# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=578 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 579 --- ## [Current lava flow maps?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-lava-flow-maps/815480)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-lava-flow-maps/815480 "2018-06-06T03:37:03Z")
I’d like to see current maps of the lava flow from the Kilauea eruption (preferably satellite image, but a regular map will do). I’m very curious as to how close the danger is to the house we rented. Where can I find o… --- ## [Injury from pressing head hard into something](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/injury-from-pressing-head-hard-into-something/815447)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/injury-from-pressing-head-hard-into-something/815447 "2018-06-05T22:03:28Z")
Dumb question, but is it possible to get a head injury from slowly pressing one’s head too hard against something (ie, a wall,) - as opposed to rapid impact -and is there a medical term for it? --- ## [Clothing donations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothing-donations/815467)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clothing-donations/815467 "2018-06-05T22:01:29Z")
I took a bunch of old clothes down to the gas station yesterday, and deposited them in one of those clothing donation boxes. What actually happens to those clothes? I put in a couple of nice jackets (well, great condit… --- ## [Mystery multi-pin connector outside my living room window](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-multi-pin-connector-outside-my-living-room-window/815473)
**Author:** [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-multi-pin-connector-outside-my-living-room-window/815473 "2018-06-05T18:32:00Z")
There is a weird connector on the window frame outside my living room window, just behind a window box full of flowers. Has anyone seen anything similar? Tweet with image --- ## [Company paying directly for damage they did to my car vs. going through their insurance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-paying-directly-for-damage-they-did-to-my-car-vs-going-through-their-insurance/815304)
**Author:** [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-paying-directly-for-damage-they-did-to-my-car-vs-going-through-their-insurance/815304 "2018-06-05T16:31:10Z")
Last week, my car was hit by a truck owned by a landscaping company while in a parking lot. I got their insurance information, contacted them, etc. - in the end, the company has made arrangements to pay for the repairs … --- ## [How to keep cats from climbing over our fence](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-cats-from-climbing-over-our-fence/815415)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-keep-cats-from-climbing-over-our-fence/815415 "2018-06-05T15:06:23Z")
We have 6 foot high stockade fence, 700 feet of it, to keep cats contained where they are safe. The trouble is that some of them are able to get over it (we have other means to keep them from going under it). We slit la… --- ## [Waisted calories / wasted calories](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waisted-calories-wasted-calories/815455)
**Author:** [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waisted-calories-wasted-calories/815455 "2018-06-05T12:32:26Z")
Once every few years I’ll get the hankering plus have the opportunity to stop at a Mcfast food joint and get a monster mega burger meal with the extra large heart attack fries and a sugar loaded frozen dairy. All told i… --- ## [Does Sikhism require a turban, specifically?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-sikhism-require-a-turban-specifically/815224)
**Author:** [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-sikhism-require-a-turban-specifically/815224 "2018-06-05T11:50:44Z")
It’s often reported that they require a turban as part of the observant faith. But all I can see in the “official” sources I looked about is that kesh means unshorn hair, and the turban is a traditional way to manage hai… --- ## [Wrong handed lock](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-handed-lock/815448)
**Author:** [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-handed-lock/815448 "2018-06-05T10:15:24Z")
I bought the wrong handed (expensive) Baldwin lock. Can this still be installed with just the handle going the wrong way? Otherwise, how does one change the handedness of a lock? Thanks --- ## [Does hot weather lower your metabolism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-weather-lower-your-metabolism/815424)
**Author:** [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-weather-lower-your-metabolism/815424 "2018-06-05T07:17:32Z")
Do our bodies adapt to hot weather by burning less energy? You see, the more calories your body burns, the more heat you’re producing. Also the higher your metabolism, the more water you will need. In cold weather, yo… --- ## [Walter J. Burien Jr. and his CAFR information](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-j-burien-jr-and-his-cafr-information/3368)
**Author:** [@Contestant\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contestant_3)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walter-j-burien-jr-and-his-cafr-information/3368 "2018-06-05T04:41:25Z")
I’ve just been exposed to Walter J. Burien and his incredible information concerning Comprhensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) of governmental entities. To put it very very simply, he claims that government entities … --- ## [What is the top 1 percent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-1-percent/784811)
**Author:** [@cjackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjackson)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-1-percent/784811 "2018-06-05T02:20:35Z")
How much does an individual need to make in order to be in the top 1 percent? How many top 1 percent earners are in this country? --- ## [How do you research the usage of a word?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-research-the-usage-of-a-word/815383)
**Author:** [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-research-the-usage-of-a-word/815383 "2018-06-05T02:13:31Z")
In the last year or so I’ve become aware of this meaning for the word “agency” the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power In a recent episode of a popular television show, there was dialog along … --- ## [Would Trump keep his Secret Service protection if he is sent to prison?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-trump-keep-his-secret-service-protection-if-he-is-sent-to-prison/814047)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-trump-keep-his-secret-service-protection-if-he-is-sent-to-prison/814047 "2018-06-05T01:37:05Z")
Though he probably cannot be prosecuted while president, he can be arrested and and tried after he leaves office. As a former president, he is entitled to Secret Service protection for 10 years after leaving office. Is… --- ## [Flag Flying Protocol](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-flying-protocol/815267)
**Author:** [@Squallous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squallous)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-flying-protocol/815267 "2018-06-05T01:30:30Z")
In a U.S. city, outside a municipal building are three flagpoles flying the U.S., state, and city flag, respectively. The U.S. flag is fully raised, the state and city are at half-staff. I have also seen, at this same … --- ## [Living with a pronounced limp](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-with-a-pronounced-limp/815384)
**Author:** [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-with-a-pronounced-limp/815384 "2018-06-05T01:29:01Z")
I’m having a wart removed from the ball of my foot and the limping is driving me crazy. I’m walking on the side of my foot, my legs and hips hurt, everything I’m doing is slow. It’s just temporary tho, I’ll power through… --- ## [What can Putin use all this money for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-putin-use-all-this-money-for/815238)
**Author:** [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-putin-use-all-this-money-for/815238 "2018-06-04T23:36:35Z")
If Putin is possibly the richest person in the world, through all sorts of bribes and payouts based on threats, how can he use it? He has to show the life of “only” the president, right? He can’t pull up in a 60 foot yac… --- ## [How vulnerable is our nation's electric grid?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-vulnerable-is-our-nations-electric-grid/815327)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-vulnerable-is-our-nations-electric-grid/815327 "2018-06-04T23:33:15Z")
(I am referring to the electric grid of the U.S., but I supposed the same can be said for most other countries.) Was reading this story about “preppers” who believe our nation’s electric grid will go down for an extende… --- ## [Is there any connection between the contemporary slang "baller" and the 60s usage of "ball"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-connection-between-the-contemporary-slang-baller-and-the-60s-usage-of-ball/815361)
**Author:** [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-connection-between-the-contemporary-slang-baller-and-the-60s-usage-of-ball/815361 "2018-06-04T22:18:10Z")
I’m reading Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book and they’re always talking about “balling”, aka fucking. It’s not the first time I’ve seen or heard this usage in books or movies about the 60s. (Jerry Garcia also said “Balli… --- ## [Need ideas to repair water damaged plywood](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-to-repair-water-damaged-plywood/815358)
**Author:** [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-ideas-to-repair-water-damaged-plywood/815358 "2018-06-04T22:11:34Z")
I have a hand built camper trailer. It has a body made from plywood with an outer skin of aluminum. As some point, one of the seems had a hole, and rainwater entered, leaving the interior plywood delaminating and with a … --- ## [Time reversal question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-reversal-question/815074)
**Author:** [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-reversal-question/815074 "2018-06-04T21:05:39Z")
I’ve been watching a lot of PBS Space Time on Youtube and reading Brian Greene’s “Fabric of the Cosmos.” In both, they discuss time reversal and I’m having a difficult time (no pun intended) trying to wrap my head around… --- ## [US Population Pyramid Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-population-pyramid-question/815381)
**Author:** [@TheUser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheUser)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-population-pyramid-question/815381 "2018-06-04T18:27:47Z")
I noticed a discrepancy in US Population figures that I can’t quite explain: The # of births was\*\* increasing from 1976-1990 and also 1997-2007\*\* (let’s call them Early Millennials and Late Millennials): https://2.bp.… --- ## [Greatest Degree of Great-ness Ever Recorded.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-degree-of-great-ness-ever-recorded/815420)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-degree-of-great-ness-ever-recorded/815420 "2018-06-04T18:23:27Z")
I think having a living great grandparent is commonplace now. I know my cousin’s son, and his great grandfather, had lives which briefly coincided. He was just a baby. But my grandfather might have held him (in the old a… --- ## [What is this object?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-object/815366)
**Author:** [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-object/815366 "2018-06-04T13:53:39Z")
A friend posted this on Facebook. --- ## [Books disappear from ibooks when I disable icloud syncing, Any solution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-disappear-from-ibooks-when-i-disable-icloud-syncing-any-solution/814526)
**Author:** [@The\_Sheikh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Sheikh)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-disappear-from-ibooks-when-i-disable-icloud-syncing-any-solution/814526 "2018-06-04T12:16:33Z")
I’ve been using the iBooks app on my iPad for a long time now oblivious to the the fact that Apple is going to extort me for that in the end. I open all documents and ebooks using ibooks. Now, I have got a big collection… --- ## [The Last Indian War.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-indian-war/815139)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-indian-war/815139 "2018-06-04T11:48:01Z")
Something that perplexes me still. When was the last armed conflict with native Americans? And why don’t we have them anymore? Such armed conflicts were common even in the 19th Century apparently. Custer’s last stand. … --- ## [First use of (Region) Strong phrase after tragedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-use-of-region-strong-phrase-after-tragedy/815382)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-use-of-region-strong-phrase-after-tragedy/815382 "2018-06-04T03:57:05Z")
We’ve seen Vegas, Houston, Boston, and Vermont use this phrase after a tragedy. Vermont in 2011 was the first usage I remember seeing. Were they the first? --- ## [Tide clock](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-clock/815198)
**Author:** [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tide-clock/815198 "2018-06-04T01:44:39Z")
Is there such a thing as a digital tide clock that will tell you when the next high/low tides will occur? My understanding is that on the mid-Atlantic Coast tides are pretty consistent so the X hours Until High/Low Tide … --- ## [How did the Apollo flights communicate with Houston?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-apollo-flights-communicate-with-houston/815320)
**Author:** [@NoCode2112](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCode2112)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-apollo-flights-communicate-with-houston/815320 "2018-06-03T23:38:11Z")
I’m curious about this because I know a moon hoax clown who is really harping on this point and it’s one of the few points that I don’t know enough about to answer. Usually his arguments just need some easy to demonstra… --- ## [IDing poison ivy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iding-poison-ivy/815357)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iding-poison-ivy/815357 "2018-06-03T22:42:29Z")
I’m waiting on my new weed wacker to arrive in the mail this week, and it occurs to me that I’m really bad at plant identification. I do okay with flowers, but trees and non-flowering plants…no bueno. So, in hopes of av… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=577) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=579)