# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=625 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 626 --- ## [International Navigation (Air, Shipping, Etc.): Does It Use Metric Or Imperial Measurements?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-navigation-air-shipping-etc-does-it-use-metric-or-imperial-measurements/807590)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-navigation-air-shipping-etc-does-it-use-metric-or-imperial-measurements/807590 "2018-01-29T22:20:23Z")
I know that a lot of navigation by air and sea in the U.S. references speeds and distances based on imperial measurements: knots (miles per hour), nautical miles, etc. Does the international air travel (and air freight) … --- ## [Why Is Everything in Space Moving So Fast?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-in-space-moving-so-fast/807676)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-in-space-moving-so-fast/807676 "2018-01-29T20:12:27Z")
That recent meteor collision got me to thinking. Why is everything in the Universe moving so fast? As I understand it, 10 miles a second is not uncommon. Maybe some things move even faster than that. The planets. Meteo… --- ## [Does Google News tailor its searches to your own preferences?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-google-news-tailor-its-searches-to-your-own-preferences/807580)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-google-news-tailor-its-searches-to-your-own-preferences/807580 "2018-01-29T20:10:38Z")
Question about how Google News works. Is it responsive to your own search history, so it offers sources and issues that you’ve clicked on in the past? --- ## [What's this sharp pain on the surface of my head?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-sharp-pain-on-the-surface-of-my-head/157607)
**Author:** [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-sharp-pain-on-the-surface-of-my-head/157607 "2018-01-29T18:22:52Z")
This has plagued me for years now. It happens infrequently, but when it does it’s a doozy. I say “pain on my head,” not “in my head,” because it is not the same thing as a headache. A headache is spread all over the h… --- ## [What is 'AB' in 1950s fighter jets?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ab-in-1950s-fighter-jets/807733)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ab-in-1950s-fighter-jets/807733 "2018-01-29T16:02:58Z")
♬ \*Don’t give me an 86D With rockets, radar, and AB. She’s fast, I don’t care She blows up in mid-air. Don’t give me an 86D… \*♬ From the song Give Me Operations. What is ‘AB’ that this F-86D has? --- ## [Parking in Las Vegas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parking-in-las-vegas/755049)
**Author:** [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parking-in-las-vegas/755049 "2016-05-25T00:09:03Z")
So the local TV news stations seem to be doing the story that hotels/casinos\* in Las Vegas along the Strip will be charging $10 for self park. Since I only go to Vegas every few years, and haven’t been in a while, I must… --- ## [How corrosive is soy sauce?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-corrosive-is-soy-sauce/807706)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2018, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-corrosive-is-soy-sauce/807706 "2018-01-29T10:11:55Z")
Supposing that someone spilled soy sauce by accident on a laptop computer’s LCD screen (don’t ask how,) is the soy sauce’s salt strong enough to eat into the screen and corrode through the outer membrane? What would th… --- ## [What could I do with old, sealed liquor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-do-with-old-sealed-liquor/807534)
**Author:** [@adk77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adk77)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 29, 2018, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-i-do-with-old-sealed-liquor/807534 "2018-01-29T07:24:43Z")
So, I still have the remnants of a Basket of Cheer I won in 1975. Other than giving it away or pouring it down the drain (I drink wine/beer), I’ve been trying to come up with an idea re what to do with all of it. Still … --- ## [Painting bathroom cabinets -- did I miss a step? (need answer fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painting-bathroom-cabinets-did-i-miss-a-step-need-answer-fast/807634)
**Author:** [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painting-bathroom-cabinets-did-i-miss-a-step-need-answer-fast/807634 "2018-01-28T22:54:54Z")
The bathroom cabinets were a disaster, so I decided to give them a coat of paint to improve their look. I used a coat of primer paint, then applied two coats of a good quality latex paint (brown). It’s been a week sinc… --- ## [A Term for "Strong Negative Emotional Imprinting"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-term-for-strong-negative-emotional-imprinting/806972)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-term-for-strong-negative-emotional-imprinting/806972 "2018-01-28T20:42:01Z")
I am wondering if there is a term for this phenomenon, or concepts related to it. Suppose a person really likes, say, going to amusement parks. They travel around a lot, going to one every week. It’s their hobby and imp… --- ## [Anglo-Saxon England?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxon-england/807533)
**Author:** [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anglo-saxon-england/807533 "2018-01-28T16:52:25Z")
I’ve been watching The Last Kingdom on Netflix lately and it brought up a question that I’ve never really seen answered. England has always been called Anglo-Saxon, but where did all the native Britons go after the Ang… --- ## [DNA analysis and siblings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-analysis-and-siblings/806906)
**Author:** [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-analysis-and-siblings/806906 "2018-01-28T12:54:13Z")
I understand that full siblings receive half of their DNA from each parent, and that each sibling’s half does not entirely match the half received by the other siblings. Each parent can have two different versions of eac… --- ## [Is it possible to automatically redirect e-mails to a different domain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-automatically-redirect-e-mails-to-a-different-domain/807644)
**Author:** [@MorrisCody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MorrisCody)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-automatically-redirect-e-mails-to-a-different-domain/807644 "2018-01-28T11:46:13Z")
I am moving to another country that has a slightly different alphabet. As a result, there are a few different ways to phonetically spell my name. I’ve registered the domains for all of them but would like to maintain onl… --- ## [Are writing systems like Chinese and hieroglyphics resilient to dyslexia?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604 "2018-01-28T06:45:04Z")
Or, is dyslexia relevant with those scripts? Does it depend upon how densely the characters are packed? --- ## [Can you "marry" someones college loan debt?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-marry-someones-college-loan-debt/806991 "2018-01-28T06:43:47Z")
Lets say you marry someone who had say $40,000 in college loans. Is that considered YOUR debt now? Can they force you as a spouse to pay? --- ## [How do I kill an inactive website?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-kill-an-inactive-website/807532)
**Author:** [@westhou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/westhou)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-kill-an-inactive-website/807532 "2018-01-28T05:17:39Z")
I am an officer in a car club, Up until a few of years ago, we had a club website. Our webmaster, an IT guy, handled the entire website from set up to adding new information. He died. Our Club Treasurer paid the set… --- ## [Why do some file types compress so much more than others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-file-types-compress-so-much-more-than-others/807541)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [January 28, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-file-types-compress-so-much-more-than-others/807541 "2018-01-28T00:12:23Z")
Talking about WinZip and the like. With files like Excel, you can typically reduce the size by about 80%. With picture and video types, barely at all. What’s different about these file types such which produces this dis… --- ## [Where (in the real world) can I sell a mattress?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-real-world-can-i-sell-a-mattress/807546)
**Author:** [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-real-world-can-i-sell-a-mattress/807546 "2018-01-27T23:46:53Z")
Are there any places (pawn shops, furniture consignment, etc.) that might buy a mattress? It’s nothing terribly fancy, just a queen-sized memory foam mattress \<1 year old, worth about $200 new. Hoping to get somewhere be… --- ## [When did modern humans leave Africa?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-modern-humans-leave-africa/781370)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-modern-humans-leave-africa/781370 "2018-01-27T20:49:03Z")
Have the experts converged on an answer to the question in the subject? I’ve heard a number of different estimates over the years, from 50,000 years ago to more than 100,000. I had a vague notion that they’d converged to… --- ## [Do all pre-cancerous growths become cancerous?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-pre-cancerous-growths-become-cancerous/807524)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-pre-cancerous-growths-become-cancerous/807524 "2018-01-27T15:14:24Z")
How do doctors know that a growth is pre-cancerous? If it will definitely become cancerous, then why don’t they call it a cancerous growth at the time of discovery? I have friends who have had many many treatments to r… --- ## [Refractive index and density of medium](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/refractive-index-and-density-of-medium/806835)
**Author:** [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/refractive-index-and-density-of-medium/806835 "2018-01-27T01:55:09Z")
I have been teaching refraction for years at a beginner level. At the interface when light strikes a different medium, its speed changes and it refracts. The more the speed changes the more it will bend. A simple rule… --- ## [Looks like a tiny guitar, sounds a little like a bouzouki?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-a-tiny-guitar-sounds-a-little-like-a-bouzouki/807557)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-a-tiny-guitar-sounds-a-little-like-a-bouzouki/807557 "2018-01-27T01:10:50Z")
There is a busker here in DC who plays at two of the Metro stops I frequent. He plays an instrument that looks like a tiny guitar. It sounds kind of bouzouki-like. It has that jangly tone (I do not know terms for the sou… --- ## [How is Home Schooling monitored and evaluated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 98\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-home-schooling-monitored-and-evaluated/806926 "2018-01-26T23:16:29Z")
I’ve been reading the news about David and Louise Turpin’s children. Found in horrific conditions last weekend. They were home schooled. How does that work? I vaguely recall that there are home school courses parents… --- ## [Possible to give airline tickets away?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-give-airline-tickets-away/806999)
**Author:** [@joe.russell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joe.russell)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-to-give-airline-tickets-away/806999 "2018-01-26T22:44:13Z")
Feel free to move if this is the wrong forum. Here’s my situation. My wife and I are taking a trip to Phoenix in a few months. We bought round trip tickets all at once. My wifes grand-parents are also wintering in Ph… --- ## [What is your biggest critique in American culture?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-biggest-critique-in-american-culture/807549)
**Author:** [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-biggest-critique-in-american-culture/807549 "2018-01-26T22:28:10Z")
I have lots, a big one is the rise of identity politics in our daily lives and also the glorification of victimhood. TO THE MODS: I apologize for NOT clarifying the topic, I was asking people what their biggest criticis… --- ## [Where are all the swords from the middle ages?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-swords-from-the-middle-ages/807518)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-swords-from-the-middle-ages/807518 "2018-01-26T21:52:40Z")
Have they all rusted away into nothingness I guess? --- ## [Wimba Diploma software](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wimba-diploma-software/765926)
**Author:** [@cprattm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cprattm)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wimba-diploma-software/765926 "2018-01-26T21:40:36Z")
I have a teacher who made many, many quizzes using Diploma, but he lost the program when his computer was re-imaged. His files are safe, but they are in Diploma’s .ef format. Apparently, Diploma is no longer available.… --- ## [Biggest critique in Amrican culture?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-critique-in-amrican-culture/807535)
**Author:** [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-critique-in-amrican-culture/807535 "2018-01-26T18:56:55Z")
I have lots, a big one is the rise of identity politics in our daily lives and also the glorification of victimhood. --- ## [Is there a word in English for a "negative eulogy"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-in-english-for-a-negative-eulogy/807508)
**Author:** [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-in-english-for-a-negative-eulogy/807508 "2018-01-26T18:17:32Z")
A friend tells me that he has written a not-so-positive memorial piece about someone who died recently, and is looking for a label for the essay. It’s not a “eulogy,” because that is generally considered a positive state… --- ## [Do animals understand the concept of death?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-understand-the-concept-of-death/807393)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-understand-the-concept-of-death/807393 "2018-01-26T17:49:20Z")
Meaning can/do they distinguish between something which is dead and something which hasn’t moved for a while? If so, on what basis? ETA: I appreciate that some animals (e.g. vultures IIRC) are attracted to putrefaction … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=624) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=626)