# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=58 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 59 --- ## [Muting the announcers during sporting events](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muting-the-announcers-during-sporting-events/1010064)
**Author:** [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muting-the-announcers-during-sporting-events/1010064 "2025-01-23T22:27:22Z")
As I’ve gotten older I have become increasingly annoyed the announcers during games. Not because I like or dislike any of them in particular, but because they never shup up, not for a second, both of the talking loud and… --- ## [Correlation between inflation and crime rates?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correlation-between-inflation-and-crime-rates/1013258)
**Author:** [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correlation-between-inflation-and-crime-rates/1013258 "2025-01-23T20:46:51Z")
Just thinking rationally but knowing nothing factual, it seems to me that crime, particularly petty crimes, would increase in tough economic times, since the poor bear the burden most as things get more expensive while p… --- ## [Can someone explain to me how Executive Orders work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-to-me-how-executive-orders-work/1013248)
**Author:** [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-to-me-how-executive-orders-work/1013248 "2025-01-23T20:35:13Z")
I’m not American, but like everyone in the World, I’ve been witnessing the flurry of executive orders coming out of the White House. I’m intrigued with how these work, and how they differ from other initiatives which th… --- ## [Debt relief commercial](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-relief-commercial/1013266)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-relief-commercial/1013266 "2025-01-23T16:24:00Z")
I’ve seen this commercial numerous times but still don’t remember the debt relief service name. But that shouldn’t matter as the question I have is about the hapless over-spender. He claims to have $47,000 in debt that w… --- ## [Online graphing calculator wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-graphing-calculator-wrong/1013053)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-graphing-calculator-wrong/1013053 "2025-01-22T14:36:39Z")
This YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_Y778c5g3zU video goes through the steps of finding all the solutions for a sixth-order equation, name (x-2)6 = 729. As expected there are two real solutions and four complex … --- ## [Trying to solve a problem (math)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-solve-a-problem-math/1013113)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2025, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-solve-a-problem-math/1013113 "2025-01-22T05:03:19Z")
I have an air tight vinyl fabric I am working with. I am trying to find a specification for how many PSI pressure it can stand. The only spec I can find is tear strength. Here is what I did and if possible tell me if I d… --- ## [Which website building services meet these criteria?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-website-building-services-meet-these-criteria/1012755)
**Author:** [@longtry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longtry)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2025, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-website-building-services-meet-these-criteria/1012755 "2025-01-22T02:40:13Z")
I want to make my personal website. The majority of the content would be blog-like posts. I have very little knowledge/exp in building one, so I’d prefer these features of a service by order of importance: Must pose l… --- ## [What is the letter mentioned in Trump’s anti-CIA order?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-letter-mentioned-in-trump-s-anti-cia-order/1013192)
**Author:** [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-letter-mentioned-in-trump-s-anti-cia-order/1013192 "2025-01-22T02:09:30Z")
Executive Order Holding Former Government Officials Accountable I would be interested to read the letter Trump is complaining about. --- ## [Can the teeming millions help me with a math proof?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-teeming-millions-help-me-with-a-math-proof/1013184)
**Author:** [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-teeming-millions-help-me-with-a-math-proof/1013184 "2025-01-21T20:22:10Z")
I have had a really bad cold for the last few days and I feel like my head is full of molasses. Here is what I have. There is a function, L(x), that only has value (i.e. is non-zero) between x=a and x=d. This function … --- ## [Safe meat consumption temperatures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-meat-consumption-temperatures/1011745)
**Author:** [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-meat-consumption-temperatures/1011745 "2025-01-21T14:41:53Z")
Why the discrepancy in safe meat cooking temperatures for home consumption? How is E-Coli or other bacteria, etc. rendered safe to eat at lower temps in beef (145-ish degrees) vs poultry (165 degrees) per USDA? Standard… --- ## [Disodium 6-hydroxy-5-\[(4-sulfophenyl)azo\]-2-naphthalenesulfonate also known as FD&C Yellow No. 6](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disodium-6-hydroxy-5-4-sulfophenyl-azo-2-naphthalenesulfonate-also-known-as-fd-c-yellow-no-6/1013193)
**Author:** [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2025, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disodium-6-hydroxy-5-4-sulfophenyl-azo-2-naphthalenesulfonate-also-known-as-fd-c-yellow-no-6/1013193 "2025-01-21T12:50:17Z")
Can ingesting too much FD&C Yellow No. 6, a food dye, change the color of your urine and make you think you are dehydrated? It is found in orange Gatorade Zero. I have been drinking way too much orange Gatorade Zero la… --- ## [England's 1833 Factory Act-why the exception for silk mills?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/englands-1833-factory-act-why-the-exception-for-silk-mills/1012726)
**Author:** [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2025, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/englands-1833-factory-act-why-the-exception-for-silk-mills/1012726 "2025-01-21T07:51:36Z")
Reading about this on Wikipedia, and it says that the law prohibited children under 9 from working in factories–except in silk mills. Why would there have been an exception for that one industry? --- ## [Hubble constant -- early vs recent nonagreement](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-constant-early-vs-recent-nonagreement/937938)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [January 21, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubble-constant-early-vs-recent-nonagreement/937938 "2025-01-21T01:31:31Z")
There’s a problem in cosmology having to do with various measurements of the Hubble constant disagreeing. Basically, those that use measurments based on nearby things get around 74 km/sec/Mpc and those that use measureme… --- ## [English-language books in Cyrillic script?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-in-cyrillic-script/595397)
**Author:** [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-in-cyrillic-script/595397 "2025-01-20T16:03:40Z")
Someone tell me if this is a stupid idea. Anyway, Cyrillic script has always mystified me by looking enough like Latin script that I feel I should be able to read it, yet on closer inspection turning out to be completel… --- ## [Plasma TV exploded](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-tv-exploded/1013117)
**Author:** [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plasma-tv-exploded/1013117 "2025-01-19T21:40:32Z")
So I’m watching TV yesterday on my old LG plasma TV (60PN5300 if it matters), and suddenly there’s a loud BANG and the TV is now completely dead. No power light. I guess a transformer in the TV exploded? Does that make s… --- ## [Windows 11 Location](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-11-location/1013079)
**Author:** [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-11-location/1013079 "2025-01-18T22:49:12Z")
A few days ago my W11 decided that I had moved to New Zealand and adjusted the time accordingly. I reset it manually and reset it to automatic. Today, it did the same thing again. Does anyone have any idea what’s going … --- ## [Huntington's Disease - Math and Biology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntingtons-disease-math-and-biology/626498)
**Author:** [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huntingtons-disease-math-and-biology/626498 "2025-01-17T21:32:19Z")
Huntington’s is autosomal dominant. Therefore, the genotypes for someone affected by Huntington’s would be either \*\*Hh \*\*or hh. So if I were to cross someone affected by Huntington’s with someone unaffected, the possib… --- ## [Creating a sea in Australia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-sea-in-australia/918059)
**Author:** [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Replies:** 90\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-sea-in-australia/918059 "2025-01-17T17:55:20Z")
I’ve just read that early explorers believed that there was a sea in the middle of the Land Down Under. A sea was never found there, but I wonder how difficult it would be to create one. Australia is the lowest continen… --- ## [How does UPS Surepost work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-ups-surepost-work/1012526)
**Author:** [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2025, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-ups-surepost-work/1012526 "2025-01-17T11:06:48Z")
I was talking about this in another thread: I ordered something from Etsy, supposed to be a Christmas present for a friend, first “held up”, then “lost”, then “returned to sender”. Because they needed a street address, n… --- ## [WTF is a wahwah brush?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-a-wahwah-brush/1012668)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2025, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-a-wahwah-brush/1012668 "2025-01-17T03:44:46Z")
In a movie titled All I Wanna Do (1998, set in the early 1960s) some of the girls start using the phrase “up your ziggy with a wahwah brush”. Until tonight I assumed that it was a nonesense phrase made up for the movie. … --- ## [(South Asian) Indians in the US celebrating Christmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-asian-indians-in-the-us-celebrating-christmas/1011923)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2025, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-asian-indians-in-the-us-celebrating-christmas/1011923 "2025-01-17T00:25:33Z")
On a TV show I watch, an Indian family celebrated Christmas. The show doesn’t address whether or not the family is Christian. Do (South Asian) Indians in the US celebrate Christmas strictly as a cultural holiday? Do a s… --- ## [Is this a legally binding offer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-legally-binding-offer/1012681)
**Author:** [@HMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMC)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2025, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-legally-binding-offer/1012681 "2025-01-16T23:44:54Z")
Not looking for legal advice, as I plan on just ignoring this letter, but found it really strange and wondering if there were some legal ramifications to it. A local real estate company sent me a letter in the mail, in … --- ## [Why aren't abandoned cars exploding in the LA fires?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-abandoned-cars-exploding-in-the-la-fires/1012746)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-abandoned-cars-exploding-in-the-la-fires/1012746 "2025-01-16T20:38:28Z")
I’m watching ABC news coverage of the LA Fires. They reported from a street where drivers were stuck in traffic, fleeing the advancing fire. Drivers had to abandoned the cars and run for their lives. The cars were badl… --- ## [Airplanes facing each other a runway, is that normal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplanes-facing-each-other-a-runway-is-that-normal/1012979)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplanes-facing-each-other-a-runway-is-that-normal/1012979 "2025-01-16T20:02:19Z")
When I pulled up the Google Earth map of the Hong Kong airport, (maybe this link will work), I noticed that there were multi-engine jets facing each other at opposite ends of the runway. Is this normal? It seems unsafe… --- ## [The universe: infinite or finite](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-universe-infinite-or-finite/1012942)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-universe-infinite-or-finite/1012942 "2025-01-16T19:17:03Z")
Not sure this needed a new thread, but I didn’t want to hijack the other one. This thread, but specifically this post: Started me thinking… I googled around and there is no hard consensus as to whether the universe i… --- ## [Possible idiom? "out the door at the word Hamlet"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-idiom-out-the-door-at-the-word-hamlet/1012938)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-idiom-out-the-door-at-the-word-hamlet/1012938 "2025-01-16T16:37:53Z")
I got an email the other day that included the line “out the door at the word Hamlet”. From context, I gather that it’s similar to ‘at the drop of a hat’ or ‘at the word go’, meaning a readiness to start with little not… --- ## [Burning Ketones for energy versus Glucose from Glycogen or Gluconeogensis Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-ketones-for-energy-versus-glucose-from-glycogen-or-gluconeogensis-question/1013015)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2025, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burning-ketones-for-energy-versus-glucose-from-glycogen-or-gluconeogensis-question/1013015 "2025-01-16T02:47:14Z")
I’m going to start this in FQ because I think there is a factual answer and I’m not asking for medical advice. Mods feel free to move it if it really belongs somewhere else. After scouring the Internet I’m having trouble… --- ## [Laptop computer question: Windows not starting correctly](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-computer-question-windows-not-starting-correctly/1012993)
**Author:** [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-computer-question-windows-not-starting-correctly/1012993 "2025-01-15T19:57:39Z")
So I’ve got a laptop (HP, running Windows 11) that I bought about 3 or so years ago. The last couple of days, I’d occasionally get a blue screen while browsing, and an error message that says something like “Windows need… --- ## [Obsolete speeds on turntables](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-speeds-on-turntables/1012761)
**Author:** [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-speeds-on-turntables/1012761 "2025-01-15T17:16:26Z")
I recall my first turntable purchased for me in the late 60’s. It had adjustable speeds to play 45 rpm singles and 33 rpm albums, and also had a 78 setting as well for those older format records, but what purpose did the… --- ## [Siri Apple Navigation Routes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siri-apple-navigation-routes/1012915)
**Author:** [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/siri-apple-navigation-routes/1012915 "2025-01-15T12:47:10Z")
I have a Tom-Tom navigation device. It always chose the fastest route by default, but you could alter it manually. It cautioned against choosing the shortest route because it might mean a lot of streets, lights, and sto… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=59)