# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=526 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 527 --- ## [Possible SDMB Malware on Windows 10 tablet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-sdmb-malware-on-windows-10-tablet/823616)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2018, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-sdmb-malware-on-windows-10-tablet/823616 "2018-10-29T10:22:58Z")
Here’s my ATMB thread: https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=864586 I just bought this Windows 10 tablet/keyboard combination as a laptop replacement this week. I bought a Windows one because I do need t… --- ## [Are any other religions and ethnicity as closely linked as the Jewish religion/ethnicity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-other-religions-and-ethnicity-as-closely-linked-as-the-jewish-religion-ethnicity/823505)
**Author:** [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2018, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-other-religions-and-ethnicity-as-closely-linked-as-the-jewish-religion-ethnicity/823505 "2018-10-29T05:18:12Z")
The connection between the Jewish religion and ethnicity is a cause for many a debates (e.g. this one happening right now). But it is undeniable that while the Jewish ethnic identity, is not the same thing as the practic… --- ## [Why does my keyboard coding not work (Chrome)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-keyboard-coding-not-work-chrome/823556)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-keyboard-coding-not-work-chrome/823556 "2018-10-29T01:33:35Z")
I recently switched to Chrome as my browser. Ever since I have noticed a problem with coding. Normally, when I want to code for italics, bold or underline, I simply hold down the Ctrl key and hit the appropriate letter … --- ## [Looking for basic car GPS/Stereo combo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-basic-car-gps-stereo-combo/823553)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-basic-car-gps-stereo-combo/823553 "2018-10-28T21:50:14Z")
Bought a new used car (2006 Envoy Denali) that had the stock system taken out and (poorly) replaced with a cheap stereo. I want to get an in-dash NAV (with built in GPS receiver) and a stereo but I don’t need the system… --- ## [Is this safe to eat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-safe-to-eat/823585 "2018-10-28T18:02:36Z")
I started a diet 3 years ago. Since I’m a chocoholic :eek: , I bought a huge bar of chocolate and put it in the fridge. The idea was that if I have constant easy access to chocolate, I won’t actually eat any. (Whereas … --- ## [Boys will always grow to be taller than their mother](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boys-will-always-grow-to-be-taller-than-their-mother/661059)
**Author:** [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boys-will-always-grow-to-be-taller-than-their-mother/661059 "2018-10-28T13:31:05Z")
Is this true? I heard this a few times, stated as a fact. All male children will grow up to be taller (or at least the same height) as their mother. No Male child will be shorter than their mum. Excluding Dwarfism or m… --- ## [Any factual / mathematical basis for Nassim Taleb's "intransigent minority" theory?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-factual-mathematical-basis-for-nassim-talebs-intransigent-minority-theory/822673)
**Author:** [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [October 28, 2018, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-factual-mathematical-basis-for-nassim-talebs-intransigent-minority-theory/822673 "2018-10-28T06:31:25Z")
I recently read Nassim Taleb’s latest book Skin in the Game. In it, he puts forth the idea that a sufficiently motivated, intransigent minority can dictate majority preferences, simply by having a stake in the outcome a… --- ## [What if we could drink ocean water?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-could-drink-ocean-water/823280)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-could-drink-ocean-water/823280 "2018-10-27T21:59:42Z")
What if we could drink ocean water? Let us ignore the existence and effects of other species. And let us assume that no new water would be created. Given current consumption, how long would our species last before wat… --- ## [Legal liability for civilians who "help out" cops (without permission)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-liability-for-civilians-who-help-out-cops-without-permission/823226)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-liability-for-civilians-who-help-out-cops-without-permission/823226 "2018-10-27T21:39:22Z")
So I was watching cop dashcam/body-cam videos and wondered what would happen if, during one of those high-speed car chases, a civilian saw what was going on and decided to “helpfully” ram the fugitive’s vehicle on the hi… --- ## [Leaves changing colour](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaves-changing-colour/823447)
**Author:** [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaves-changing-colour/823447 "2018-10-27T20:48:32Z")
Hey guys, when leaves change colour, it’s generally from green to yellow, to orange, to red to brown. My son asked me why the leaves the change colour and I vaguely know that chlorophyll makes them green, but I don’t kno… --- ## [World War II occupation "misalliances": any happy outcomes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-war-ii-occupation-misalliances-any-happy-outcomes/823376)
**Author:** [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-war-ii-occupation-misalliances-any-happy-outcomes/823376 "2018-10-27T20:31:00Z")
With seemingly endless interest on SDMB, in a great variety of aspects of World War II – often seeming to feature in GQ, though the issue I’m raising here strikes me as highly “general” in a fundamentally non-specific se… --- ## ["Has the jury reached a verdict?", "We have your honor".](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-jury-reached-a-verdict-we-have-your-honor/823533)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2018, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-jury-reached-a-verdict-we-have-your-honor/823533 "2018-10-27T06:39:27Z")
In television shows the verdict is passed in a piece of paper to the judge who reads it before saying, “proceed”. Is this fact? If so why? If it is what power does the judge have if he/she doesn’t like the verdict? --- ## [Roman Decimation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-decimation/823526)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roman-decimation/823526 "2018-10-26T02:00:46Z")
When the Roman Army failed in battle, every tenth man was put to death. Were the executions random, or was the lowest-performing 10% chosen to die? --- ## [Is "Top Secret" the highest level clearance you can get?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-secret-the-highest-level-clearance-you-can-get/210628)
**Author:** [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2018, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-top-secret-the-highest-level-clearance-you-can-get/210628 "2018-10-27T04:25:12Z")
I was wondering about the different security clearances used by the U.S. government. I know that there is a “secret” clearance. What does that enable one to do or see exactly? Then there is “Top Secret”. Is that the high… --- ## [Roth 401k rollover question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roth-401k-rollover-question/823539)
**Author:** [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roth-401k-rollover-question/823539 "2018-10-27T01:07:18Z")
This is a general question; I am not seeking financial advice. I worked for a company for about a year that offered a Roth 401k plan. During that time I saved about $6000; according to my online statement that includes … --- ## [Are my Italian-American coworkers' pronunciations authentic, or bastardized?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-my-italian-american-coworkers-pronunciations-authentic-or-bastardized/395890)
**Author:** [@rms996](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rms996)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-my-italian-american-coworkers-pronunciations-authentic-or-bastardized/395890 "2010-06-07T17:56:31Z")
I have two coworkers of some Italian ancestry (one full, the other half.) They frequently talk about the Italian foods they and their families make at home, and in doing so they use what seem to me some pretty bizarre p… --- ## [What's the SD on 'more than half of Germans want to emigrate'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-sd-on-more-than-half-of-germans-want-to-emigrate/823432)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-sd-on-more-than-half-of-germans-want-to-emigrate/823432 "2018-10-26T13:42:23Z")
A friend of mine made a statement this past weekend that more than half of Germans polled in some survey say they would like to emigrate away from Germany. I was, let’s say, more than a bit skeptical. I found some arti… --- ## [Time to replace my iPad?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-replace-my-ipad/762598)
**Author:** [@Yersenia\_Pestis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersenia_Pestis)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2018, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-replace-my-ipad/762598 "2018-10-26T11:02:57Z")
Dopers, I’m currently using a (sluggish) 3.5 year old (2nd gen) iPad - mainly for web browsing and light gaming. It’s getting gradually more and more slow, the web browser crashes usually every other day or so. Is it ti… --- ## [Do in-home cellphone signal boosters work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-in-home-cellphone-signal-boosters-work/636162)
**Author:** [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2018, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-in-home-cellphone-signal-boosters-work/636162 "2018-10-26T07:03:14Z")
I asked a similar question about ten years ago, but back then there were no products on the market. Now, it looks like Newegg has a fair number (but no substantial reviews). Do these things work? Since moving out to the… --- ## [Is this mail fraud?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-mail-fraud/823398)
**Author:** [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-mail-fraud/823398 "2018-10-26T03:15:21Z")
I’ll try to save you from too many details, but include the pertinent bits: I’ve been repeatedly billed by a lab for work that my doctor’s office said wasn’t done. Back in July, after getting the doctor’s office involved… --- ## [Air Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-fish/823424)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-fish/823424 "2018-10-25T22:39:04Z")
I was considering the fact that viscosity increases as your size shrinks. This would imply that at some size, air is possibly as viscous to some tiny critter as water is to a fish. Fish are fish-shaped because that is … --- ## [Home Buying: Website for Finding/Reporting a Property's "Dirty Secrets?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-buying-website-for-finding-reporting-a-propertys-dirty-secrets/823270)
**Author:** [@richw211](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/richw211)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-buying-website-for-finding-reporting-a-propertys-dirty-secrets/823270 "2018-10-25T21:37:45Z")
I’m currently in the process of buying a house. I’m on a limited schedule, so I don’t want to waste time viewing/making offers on houses that have defects that I personally consider unacceptable (‘deal killers’). Pleas… --- ## [Best loan paydown option](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-loan-paydown-option/823507)
**Author:** [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-loan-paydown-option/823507 "2018-10-25T19:47:10Z")
2 loans both $12,000 both same interest rate= 5% monthly payment required on each loan = $93.00 making a payment of $300.00 each month Option #1: apply $150.00 to each loan Option #2: pay $93.00 on one loan, $207 t… --- ## [The great democracy experiment - how original was it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-democracy-experiment-how-original-was-it/823255)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-democracy-experiment-how-original-was-it/823255 "2018-10-25T19:08:05Z")
Was our country’s beginning, i.e. committees of leaders making a set of rules of how our government should be set up, making it a republic where elected representatives made the government decisions (laws, etc.) for the… --- ## [Can permafrost erosion and arctic ice loss be measured like any other natural disaster?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-permafrost-erosion-and-arctic-ice-loss-be-measured-like-any-other-natural-disaster/823467)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-permafrost-erosion-and-arctic-ice-loss-be-measured-like-any-other-natural-disaster/823467 "2018-10-25T17:28:51Z")
Hi Can permafrost erosion and arctic ice loss be measured like any other natural disaster? Are there threat scales for permafrost and arctic ice loss that could threaten infrastructure on land and shipping in the arcti… --- ## [Recovering iCloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-icloud/823501)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-icloud/823501 "2018-10-25T17:17:23Z")
I was trying to put iCloud on my desktop, so I clicked and held on it in the Finder sidebar and moved it to the desktop. It went ‘Poof!’ Now it’s not in Finder. I can open it by going to System Preferences. I’d like … --- ## [What's the point of nuclear weapons with variable yield?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-nuclear-weapons-with-variable-yield/823271)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-nuclear-weapons-with-variable-yield/823271 "2018-10-25T16:11:44Z")
If decision makers are at the point where they’re using nuclear weapons, are they really going to dial it down and risk not destroying the target to save civilians or are they just going to go for the biggest punch possi… --- ## [Boeing B717: why the differential elevator positions when parked? Plus cabin pressure Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeing-b717-why-the-differential-elevator-positions-when-parked-plus-cabin-pressure-q/823494)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boeing-b717-why-the-differential-elevator-positions-when-parked-plus-cabin-pressure-q/823494 "2018-10-25T16:03:31Z")
Flew recently (as a passenger) on a Boeing B-717. While waiting to board, I noticed that the left and right elevators were at different positions. Interestingly, one of them appeared to be at maximum upward deflection.… --- ## [Smartphone icons have green dot facebook and play store - why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-icons-have-green-dot-facebook-and-play-store-why/823498)
**Author:** [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-icons-have-green-dot-facebook-and-play-store-why/823498 "2018-10-25T16:00:32Z")
When the text message and Messenger icons have a green dot, it means there’s a new message, and after I read it the dot is gone. But the dot on the Facebook icon doesn’t seem to correspond to new posts or notifications, … --- ## [How much would 'medicare extra for all' cost](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-medicare-extra-for-all-cost/823249)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-medicare-extra-for-all-cost/823249 "2018-10-25T14:41:13Z")
Not medicare for all, medicare extra for all. Basically opening up medicare to the uninsured and auto-enrolling them. I can’t find a dollar figure. I’d guess around $100-200 billion a year but I’m not sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=525) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=527)