# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=598 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 599 --- ## [When did blue laws regarding car sales begin in Illinois?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-blue-laws-regarding-car-sales-begin-in-illinois/399185)
**Author:** [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2018, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-blue-laws-regarding-car-sales-begin-in-illinois/399185 "2018-04-10T06:04:11Z")
I cannot remember a time when you could purchase a new car in Illinois on a Sunday, but my husband and his friend seem to remember it being a relatively new law. When did it start? Incidently, I found that Illinois allo… --- ## [Voice recognition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-recognition/811992)
**Author:** [@stosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2018, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-recognition/811992 "2018-04-10T05:12:54Z")
I have a friend who is legally blind and she said she would like to send more emails or letters to people. She’s not a typist and says the magnification on her computer is a pain to use. I was wondering if any of the vo… --- ## ["Adam used Dropbox to share a folder with you!" - Spam? Malware? Something else?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adam-used-dropbox-to-share-a-folder-with-you-spam-malware-something-else/811926)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adam-used-dropbox-to-share-a-folder-with-you-spam-malware-something-else/811926 "2018-04-10T04:04:03Z")
Just got an email headed with this - I don’t know Adam (from Adam, heh), and didn’t click on the link. What is it, do you think? --- ## [United States News Agencies in the 1890s](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-news-agencies-in-the-1890s/811671)
**Author:** [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-news-agencies-in-the-1890s/811671 "2018-04-10T03:50:49Z")
Good day, all! I’m researching an item from the January 3, 1896 Custer County \[Nebraska\] Chief. It looks like something that came off the wire services. Was the Associated Press the only news agency that this would have… --- ## [How "housing benefits" work in the U.K.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-housing-benefits-work-in-the-u-k/811764)
**Author:** [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-housing-benefits-work-in-the-u-k/811764 "2018-04-10T01:43:24Z")
Recently I stumbled across a British television show called “If you can’t pay, we’ll take it away” on Netflix. It seems to be a reality show, following the actions of “High Court Enforcement Agents” as they carry out … --- ## ["California cops cannot open fire if the suspect's gun is unloaded" - true or exaggeration?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-cops-cannot-open-fire-if-the-suspects-gun-is-unloaded-true-or-exaggeration/811874)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-cops-cannot-open-fire-if-the-suspects-gun-is-unloaded-true-or-exaggeration/811874 "2018-04-09T23:53:32Z")
This article is posted by a website called Blue Lives Matter, so you can already guess which political angle they are coming from and take several grains of salt with it, but they claim that California’s new law will ho… --- ## [What font does Microsoft Word use for \\scriptA etc.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-font-does-microsoft-word-use-for-scripta-etc/812108)
**Author:** [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-font-does-microsoft-word-use-for-scripta-etc/812108 "2018-04-09T23:17:35Z")
If you have Math AutoCorrect enabled File Options Proofing {AutoCorrect button} \[Math AutoCorret tab\] Use Math AutoCorrect rules outside of math regions when you type \\scriptA etc., Word inserts a script letter A, etc… --- ## [Operating room garb](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-room-garb/812024)
**Author:** [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operating-room-garb/812024 "2018-04-09T21:37:43Z")
There is a commercial that’s been playing touting either hip or knee replacement surgery. The OR staff are in encapsulated “space suits”. Yet, I see other videos of brain surgery where the staff is in more traditional OR… --- ## [Help me remember the name of this object from the tool room.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-the-name-of-this-object-from-the-tool-room/811997)
**Author:** [@Skyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skyo)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-the-name-of-this-object-from-the-tool-room/811997 "2018-04-09T18:26:44Z")
It’s a metal band with holes all along it, meant to be formed into a circle with the free end inserted into a section where turning a screw ratchets the band closed tighter and tighter around whatever. They come in lots … --- ## [Interested in finding quote: philosophical, apparently "Eastern"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interested-in-finding-quote-philosophical-apparently-eastern/812037)
**Author:** [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interested-in-finding-quote-philosophical-apparently-eastern/812037 "2018-04-09T18:11:14Z")
\ It goes something like this: At some point in a conversation a father says to his son that he really has two sides (and that may h… --- ## [Please explain surf (tide) watches for me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-surf-tide-watches-for-me/811983)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-surf-tide-watches-for-me/811983 "2018-04-09T17:58:27Z")
I’m thinking of getting a tide watch for surfing. It’s essentially a particularly robust and waterproof digital wrist watch which features a tide prediction mode, telling you (in addition to the usual timekeeping functio… --- ## [Do women get viagra spam emails?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-get-viagra-spam-emails/811996)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-get-viagra-spam-emails/811996 "2018-04-09T17:46:08Z")
As a guy I get a few viagra type spam emails a day in my spam folder. Do they not send these emails if your first name is female such as Mary? --- ## [What defines a civil war?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-defines-a-civil-war/811936)
**Author:** [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-defines-a-civil-war/811936 "2018-04-09T17:26:42Z")
Why wasn’t the Revolutionary War (the American War for Independence) referred to as a civil war (an internal conflict of the empire of Great Britain/England)? Or was it? Did it only become referred to as the Revolutiona… --- ## [Is mixing grains (alcohol) really a bad idea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mixing-grains-alcohol-really-a-bad-idea/812011)
**Author:** [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mixing-grains-alcohol-really-a-bad-idea/812011 "2018-04-09T16:17:25Z")
Back when I was barely old enough to drink, I got several pieces of advice that I took very much to heart. One was “Liquor before beer, never fear; beer before liquor, never been sicker.” Another was, “Don’t mix grains.”… --- ## [A question concerning Jiffy Pop popcorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-concerning-jiffy-pop-popcorn/811877)
**Author:** [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-concerning-jiffy-pop-popcorn/811877 "2018-04-09T14:45:08Z")
OK, so my youngest - aged 13 - is suddenly lit up over Jiffy Pop. No kidding. I’ll even toss in a ‘what the hell?’ for those playing at home. Apparently it’s mentioned prominently in some Tumblr thing she and her frie… --- ## [What's like a heating element, but cold instead?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-like-a-heating-element-but-cold-instead/811754)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-like-a-heating-element-but-cold-instead/811754 "2018-04-09T14:22:13Z")
A heating element, or a cartridge heater, is this solid piece with wires coming out of it, and when you put power into the wires, heat develops inside the solid piece and travels out to its environment. The thing is fair… --- ## [Plane is damaged after takeoff - where do they go while they figure it out?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-is-damaged-after-takeoff-where-do-they-go-while-they-figure-it-out/812034)
**Author:** [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-is-damaged-after-takeoff-where-do-they-go-while-they-figure-it-out/812034 "2018-04-09T14:07:14Z")
In a video about tail strikes they mentioned that pilots aren’t always aware it has happened, or may be unsure. I’m assuming they have a a checklist or procedure to determine what’s wrong, and if the plane is still safe … --- ## [A general detectable frequency, everywhere?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-detectable-frequency-everywhere/811929)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-general-detectable-frequency-everywhere/811929 "2018-04-09T12:19:14Z")
With the right detector. Is there a frequency that is present everywhere on the surface of Earth? Like some tick tock of the universe? Or at least somewhat local to Earth? Asking in relation to my question about linear … --- ## [Mac print driver problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-print-driver-problem/811993)
**Author:** [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2018, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-print-driver-problem/811993 "2018-04-09T06:21:28Z")
I am using OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.8) It is an old mac and the OS cannot be further updated. I have just purchased a Brother J480DW and there is no available driver that I can find to run the printer from the Mac. Is … --- ## [Origin of the Bump and Grind](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-bump-and-grind/650221)
**Author:** [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-bump-and-grind/650221 "2018-04-08T23:31:07Z")
Ok, so this might be a tough one but I was recently reading the excellent book “Confederacy of Dunces” for the first time and the phrase “bumped and ground” was used in a description of a character’s attempt at doing an … --- ## [Laser optic velocity detector.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-optic-velocity-detector/811856)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-optic-velocity-detector/811856 "2018-04-08T17:36:47Z")
I know there are laser gyroscopes to detect rotation. Are there similar devices to detect linear movement? --- ## [Remote surveillance (non-radar) through thick black smoke: how? (BDA or riots, eg)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-surveillance-non-radar-through-thick-black-smoke-how-bda-or-riots-eg/811931)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remote-surveillance-non-radar-through-thick-black-smoke-how-bda-or-riots-eg/811931 "2018-04-08T17:16:52Z")
A tactic at many riots is burning tires. Currently at the Gaza-Israel border some huge number of tires were prepositioned and lit on fire, and used as cover. Isn’t IR surveillance screwed from the heat? And visual by th… --- ## [Immunity antibodies: An "all-or-nothing" thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-antibodies-an-all-or-nothing-thing/812008)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2018, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immunity-antibodies-an-all-or-nothing-thing/812008 "2018-04-08T06:01:48Z")
I was doing some reading about anti-sperm antibodies (ASA) - antibodies produced against sperm if sperm accidentally gets into the bloodstream, such as via testicle injury or whatnot - and apparently such ASAs might onl… --- ## [Source of honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/source-of-honey/811870)
**Author:** [@shinnen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shinnen)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/source-of-honey/811870 "2018-04-07T17:31:53Z")
Hi, A while ago I read that clover honey, and alfalfa honey are more prone to crystallization than other types. How do manufacturers know where the bees having been going? Is honey the result of something the bees excre… --- ## [Looking for more information on Mt. Ceta near Thermopylae.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-more-information-on-mt-ceta-near-thermopylae/811928)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-more-information-on-mt-ceta-near-thermopylae/811928 "2018-04-07T17:04:06Z")
Hi I have seen references to Mt. Ceta near Thermopylae but haven’t seen that mountain listed by Wikipedia or Encyclopedia Britannica… Is it just an older name for a mountain new the Gulf of Maliakos ? “Thermopylae (thĕ… --- ## [What does a portable generator do when connected to the grid?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-portable-generator-do-when-connected-to-the-grid/811814)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-portable-generator-do-when-connected-to-the-grid/811814 "2018-04-07T16:19:07Z")
When you connect a portable generator to your house, you’re supposed to open the main breaker to disconnect your house from the grid. Supposedly this is to protect utility workers who may be working to repair utility … --- ## [What % of people will die of old age and never had a (noticeable) heart attack, stroke or cancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-people-will-die-of-old-age-and-never-had-a-noticeable-heart-attack-stroke-or-cancer/811947)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-people-will-die-of-old-age-and-never-had-a-noticeable-heart-attack-stroke-or-cancer/811947 "2018-04-07T15:35:55Z")
I say noticeable because almost everyone gets cancer, but for many people it isn’t noticeable. And some people have heart attacks or strokes but they are mild enough that they think they are just some other illness. And… --- ## [Targeted ads](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ads/811956)
**Author:** [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2018, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targeted-ads/811956 "2018-04-07T13:10:29Z")
Mods, please move if not the appropriate venue. Browsing on my iPad and iPhone, it seems like almost half the ads are “How Older Men Tighten Their Skin.” I’m 62, so I’m the correct demographic, but I never searched for … --- ## [Math Question on Twin Primes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-question-on-twin-primes/811975)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2018, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-question-on-twin-primes/811975 "2018-04-07T11:09:40Z")
If it is ever proved that there are infinite twin primes (like 3,5 and 41,43) will this imply that there are infinite primes separated by every even number? --- ## [Death from ruptured artery - a bit gruesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-ruptured-artery-a-bit-gruesome/811941)
**Author:** [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2018, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-from-ruptured-artery-a-bit-gruesome/811941 "2018-04-07T10:41:36Z")
Sadly, my father has terminal cancer. He has multiple tumours and is unlikely to survive more than a couple of months. Because of the location of the most obvious tumour in one of his carotid glands his doctors have hig… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=597) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=599)