# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=617 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 618 --- ## ["Reverse Osmosis"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reverse-osmosis/251858)
**Author:** [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reverse-osmosis/251858 "2018-02-20T05:50:48Z")
I’m going off of 9th grade biology here (almost a decade ago) but isn’t there a word for this? Isn’t it diffusion? Why do I keep hearing the term reverse osmosis? --- ## [History of mathematics Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-mathematics-question/809068)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2018, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-of-mathematics-question/809068 "2018-02-20T04:13:41Z")
I know of a number of mathematical “proofs” that have been accepted for a good while only to be later shown to be false. However, in every case I know of, it was the reasoning, not the conclusion, that was shown to be i… --- ## [Number One, Number Two.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2018, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-number-two/809141 "2018-02-20T04:10:22Z")
Where did the convention start, that “number two” = bowel movement and “number one” = pee? I did look it up once in my dictionary. It didn’t give an origin. But it did list it as “baby talk”. That one has me even more f… --- ## [MS Word Question #2](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-question-2/809038)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2018, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-question-2/809038 "2018-02-20T04:09:11Z")
MS Word Question #2: Over thirty years ago I had word processing programs that were smart enough to–when you selected a paragraph from a document and entered a print command,–to know to print just the paragraph. But ev… --- ## [Give up cigarettes vs. living healthy, but not giving up cigarettes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-up-cigarettes-vs-living-healthy-but-not-giving-up-cigarettes/809046)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-up-cigarettes-vs-living-healthy-but-not-giving-up-cigarettes/809046 "2018-02-20T03:54:44Z")
Say you have a choice between: (A) Continuing to smoke, AND (B) Eating a very nutritious diet, becoming a vegetarian, and following nutrition advice. OR © Giving up y smoking, AND (D) Paying no attention to nutrition… --- ## [Do graffiti sprayers have any legal rights if a business uses their "art" in ads or logos?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-graffiti-sprayers-have-any-legal-rights-if-a-business-uses-their-art-in-ads-or-logos/781971)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-graffiti-sprayers-have-any-legal-rights-if-a-business-uses-their-art-in-ads-or-logos/781971 "2018-02-20T01:50:04Z")
Per this story New ‘United Crushers’ Beer Raising Red Flags with Artists What legal rights, if any, would a graffiti artist have if someone copies their works and uses it on advertising and logos? --- ## [Help I D this WWII Japanese aircraft I D tag](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-d-this-wwii-japanese-aircraft-i-d-tag/809093)
**Author:** [@papaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papaw)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2018, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-d-this-wwii-japanese-aircraft-i-d-tag/809093 "2018-02-20T00:51:09Z")
Our local museum was given an I D Tag reportedly taken from a Japanese aircraft. Is there anyone on the Dope who may be able to decipher it? https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4658/40348898611\_85ee26c4b1\_k.jpgI D Tag by Noe… --- ## [Whaddya get when you cross a St Bernard with a Chihuahua?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whaddya-get-when-you-cross-a-st-bernard-with-a-chihuahua/668377)
**Author:** [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whaddya-get-when-you-cross-a-st-bernard-with-a-chihuahua/668377 "2018-02-19T20:51:05Z")
Actually my question is: Is it biologically (even if not physically) possible? Could someone create a San Bernarduahua test-tube style? Would it have a normal life expectancy? Has anyone ever done something like this (en… --- ## [Safest Plce in U.S.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safest-plce-in-u-s/808955)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safest-plce-in-u-s/808955 "2018-02-19T15:09:58Z")
In terms of natural disaster, which U.S. state and which foreign nation are safest (i.e., least vulnerable to hurricanes, floods, etc.)? --- ## [How can a Windows update take so long to complete?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-a-windows-update-take-so-long-to-complete/809048)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-a-windows-update-take-so-long-to-complete/809048 "2018-02-19T13:07:29Z")
Windows 10 has just decided to inflict its latest update on me. It’s a non-essential one so I’ve been trying ever since it got downloaded to tell Windows I didn’t want it, going so far as to disable updates. Windows howe… --- ## [What causes loss of smell during a cold?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-loss-of-smell-during-a-cold/809096)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-loss-of-smell-during-a-cold/809096 "2018-02-19T07:31:00Z")
I have a cold (or something coldlike), but for about half of the day today have been able to breathe okay through my nose. Yet, I still have no sense of smell. Which leads to my question. What is the cause of the loss o… --- ## [How can a medical center diagnose conditions that they then do not treat (as a policy matter)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-a-medical-center-diagnose-conditions-that-they-then-do-not-treat-as-a-policy-matter/808904)
**Author:** [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-a-medical-center-diagnose-conditions-that-they-then-do-not-treat-as-a-policy-matter/808904 "2018-02-19T03:11:04Z")
This has really irritated me. My girlfriend, after a lot of false starts, had finally gotten the proper diagnosis of ADHD, and it was from two different medical professionals from this same establishment. After a lot o… --- ## [Latin Legalese for "Just for fun, and this is non-binding."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-legalese-for-just-for-fun-and-this-is-non-binding/809043)
**Author:** [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-legalese-for-just-for-fun-and-this-is-non-binding/809043 "2018-02-19T00:50:21Z")
Google is almighty and somewhat infallible, but I don’t think it’s perfect and I’m sure there’s a legal precedent for the phrase I’m looking for; “This is all in good fun, but is not legally binding, and cannot be used … --- ## [Wheat bran, soybeans, maize, and dandelion greens](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheat-bran-soybeans-maize-and-dandelion-greens/809018)
**Author:** [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheat-bran-soybeans-maize-and-dandelion-greens/809018 "2018-02-19T00:22:58Z")
How long could a healthy person subsist on such a diet? Months? Years? Their whole life? --- ## [Have you ever heard of "The Great Ape (or Golill\_ War in Engand?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-great-ape-or-golill_-war-in-engand/809074)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of-the-great-ape-or-golill_-war-in-engand/809074 "2018-02-19T00:04:27Z")
I seem to remember reading, nearly sixty years ago, of “The Great Ape War” In London, England. The claimed event: The man in charge of primates at a British zoo went on vacation, leaving his newly-hired assistant in cha… --- ## [What can Israel (and presumably USA) learn from the Iran drone wreckage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-israel-and-presumably-usa-learn-from-the-iran-drone-wreckage/809056)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-israel-and-presumably-usa-learn-from-the-iran-drone-wreckage/809056 "2018-02-18T23:48:38Z")
Iran recently sent a drone over Israeli, where it was tracked and shot down by a helicopter. The drone may have been a result of Iran’s backward’s engineering of a US drone from a few years ago, and I’m not sure of the … --- ## [Did North American indigenous people have cats?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-north-american-indigenous-people-have-cats/808996)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-north-american-indigenous-people-have-cats/808996 "2018-02-18T23:46:09Z")
They had dogs, but I’m wondering if any cats came across the Bering land bridge with the ancestors of the indigenous inhabitants? Or did the cats, being sensible little critters, say “too cold !” and not cross over with… --- ## [Can you put two different normal curves together and get a normal curve?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-put-two-different-normal-curves-together-and-get-a-normal-curve/809076)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-put-two-different-normal-curves-together-and-get-a-normal-curve/809076 "2018-02-18T21:12:55Z")
Can you put together two (different) normal curves and get a normal curve? I tried it with male and female heights, experimenting with different mean-median-modes. The best I could get was a plateau. --- ## [Some basic question regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-basic-question-regarding-artificial-intelligence-ai/808898)
**Author:** [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-basic-question-regarding-artificial-intelligence-ai/808898 "2018-02-18T20:23:02Z")
Hi, I am looking to increase my functional understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) but am having a hard time understanding the following terms, despite a lot of reading. They seem to be used inconsistently in the… --- ## [What about HAARP?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-haarp/140298)
**Author:** [@Sparc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparc)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-haarp/140298 "2018-02-18T12:02:57Z")
So this thing is supposedly a mind control weapon, or a giant radio antenna, or an anti-al Qaeda subterranean stratospheric X-ray machine. What’s the beef? Does it work? Can it control minds? Tinfoil time? I know, I’m ch… --- ## [Yellowstone caldera, alternate scenarios.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-caldera-alternate-scenarios/809036)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstone-caldera-alternate-scenarios/809036 "2018-02-18T11:58:46Z")
It seems the Yellowstone caldera only has one operating mode. Big BOOM. Is there a known reason for this? Something to do with the basic structure? But the surface over the hot spot moves. Presenting different structure… --- ## [MS Word Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-question/809037)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-question/809037 "2018-02-18T10:54:47Z")
MS Word Question: If you have NO Word document minimized, you can have Word icon on the task bar. You can click it and get a new, fresh page for a new Word document. However, if there is a Word document minimized to t… --- ## [Is this Google, or is this me?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-google-or-is-this-me/808954)
**Author:** [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-google-or-is-this-me/808954 "2018-02-18T07:04:37Z")
So Google is my default search engine, and when I log onto my computer a screen comes up with the Google logo and my six most commonly visited sites underneath. Or I should say, that’s what USED to happen. This last we… --- ## [Could excel do this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-excel-do-this/809021)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-excel-do-this/809021 "2018-02-18T02:12:14Z")
Input thickness .675" input Desired strain expressed in percents of deformation example .5% output Radius- ? I am guessing I might be in the 30" range Now the second part and not necessary but would … --- ## [Hard pounding](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-pounding/809027)
**Author:** [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hard-pounding/809027 "2018-02-18T00:14:19Z")
In 1968 J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to his son Michael (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien #306) in which he describes a 1911 hiking trip in Switzerland which was the inspiration for some scenes in The Hobbit. He tells of … --- ## [Car's warning light flashing momentarily when car hits a bump or pothole (need answer fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-warning-light-flashing-momentarily-when-car-hits-a-bump-or-pothole-need-answer-fast/808989)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-warning-light-flashing-momentarily-when-car-hits-a-bump-or-pothole-need-answer-fast/808989 "2018-02-17T21:49:29Z")
Anyone know the meaning of the car’s warning light flashing for a split-second (the triangular-shaped light thing) when a car hits a bump or pothole in the road, then instantly vanishing again? Seems like the implicatio… --- ## [Did Soldiers Fruitelssy Fire Machine Guns & Small Arms at Tanks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-soldiers-fruitelssy-fire-machine-guns-small-arms-at-tanks/808702)
**Author:** [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-soldiers-fruitelssy-fire-machine-guns-small-arms-at-tanks/808702 "2018-02-17T21:17:48Z")
While early tanks (WWI and even in the opening of WWII) were vulnerable to some kinds of machine-gun fire and specialty “anti-tank rifles,” by the time WWII was well underway, that was not typically the case. Tanks coul… --- ## [Do we all often have tiny little cases of cancer that just resolve?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-all-often-have-tiny-little-cases-of-cancer-that-just-resolve/809002)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-all-often-have-tiny-little-cases-of-cancer-that-just-resolve/809002 "2018-02-17T19:45:52Z")
Is this a reasonable way to think of cancer? The immune system is important, so, what would the immune system do with cancer? It would identify little runaway cells or groups of cells. What’s the difference between such … --- ## [Disadvantages to larger-than-needed credit line?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disadvantages-to-larger-than-needed-credit-line/808959)
**Author:** [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disadvantages-to-larger-than-needed-credit-line/808959 "2018-02-17T18:54:06Z")
I just refinanced my home equity line of credit to help pay for some remodeling we’re doing. I don’t think we’ll keep a large balance on it for more than a few months - we’re mostly just waiting for some investments to a… --- ## [How do words/names in other alphabets get (mis)translated into ours?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-words-names-in-other-alphabets-get-mis-translated-into-ours/807603)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-words-names-in-other-alphabets-get-mis-translated-into-ours/807603 "2018-02-17T17:30:26Z")
I see, for only one example, the name of the Burmese (Myanmarese?) leader written as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But it is almost always pronounced something like "Ahng san soo chee. Presumably, her name is written in her na… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=616) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=618)