# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=480 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 481 --- ## [Skyscrapers swaying in wind, how exactly do they flex?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscrapers-swaying-in-wind-how-exactly-do-they-flex/831187)
**Author:** [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2019, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skyscrapers-swaying-in-wind-how-exactly-do-they-flex/831187 "2019-03-19T10:35:20Z")
They are solid objects, not plastic yet they behave like they are plastic or have moving parts. When they sway, one side is flexed, the opposite side is compressed, and the other two are being twisted. What is happening… --- ## [What's the greatest distance someone has run over an hour, a day, a week or a month?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2019, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257 "2019-03-19T08:10:58Z")
How long, in what circumstances, with what preparation if any? I’m not sure how else to qualify my question except to say that if you think you have something interesting to add that’s related to the topic, feel free. --- ## [2 more physics questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-more-physics-questions/831346)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2019, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-more-physics-questions/831346 "2019-03-19T06:35:57Z")
We learn in beginner science classes that all objects fall to the ground with the same acceleration; i.e. discounting air resistance, 2 objects with different masses, if dropped simultaneously from the same height, wil… --- ## [Creating a Custom Route in Google or Apple Maps (iOS)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-custom-route-in-google-or-apple-maps-ios/831217)
**Author:** [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-custom-route-in-google-or-apple-maps-ios/831217 "2019-03-19T01:50:46Z")
Just wondering if anyone knows of a way to create custom routes within these apps? My searching seems to have come up empty handed. I do a lot of cycling for fitness and find myself riding in the city between various po… --- ## [Why do trim wheels on a 737 APPEAR to rotate in opposite directions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-trim-wheels-on-a-737-appear-to-rotate-in-opposite-directions/831336)
**Author:** [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2019, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-trim-wheels-on-a-737-appear-to-rotate-in-opposite-directions/831336 "2019-03-19T01:37:38Z")
In many of Mentour’s videos that include the cockpit, the trim wheels\* always look like they’re rotating in opposite directions, which makes no sense. You can see it in this video at around 2:00 in How to land an Aircraf… --- ## [St. Gertrude-Patron Saint of cats?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-gertrude-patron-saint-of-cats/831307)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-gertrude-patron-saint-of-cats/831307 "2019-03-19T00:15:49Z")
What is the story about St. Gertrude being the patron saint of cats? --- ## [Incomplete Standard Model?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incomplete-standard-model/831285)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incomplete-standard-model/831285 "2019-03-18T20:26:08Z")
behold: Are there three undiscovered scalar bosons? --- ## [Here's what I need. Where do I buy it most cheaply?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-what-i-need-where-do-i-buy-it-most-cheaply/831162)
**Author:** [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-what-i-need-where-do-i-buy-it-most-cheaply/831162 "2019-03-18T19:42:45Z")
I’m trying to re-install the original stereo in a 1989 Nissan 300ZX. Some owner prior to me had cut the connector off of the wiring harness presumably to try to install an aftermarket stereo, but gave up. I have the ster… --- ## [People With Down Syndrome Having Babies.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-down-syndrome-having-babies/831324)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-with-down-syndrome-having-babies/831324 "2019-03-18T17:50:57Z")
Can people with Down Syndrome have children? Whether or not they should is a matter for GD. My question is a purely biological one. I know I’ve never heard of one having a child. I guess if they did there would be a 50… --- ## [What language is this odd email sender using?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this-odd-email-sender-using/831230)
**Author:** [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this-odd-email-sender-using/831230 "2019-03-18T17:14:18Z")
I’m starting to get a flow of junk email coming from a sender using a couple of letters I don’t recognize. It’s a lower-case y with an umlaut, then a lower case p where the post extends above and below the round part, th… --- ## [How long does it take for the cardiovascular system to come back to baseline?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-the-cardiovascular-system-to-come-back-to-baseline/831310)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-the-cardiovascular-system-to-come-back-to-baseline/831310 "2019-03-18T16:51:30Z")
Let’s say I go run a 10K or do as many push-ups as I can and then sit and meditate. Presuming I’m healthy and young, approximately how long will it take for my blood pressure and heart rate to come back to their baseline… --- ## [What Is This SoCal Theme Park in This Video?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-socal-theme-park-in-this-video/830829)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-socal-theme-park-in-this-video/830829 "2019-03-18T15:42:44Z")
In this video (if you click the link, it will start when the hostess and her son get on the coaster), the hostess rides the Ninja at what I assume is a SoCal theme park (the hostess lives in L.A.). What park is it? I ap… --- ## [extruded/expanded polystyrene, American names for](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extruded-expanded-polystyrene-american-names-for/831269)
**Author:** [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extruded-expanded-polystyrene-american-names-for/831269 "2019-03-18T09:35:48Z")
\[Mods: This question originated from an artistic/crafty situation, but it seems to me that it transcends Café Society placement. Correct me if I’m wrong.\] I’m watching a lot of You Tube videos of people making dioramas … --- ## [How much danger in exposure to disease does seeing a doctor present?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-in-exposure-to-disease-does-seeing-a-doctor-present/830890)
**Author:** [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-in-exposure-to-disease-does-seeing-a-doctor-present/830890 "2019-03-18T08:01:51Z")
Let me start off by saying I have nothing at all against doctors and modern medicine – they have saved my life on at least two occasions, maybe three, and I’m utterly grateful. And all the doctors I’ve dealt with have b… --- ## [Soviet messages to the Stars?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soviet-messages-to-the-stars/831292)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soviet-messages-to-the-stars/831292 "2019-03-18T06:42:41Z")
The Arecibo Radio Antenna Sent a coded message to a Globular Cluster, Pioneer 10 and 11 had plaques, and Voyagers 1 and 2 had Golden Records…all using the Universal Language of Mathematics and Science to let some possibl… --- ## [Car Troubleshooting: Could this be anything except a bad starter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-troubleshooting-could-this-be-anything-except-a-bad-starter/831256)
**Author:** [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2019, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-troubleshooting-could-this-be-anything-except-a-bad-starter/831256 "2019-03-18T05:03:29Z")
Brand new battery. Car runs perfectly if started via pushing and popping the clutch. Key in ignition, turned to Accessories: Everything works. Dash lights, head lights, wipers, etc. Key turned to Start: Silence. No cl… --- ## [How Did The NSA Plant Malware In Dams, Hospitals, and Power Grids?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-nsa-plant-malware-in-dams-hospitals-and-power-grids/831057)
**Author:** [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-nsa-plant-malware-in-dams-hospitals-and-power-grids/831057 "2019-03-17T22:56:16Z")
There is limited information on this I’m assuming because greenwald didn’t release it, but there is documentation released by Snowden that revealed the NSA had tapped Japan’s infrastructure without their permission, and … --- ## [Did Ancient People REALLY Believe in the Ancient Gods (i.e. What We Call Mythology)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-people-really-believe-in-the-ancient-gods-i-e-what-we-call-mythology/830782)
**Author:** [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-people-really-believe-in-the-ancient-gods-i-e-what-we-call-mythology/830782 "2019-03-17T18:50:34Z")
As a self professed agnostic, I often have friendly debates with my “thiest” friends where I posit that humans have an intrinsic need to answer the unknown that drives religion. Among the many specific arguments I often… --- ## [Does reporting a phishing attempt do any good?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-reporting-a-phishing-attempt-do-any-good/831188)
**Author:** [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-reporting-a-phishing-attempt-do-any-good/831188 "2019-03-17T15:46:41Z")
Just forwarded an obvious phishing attempt to Apple (your account is locked etc.) that got through my (yahoo) spam filter. Among other things, Cupertino was misspelled in the tiny street address at the bottom. My questi… --- ## [Are there subsets or cardinality in the irrational numbers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-subsets-or-cardinality-in-the-irrational-numbers/831231)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-subsets-or-cardinality-in-the-irrational-numbers/831231 "2019-03-17T14:31:05Z")
Are all irrational numbers equally irrational, or are there degrees or subsets of irrationality? The rational numbers can all be expressed as a ratio of integers. The irrational numbers, like pi or sqrt2, cannot be expr… --- ## [Why do web sites have my wrong location?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-web-sites-have-my-wrong-location/831225)
**Author:** [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-web-sites-have-my-wrong-location/831225 "2019-03-17T14:29:28Z")
When I’m on a site that uses my location, it invariably has me located way on the other side of town. To the best of my knowledge I’ve never even been to that location. Is this happening because of the location of my com… --- ## [Stephen Hawking Using Complex Language (esp. in the End).](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-hawking-using-complex-language-esp-in-the-end/831145)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2019, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-hawking-using-complex-language-esp-in-the-end/831145 "2019-03-17T08:27:29Z")
All I can tell you all is it was a mystery to be and a big one at that. Professor Stephen Hawking could use complex language shortly before he died. And he was almost completely paralyzed. Oh, I know he did it with the… --- ## [Weird Computer Issue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-computer-issue/831213)
**Author:** [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2019, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-computer-issue/831213 "2019-03-17T01:34:12Z")
I have a fairly recent rig, Win 10, 12GB RAM, NvIdia 1060GTX, etc. But, to keep the expense of this build down, I had to opt for a very small SSD drive…250GB, on which Windows sits. No problem, I thought…my son got a 4T… --- ## [Have smartphones become a mature technology?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-smartphones-become-a-mature-technology/831157)
**Author:** [@Bassman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bassman)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-smartphones-become-a-mature-technology/831157 "2019-03-16T21:56:43Z")
I’ve been reading a bunch of tech people who think we’ve reached “peak smartphone” and that we’ve gone from them being like computers in the 90s- where they were obsolete every couple of years and needed frequent replace… --- ## [Computer Scientists: Is this a Donald Knuth joke?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-scientists-is-this-a-donald-knuth-joke/831097)
**Author:** [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-scientists-is-this-a-donald-knuth-joke/831097 "2019-03-16T21:43:30Z")
Dipping into an old (and mostly unread) copy of Knuth’s Fundamental Algorithms - second edition, I came across an oddity in the index. Checking the page number in preparation to turning to page 627, I find that I am al… --- ## [Why do some animals' eyes glow a lot when light shines on them...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-animals-eyes-glow-a-lot-when-light-shines-on-them/831064)
**Author:** [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-animals-eyes-glow-a-lot-when-light-shines-on-them/831064 "2019-03-16T19:46:27Z")
…while other animals’, including humans, don’t? Like my dog, when I shine a flashlight at him, his eyes light up like LEDs. That doesn’t happen when I shine the same flashlight at the teenager taking an unauthorized whiz… --- ## [Id this bug?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bug/831098)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bug/831098 "2019-03-16T15:28:27Z")
Seen in Georgetown SC a few days ago. I don’t have anything to show scale, but it was huge, body possibly an inch long or more. --- ## [What's the poop on fiber?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-poop-on-fiber/831144)
**Author:** [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-poop-on-fiber/831144 "2019-03-16T14:15:14Z")
And how does it work? What I know so far: 2 types, soluble and, The Other Kind. Soluble absorbs water from your colon and turns into a gel that does…what specific sort of fiber magic? The Other Kind as I understand it… --- ## [Why doesn't Southwest save my gender?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-southwest-save-my-gender/831089)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-southwest-save-my-gender/831089 "2019-03-16T03:56:04Z")
I fly Southwest a lot, all of my information is on file – name, address, known traveler #, DOB, credit card, phone number… but every time I book it makes me select my gender. That’s literally the only field I have to ma… --- ## [Cantor's Diagonal Proof](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantors-diagonal-proof/831185)
**Author:** [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cantors-diagonal-proof/831185 "2019-03-16T03:25:33Z")
From the excellent appendix to Wesley Salmon’s Zeno’s Paradoxes (Bobbs-Merrill, 1970), p. 258ff: \[My emphasis; formatting won’t allow as much space as I’d like between the list of naturals on the left and the list of r… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=479) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=481)