Entry account with additional citizenship?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/updating-global-entry-account-with-additional-citizenship/1016431)
**Author:** [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/updating-global-entry-account-with-additional-citizenship/1016431 "2025-04-10T16:36:46Z")
I just got a second citizenship and received my new passport. The airport near me has a Global Entry enrollment office as well as enrollment on arrival. The former has limited business hours (M - F 8:15 - 3:30), while th… --- ## [Weather, mood, health et al](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-mood-health-et-al/1016726)
**Author:** [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2025, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-mood-health-et-al/1016726 "2025-04-10T04:36:47Z")
I’m 77. For as long as I can remember I’ve always been impacted by weather. Today is an unusual dry high pressure day with fluffy white clouds, nice breeze and high 20s. Tons of energy, aches and pains forgotten, mood … --- ## [Do employers get credit for excess Social Security tax](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-employers-get-credit-for-excess-social-security-tax/1016836)
**Author:** [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-employers-get-credit-for-excess-social-security-tax/1016836 "2025-04-09T21:33:06Z")
So I’m finishing up my 2024 tax return (I always pay, so I always file at the last minute) and, since I had two employers last year, I had too much Social Security tax withheld. I can claim credit for the excess withhold… --- ## [Lactose intolerance in non-human animals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lactose-intolerance-in-non-human-animals/1016806)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lactose-intolerance-in-non-human-animals/1016806 "2025-04-09T20:22:32Z")
Lactose intolerance causes problems for some folks. AIUI, it’s something that develops as/after one ages into adulthood, the theory being that back in the days of cave men, once you were no longer a nursing infant, ther… --- ## [Disgusting factual question about a sex act, you have been warned (NSFW, brain bleach required, etc.)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-factual-question-about-a-sex-act-you-have-been-warned-nsfw-brain-bleach-required-etc/1014873)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2025, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disgusting-factual-question-about-a-sex-act-you-have-been-warned-nsfw-brain-bleach-required-etc/1014873 "2025-04-09T06:24:01Z")
I learned about a new type of sex act last night. I think it only exists as a joke/meme, as I’m not quite sure it’s even humanly possible. Hence the question. And do note that at this point I’m merely adding in some fill… --- ## [Do the signs of puberty (facial hair, pubic hair, voice changing, etc.) happen in a specific sequence?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-signs-of-puberty-facial-hair-pubic-hair-voice-changing-etc-happen-in-a-specific-sequence/1016667)
**Author:** [@ChiefinTheKind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefinTheKind)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2025, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-signs-of-puberty-facial-hair-pubic-hair-voice-changing-etc-happen-in-a-specific-sequence/1016667 "2025-04-09T05:51:26Z")
Long time lurker, first time poster here, greetings. The LittleChief is 12 and is showing absolutely zero signs of puberty – no underarm hair, voice not cracking, likely no pubic hair although I’m not going to look or a… --- ## [Why wasn't Vermont considered as one of the original colonies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wasnt-vermont-considered-as-one-of-the-original-colonies/1016662)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wasnt-vermont-considered-as-one-of-the-original-colonies/1016662 "2025-04-08T21:58:09Z")
Was the territory just considered as part of New Hampshire? The state was admitted to the Union right after the last colony was accepted so it must have been looked upon as separate by some of the influential people. --- ## [Mobile phone question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-phone-question/1016743)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mobile-phone-question/1016743 "2025-04-08T12:44:09Z")
I’ve recently bought a Nokia mobile phone. It’s simple to charge it up (e.g. the phone displays a message when the battery is full), but within a week or so the phone doesn’t receive calls and appears to need recharging… --- ## [Strange Android problem: Broswer windows load SLIGHTLY zoomed in](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-android-problem-broswer-windows-load-slightly-zoomed-in/1016781)
**Author:** [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2025, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-android-problem-broswer-windows-load-slightly-zoomed-in/1016781 "2025-04-08T11:57:26Z")
For about a month now, almost every time I load a new page, it opens just slightly zoomed in to where I have to zoom out to get the full window on my screen. For the SDMB, for example, it loads so that my avatar in the u… --- ## [Probablily calculation question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probablily-calculation-question/1016259)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2025, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probablily-calculation-question/1016259 "2025-04-08T03:08:32Z")
I have a population x and I want to select y items and The items in population x are reusable, similar to the “Birthday Paradox,” how do I calculate the expected number of unique items? --- ## [Is Mike White’s budget for luxury vacations 100% tax deductible for the rest of his life?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mike-white-s-budget-for-luxury-vacations-100-tax-deductible-for-the-rest-of-his-life/1016309)
**Author:** [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mike-white-s-budget-for-luxury-vacations-100-tax-deductible-for-the-rest-of-his-life/1016309 "2025-04-07T23:04:20Z")
The creator and showrunner of THE WHITE LOTUS, a TV series now in its third season, set in exotic hotels all over the world, Hawai’i, Italy, and now Thailand, is sent to various potential locations, presumably funded by … --- ## [Heard & McDonald Islands -- why a top level domain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-mcdonald-islands-why-a-top-level-domain/1016687)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heard-mcdonald-islands-why-a-top-level-domain/1016687 "2025-04-07T21:53:29Z")
Trump set tariffs on pretty much all countries (except Russia, N Korea and Cuba) but also on some non-countries. One of those non-countries was the Heard & McDonald Islands, which are inhabited by penguins but not humans… --- ## [Exponent rules: what am I doing wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exponent-rules-what-am-i-doing-wrong/1016742)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exponent-rules-what-am-i-doing-wrong/1016742 "2025-04-07T21:17:36Z")
(Urgh, I am not getting markup to work, so apologies for the clumsy notation) So one of the exponent rules is for powers of a power: A^(b)^(c) = A^(b×c). Clearly this works; for example 3^9 equals 3×3×3×3×3×3×3×3×3 whic… --- ## [Mechanism of a Measles death](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanism-of-a-measles-death/686908)
**Author:** [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanism-of-a-measles-death/686908 "2025-04-07T18:35:36Z")
I’ve been tempted to ask this question for a long time - up until recently because of what I’ve read about Native-Americans/First Nations meeting up with Europeans for the first time and the rather unpleasant consequence… --- ## [German seated weddings: a thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-seated-weddings-a-thing/1016552)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 98\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-seated-weddings-a-thing/1016552 "2025-04-07T16:38:44Z")
In episode 4 of the German remake of Ghosts, they host a wedding. The bride and bride walk down the aisle, pass on either side of a pair of chairs, and sit down for the ceremony. The fact that a single one of them didn’t… --- ## [Pronouncing "Content", a woman's name?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-content-a-womans-name/1016670)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronouncing-content-a-womans-name/1016670 "2025-04-07T02:15:34Z")
My G-G-G-G Grandmother was Content Barnes. I have never heard this name spoken. Is it pronounced conTENT like the “satisfied” word or CONtent? --- ## [Invention of the telephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invention-of-the-telephone/1015525)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 178\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invention-of-the-telephone/1015525 "2025-04-06T21:58:50Z")
American mythology holds that Alexander Graham Bell was the one and only inventor of the telephone. But history is full of examples of inventions that happened in multiple places at about the same time. Was he really the… --- ## [My computer mouse is acting up - what happened?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-mouse-is-acting-up-what-happened/1016665)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-mouse-is-acting-up-what-happened/1016665 "2025-04-06T21:40:43Z")
I have an ASUS laptop which has worked well for several years. Today the mouse (cable connected) would not move the screen icon at all - although the mouse wheel worked. Also clicking the mouse worked too. I used the c… --- ## [Is a rifle more accurate than an SMG in equivalent barrel length?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-rifle-more-accurate-than-an-smg-in-equivalent-barrel-length/1016560)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2025, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-rifle-more-accurate-than-an-smg-in-equivalent-barrel-length/1016560 "2025-04-06T03:58:45Z")
For example let’s say you have a short barreled AR-15 style rifle, 7 inch barrel. You can have it in its default 5.56mm or change out the upper with a conversion kit to make it 9mm. At close to mid range, which round w… --- ## [How would an apportioned Federal direct tax work today?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-apportioned-federal-direct-tax-work-today/1016632)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-an-apportioned-federal-direct-tax-work-today/1016632 "2025-04-05T16:46:16Z")
That is, outside of the exception for income tax carved out by the Sixteenth Amendment. In particular I’m unclear how the apportionment part would work. If the federal government were to actually pass a head tax for exam… --- ## [Origin of a word](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-word/2636)
**Author:** [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2025, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-word/2636 "2025-04-05T05:45:07Z")
This may be a nonsense word, but it’s one my mother used often; the spelling is phonetic. fa-ka-SHAT-a (all the a’s are short). When Mother thought her hair was not fixed properly, she would say “I look like a fakashata… --- ## [Big bang questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-questions/1015442)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bang-questions/1015442 "2025-04-05T00:30:08Z")
I guess I’m ignoring the whole “space itself is expanding” thing. My first question: was there a point in time and space where you could have seen the expansion of matter rushing towards you? This postulates that gravit… --- ## [The Fish House - Fried Shrimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fish-house-fried-shrimp/487224)
**Author:** [@Robt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robt)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fish-house-fried-shrimp/487224 "2025-04-04T17:20:38Z")
There used to be a little fish place called The Fish House at Grand and LaSalle or Grand and Wells. To say it had the best fried shrimp ever cannot do justice to how good their fried shrimp was. If you ever had it, you… --- ## [Begging the question fallacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/begging-the-question-fallacy/1016166)
**Author:** [@longtry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longtry)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/begging-the-question-fallacy/1016166 "2025-04-04T00:09:25Z")
Here are some examples that AI gave me about the fallacy: The reason I believe in ghosts is that I have seen one. The law is just because it is the law. You should trust him because he is trustworthy. The president is … --- ## [Please help with this internet math question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-with-this-internet-math-question/1016520)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-with-this-internet-math-question/1016520 "2025-04-03T20:42:00Z")
A coworker brought in this math problem. Initially I wanted to take 2/3 of 120. Giving 80 green and 40 red. That’s wrong because green is 2/3 of the number of red apples. A value we don’t know. What’s the equation to … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=49)