# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=537 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 538 --- ## [What do planes towing banners do with the banner to land?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-planes-towing-banners-do-with-the-banner-to-land/821628)
**Author:** [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-planes-towing-banners-do-with-the-banner-to-land/821628 "2018-09-21T03:28:19Z")
Do they detach it before landing so it doesn’t scrape all over the runway? Reel it in somehow and fold it? What do they do that works? --- ## [Why dont we have heart attack and stroke prevention screenings?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-have-heart-attack-and-stroke-prevention-screenings/821614)
**Author:** [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-have-heart-attack-and-stroke-prevention-screenings/821614 "2018-09-21T00:20:12Z")
As i understand it, and im not suggesting my understanding is in any way adequate ;p , heart attacks and strokes are mainly caused by arterial blockages that prevent blood from reaching the heart muscle or areas of the b… --- ## [Inherited rights to artwork](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inherited-rights-to-artwork/821655)
**Author:** [@Hoppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoppy)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inherited-rights-to-artwork/821655 "2018-09-20T23:27:14Z")
My friend’s father was an artist (he’s dead), his paintings are collectable and sell for ~100k. My friend said whenever one of the paintings sells, he gets a percentage (don’t know how big) of the sale price, because he… --- ## [Question about aircraft carriers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aircraft-carriers/625238)
**Author:** [@Whiteknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiteknight)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aircraft-carriers/625238 "2018-09-20T22:57:58Z")
I seem to recall reading, perhaps in a work of fiction, about planes oriented athwartships being tethered to a WWII era carrier deck with propellers running in order to aid maneuvering of the ship in high sea states. Th… --- ## [Dogs going from light to dark, how do they do that?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-going-from-light-to-dark-how-do-they-do-that/821258)
**Author:** [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-going-from-light-to-dark-how-do-they-do-that/821258 "2018-09-20T18:50:15Z")
So I am out with my dog late at night and I throw a spot light on him. His eyes glow and sometimes I hit him with the full beam in the eyes. He can then turn and race into the darkest brush and apparently see just fine… --- ## [Can somebody figure out the value of this offer? (probability q)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-figure-out-the-value-of-this-offer-probability-q/821311)
**Author:** [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-figure-out-the-value-of-this-offer-probability-q/821311 "2018-09-20T12:58:28Z")
I’ve got this offer at a local casino. It works like this: every time I qualify I get to spin a wheel. The wheel has 11 relevant sections\[ul\] \[li\]2 blanks\[/li\]\[li\]8 unique symbols\[/li\]\[li\]1 Wildcard\[/li\]\[/ul\] The aim i… --- ## [Ex-wives at funerals. How is this usually handled?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ex-wives-at-funerals-how-is-this-usually-handled/820627)
**Author:** [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ex-wives-at-funerals-how-is-this-usually-handled/820627 "2018-09-20T02:16:08Z")
McCain’s funeral has been all over the news and it made me wonder about his first wife and whether she was invited. I remember there was a lot of talk about Cher attending Sonny Bono’s funeral as his Ex, but kind of ste… --- ## [Centralmost world airport?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/centralmost-world-airport/821401)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/centralmost-world-airport/821401 "2018-09-20T01:07:37Z")
Given that there are 1,281 international airports in the world (according to Wikipedia), there must be an airport that is ‘centralmost’ depending upon some definition - maybe it has the smallest sum of distances to all t… --- ## [What did they call an adrenaline rush before they discovered adrenaline?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-call-an-adrenaline-rush-before-they-discovered-adrenaline/821483)
**Author:** [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-call-an-adrenaline-rush-before-they-discovered-adrenaline/821483 "2018-09-20T01:04:48Z")
This is something I’ve wondered about in the context of historical fiction and fantasy\*– presumably people have known about the boost from excitement/anger/fear pretty much forever. But the name “adrenaline” only dates b… --- ## [Would this be a good DC inrush limiting circuit?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-be-a-good-dc-inrush-limiting-circuit/821333)
**Author:** [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-be-a-good-dc-inrush-limiting-circuit/821333 "2018-09-20T00:54:12Z")
So I tried powering my little 48 VDC 10-20A electronic experiments and gadgets with a 48V LiFePO4 battery pack. I initially got giant sparks when connecting the battery. I avoid the sparks by connecting a resistor in se… --- ## [How is employee pension plan contributions secured and protected?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-employee-pension-plan-contributions-secured-and-protected/821413)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-employee-pension-plan-contributions-secured-and-protected/821413 "2018-09-20T00:31:50Z")
This recent news article about Sears has me confused. I’m a state employee and also a university employee. My employer puts in 5% for every full time employee. The employee can also contribute. They could contribute 4%… --- ## [Paradise on Earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paradise-on-earth/821352)
**Author:** [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paradise-on-earth/821352 "2018-09-20T00:02:47Z")
Are there any regions of the world that have nice climates- here defined as anything between “tropical” and “southern California”- that don’t have a lot of major natural disasters\[sup\]1\[/sup\]? Florida has hurricanes (not… --- ## [Buried Power Lines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buried-power-lines/821481)
**Author:** [@DtypeJag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DtypeJag)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buried-power-lines/821481 "2018-09-19T21:38:16Z")
With all the other destruction from H. Florence constantly in the news why must the citizens also lose power? While traveling round Europe many years ago I was struck by the fact that there seemed to be very few poles … --- ## [What conditions are necessary to fling water in the air such that it all turns to vapor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-conditions-are-necessary-to-fling-water-in-the-air-such-that-it-all-turns-to-vapor/821540)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-conditions-are-necessary-to-fling-water-in-the-air-such-that-it-all-turns-to-vapor/821540 "2018-09-19T20:20:41Z")
During the cleanup of an outdoor party, it’s common to empty glasses by flinging the liquid into the air, which then lands on the ground. This got me wondering if it’s possible for there to be conditions such that all t… --- ## [Question regarding the phrase "'bring a war to a successful issue"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-phrase-bring-a-war-to-a-successful-issue/821570)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-the-phrase-bring-a-war-to-a-successful-issue/821570 "2018-09-19T19:12:12Z")
Hi I recently read the phrase “'bring a war to a successful issue”. This phrase certainly looks dated now. I read it in Will England’s “March 1917” (page 193). It’ used in letter by Evelyn Cameron (an English immigrant … --- ## [Motorcycle, battery, starter question.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorcycle-battery-starter-question/821506)
**Author:** [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorcycle-battery-starter-question/821506 "2018-09-19T17:11:24Z")
I have a very limited understanding of electricity so let’s get that out of the way. I have a 1993 Harley Sportster that I bought new. It started life as an 883 cc. displacement. After about one year I had the dealer th… --- ## [What's under wood paneling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-under-wood-paneling/821319)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-under-wood-paneling/821319 "2018-09-19T15:44:04Z")
To my dismay, whoever(s) built and remodeled many, many houses in the area where I want to buy a house apparently had a real fetish for wood paneling - it seems like virtually every house built 40 or more years ago has a… --- ## [What is the purpose of "bicameral" state legislatures?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-bicameral-state-legislatures/821502)
**Author:** [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-bicameral-state-legislatures/821502 "2018-09-19T15:41:08Z")
In preparation for this November’s election, I’m giving myself an online course of Civics 101. I’m trying to better understand all the different divisions of political representatives, both state and federal. Right now… --- ## [How do they get boar bristles?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-boar-bristles/266325)
**Author:** [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-boar-bristles/266325 "2018-09-19T15:14:55Z")
How exactly are the boar bristles used for hairbrushes harvested? Are they clipped from living boars or does the animal have to be killed first? Are the boars in question also used for food? Leather? Lucky pig-foot c… --- ## [Esperanto Today...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/esperanto-today/820890)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/esperanto-today/820890 "2018-09-19T05:29:40Z")
In case you don’t already know, Esperanto is a constructed international auxiliary language created by L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish-Jewish ophthalmologist, in the late 19th century. It is reportedly the preëminent auxiliary… --- ## [NTSB and Gas Leaks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478 "2018-09-19T02:33:34Z")
Why in the world would the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigate the wide spread gas leaks north of Boston last week? (This is per CBS News.) --- ## [Why are the astronauts' "Snoopy caps" two colors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-astronauts-snoopy-caps-two-colors/821440)
**Author:** [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-astronauts-snoopy-caps-two-colors/821440 "2018-09-19T02:09:28Z")
The "Snoopy Cap" (or CCA—the little hat that holds the communications headset onto the astronauts’ heads) is nicknamed that because its two-tone design (white in the middle, black on the sides) resembles Snoopy’s head. B… --- ## [How do right-handed Highway Patrol Officers fire their handguns while riding?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-right-handed-highway-patrol-officers-fire-their-handguns-while-riding/821521)
**Author:** [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-right-handed-highway-patrol-officers-fire-their-handguns-while-riding/821521 "2018-09-18T23:08:25Z")
Or do they? --- ## [Stealing electricity using an induction coil.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stealing-electricity-using-an-induction-coil/821524)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stealing-electricity-using-an-induction-coil/821524 "2018-09-18T22:22:56Z")
For a long time there have been stories floating around about people supposedly stealing electricity by building a coil underneath power lines. I am assuming the idea is that the coil would act as the secondary of an air… --- ## [No line bifocals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-line-bifocals/821528)
**Author:** [@alinisrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alinisrael)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-line-bifocals/821528 "2018-09-18T21:58:20Z")
As we get older, our vision fades. I’ve worn “no line” bifocals for many years. How do these things work? I know enough about optics to know that light refracts when it goes through a lens, but after closely examining my… --- ## [How does Facebook know my dad is my dad?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-facebook-know-my-dad-is-my-dad/821520)
**Author:** [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-facebook-know-my-dad-is-my-dad/821520 "2018-09-18T19:23:32Z")
I haven’t used the feature where I inform Facebook of the relationship status of my friends, neither has my dad. Yet, he is now listed as my father. How is Facebook doing this? --- ## [welding: max storage temp for argon bottle?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welding-max-storage-temp-for-argon-bottle/821484)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welding-max-storage-temp-for-argon-bottle/821484 "2018-09-18T17:35:21Z")
I have a bottle of argon for TIG welding. They fill it to ~2000 psi, but of course the pressure will vary with ambient temp. How warm an environment can I safely store this in before the safety relief valve blows and v… --- ## [Do the typical household fish stress if the tank is not cleaned?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-typical-household-fish-stress-if-the-tank-is-not-cleaned/821408)
**Author:** [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-typical-household-fish-stress-if-the-tank-is-not-cleaned/821408 "2018-09-18T17:33:13Z")
Tank water was pea green and smelled. Fish were eating good, swimming and in general nothing was wrong with them. No sores or dead ones or anything. They were just hard to see. Some fish like dirty rivers. Can go sa… --- ## [Song royalties, who's cut is bigger?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-royalties-whos-cut-is-bigger/821437)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-royalties-whos-cut-is-bigger/821437 "2018-09-18T15:42:55Z")
Hello Everyone, When a song is recorded and generates income who gets a bigger cut of the proceeds, the vocalist/ band or the person who wrote the song? Something tells me the biggest slice goes to the label. --- ## [Mustaches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustaches/821519)
**Author:** [@alinisrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alinisrael)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mustaches/821519 "2018-09-18T14:41:42Z")
I haven’t shaved my upper lip for 50 years, so for the past 45 or so years I’ve sported a handlebar mustache. What were they called before bicycles were invented? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=536) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=538)