# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=705 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 706 --- ## [Home Air Filtering unit. Not HEPA, Not Ionic. What?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-air-filtering-unit-not-hepa-not-ionic-what/790576)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-air-filtering-unit-not-hepa-not-ionic-what/790576 "2017-07-10T21:13:40Z")
I want a home air filtering unit. Not built into a heat/ac unit. Not Ionic–I haves asthma, & the ozone raises Hell with my lungs. Not a HEPA unit—the filters are too costly. Just something that does an OK job, low co… --- ## [Is there a difference between beautification and gentrification?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-difference-between-beautification-and-gentrification/790707)
**Author:** [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-difference-between-beautification-and-gentrification/790707 "2017-07-10T20:58:20Z")
Twenty-some odd years ago, in my social science classes, we used the term beautification to mean the cleaning up and reviving of old neighborhoods. These days I hear the term gentrification. It appears to me the two te… --- ## [Alternative Yellowstone eruption scenarios?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-yellowstone-eruption-scenarios/790809)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-yellowstone-eruption-scenarios/790809 "2017-07-10T20:31:10Z")
As it has been a bit in the news lately. I have been wondering if it is such a done deal. A huge violent explosion. But might there be other scenarios? Ruptures with lava flows. But no really big bang. Maybe the rumblin… --- ## [Sustained motorcycle wheelie: bad for engine?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sustained-motorcycle-wheelie-bad-for-engine/790943)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sustained-motorcycle-wheelie-bad-for-engine/790943 "2017-07-10T20:14:12Z")
YouTube is infested with videos of squids riding motorcycle wheelies for long periods of time. Hopping the front wheel a few inches of the air for a few seconds under hard acceleration is one thing, but a sustained whee… --- ## [Diminished value after a car accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diminished-value-after-a-car-accident/790718)
**Author:** [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diminished-value-after-a-car-accident/790718 "2017-07-10T18:08:55Z")
Have you ever collected a diminished value claim after a car accident? Eight years ago, someone did $2000 in damage to my car. They paid to have my car repaired. When I went to trade the car in, the dealer wouldn’t to… --- ## [Linguistically, how far apart is the N and South Korean languages?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistically-how-far-apart-is-the-n-and-south-korean-languages/790682)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/linguistically-how-far-apart-is-the-n-and-south-korean-languages/790682 "2017-07-10T17:48:08Z")
It’s been over sixty years since the country separated. A lot of technology has been developed and many new words have entered into everyday use. Even common words in English have changed. My grandparents ate supper i… --- ## [Is the excrement of any living being eaten by humans anywhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-excrement-of-any-living-being-eaten-by-humans-anywhere/790679)
**Author:** [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-excrement-of-any-living-being-eaten-by-humans-anywhere/790679 "2017-07-10T15:00:53Z")
Is there anywhere in any culture where the excrement of a living organism is eaten or forms part of a dish, cooked or uncooked. --- ## [yellow tags/marks on old house](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellow-tags-marks-on-old-house/790720)
**Author:** [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellow-tags-marks-on-old-house/790720 "2017-07-10T13:27:43Z")
Picture of decaying house in Illinois. Note the regularly space yellow circles (they are also near the upper eave line). What is that about? Something to do with bringing down the house? --- ## [Why are vanilla-flavored foods white...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590)
**Author:** [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vanilla-flavored-foods-white/790590 "2017-07-08T18:23:23Z")
…when a vanilla bean, and its seeds, are jet black? I made from-scratch vanilla ice cream for the 4th, which of course meant using a real vanilla bean. So I’m wondering. Thanks in advance! --- ## [What happens to people borne stateless?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-people-borne-stateless/790794)
**Author:** [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-people-borne-stateless/790794 "2017-07-10T03:49:32Z")
Are there any people in the US that are borne here but never received a SSN or real birth certificate. I’ve read this sort of issue was more common in the early 20th century in rural areas, but what if it still happens t… --- ## [Why are places by the Persian Gulf so muggy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-places-by-the-persian-gulf-so-muggy/790702)
**Author:** [@HenryIX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryIX)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-places-by-the-persian-gulf-so-muggy/790702 "2017-07-10T02:59:48Z")
I know that areas on the coast are more humid, compared to inland areas, but the heat + humidity you see around the Persian Gulf is just insane. Why does it have the humidity levels of the equator when it’s above the tro… --- ## [US sends foreign aid to Canada?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-sends-foreign-aid-to-canada/790869)
**Author:** [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-sends-foreign-aid-to-canada/790869 "2017-07-10T01:58:09Z")
Per this site which goes back to 2001, the United States was sending $20-40 thousand for what I interpret as drug enforcement programs. From 2003 through 2014, the amount jumped to in excess of $20 million with almost a… --- ## [Toilet/plumbing help](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-plumbing-help/790765)
**Author:** [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-plumbing-help/790765 "2017-07-09T23:28:37Z")
Downstairs toilet isn’t flushing properly (well, wasn’t anyway). It would fill the bowl up, then slowly drain away, to a lower point than would be “normal”. I pulled the bowl up, and the drain pipe is filled with (awfu… --- ## [Silicon brass](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silicon-brass/790714)
**Author:** [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silicon-brass/790714 "2017-07-09T19:20:01Z")
I have a brochure warning me never to recycle silicon brass scrap with lead brass scrap. Why? --- ## [What is this metal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095)
**Author:** [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095 "2017-07-09T19:15:00Z")
My dad has a fair amount of small metal chunks / flakes that we’ve been unable to identify. They were in an old glass Skippy peanut butter jar in my grandfather’s basement. I don’t know where my grandfather got them or w… --- ## [Flashlights: Red vs. Green for preserving night vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlights-red-vs-green-for-preserving-night-vision/53236)
**Author:** [@Foaming\_Pipe\_Snake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foaming_Pipe_Snake)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2001, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashlights-red-vs-green-for-preserving-night-vision/53236 "2001-02-06T02:22:24Z")
Any pilots, astronomers, servicemen, hunters care to weigh in on this? Currently I’m neck deep in these high-output LED flashlights you newly see on the market. I’m reviewing them for White Water and (probably) Outdoor … --- ## [Could a human survive being "skinned alive"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-human-survive-being-skinned-alive/193787)
**Author:** [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-human-survive-being-skinned-alive/193787 "2003-08-10T14:59:23Z")
…Let it first be said that I have no intention of condoning or performing this act on a living being. Or a dead being either, for that matter. But still, I’m curious…could a human being survive having his skin removed, … --- ## [Laptop in a Hot Car Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-in-a-hot-car-question/790663)
**Author:** [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-in-a-hot-car-question/790663 "2017-07-09T07:54:23Z")
Will a laptop be damaged by leaving it in a car with outside temps of 105 degrees? --- ## [What clues led miners to dig mines on hard to reach cliffs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-clues-led-miners-to-dig-mines-on-hard-to-reach-cliffs/790544)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-clues-led-miners-to-dig-mines-on-hard-to-reach-cliffs/790544 "2017-07-09T06:54:22Z")
Sometimes in mountainous mining areas, there will be mines way up on a steep cliff. Sometimes they are in places which would be difficult to hike up to, much less carry heavy mining equipment and dig through all that ro… --- ## [What can be expensed on Per Diem for the IRS?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-expensed-on-per-diem-for-the-irs/790084)
**Author:** [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-expensed-on-per-diem-for-the-irs/790084 "2017-07-09T04:47:59Z")
A staffing firm (aka contract house) will give a W2 hourly rate. If the assignment is out of town, what some have done is say they will break-out from your W2 hourly rate a daily Per Diem. You keep track of all your expe… --- ## [Incontinence and furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incontinence-and-furniture/790588)
**Author:** [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incontinence-and-furniture/790588 "2017-07-09T04:07:29Z")
My elderly mother has dementia and urinary incontinence, as well as COPD. The last makes it difficult to sleep laying down, so she prefers to sleep in a recliner. I was wondering if there are purpose-made pads or cover… --- ## [Fucking Google Drive Won't let me log in with correct login/password, unrecognized device,](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-google-drive-wont-let-me-log-in-with-correct-login-password-unrecognized-device/790673)
**Author:** [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 9, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-google-drive-wont-let-me-log-in-with-correct-login-password-unrecognized-device/790673 "2017-07-09T01:39:10Z")
Arrgh! Could a mod fix the title? I hit the spacebar too soon and it posted while I was editing the title. I signed up for an account in Google Drive for my daughter for the purpose of automatically backing up her photo… --- ## [Looking for help in solving a family mystery.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-help-in-solving-a-family-mystery/790671)
**Author:** [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-help-in-solving-a-family-mystery/790671 "2017-07-08T23:54:11Z")
I’m trying to get any/all paperwork that might be existing as far as my (deceased) grandfather is concerned. He worked for a Security Firm from March 1966 through April 1973. It was his last job. He died two years later… --- ## [Flossing your innards with twine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flossing-your-innards-with-twine/790706)
**Author:** [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flossing-your-innards-with-twine/790706 "2017-07-08T19:19:33Z")
Is it possible to swallow a spool of string such that it comes out the other end while still accessible from your mouth? If so could you successfully do a whole body cavity floss? Yes, it’s been a slow work week. … --- ## [Have you ever hired a Private Eye? What did you call them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-hired-a-private-eye-what-did-you-call-them/790661)
**Author:** [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-hired-a-private-eye-what-did-you-call-them/790661 "2017-07-08T16:50:54Z")
Hey Dopers. waves I was sharing a snippet of a private eye story, I had written, and in the story I refer to my detective as Detective Zia. This confused the reader, who thought the character was a cop. Which led me to … --- ## [Airport operations questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-operations-questions/790530)
**Author:** [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-operations-questions/790530 "2017-07-08T15:35:48Z")
I like to watch the comings and goings of my local airport using Flightradar24. This is the view I use. In this view I can also see Heathrow and Gatwick. The runways at these airports run mostly east-west. Since the prev… --- ## [5.1 surround source material played with 4.0 speaker configuration](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-1-surround-source-material-played-with-4-0-speaker-configuration/790556)
**Author:** [@bossy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bossy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-1-surround-source-material-played-with-4-0-speaker-configuration/790556 "2017-07-08T04:16:21Z")
I want to attach 2 sets of speakers to my 5.1 surround sound receiver. I plan to connect one set as the front left and right speakers, and the other set as the rear left and right speakers. My receiver has various opti… --- ## [Changing a business location for Siri](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-business-location-for-siri/790732)
**Author:** [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-business-location-for-siri/790732 "2017-07-08T02:39:34Z")
The building that my business was in burned down. How do I get Siri to direct folks to my new location? --- ## [BMI and muscle question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bmi-and-muscle-question/790709)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 8, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bmi-and-muscle-question/790709 "2017-07-08T02:02:20Z")
When you don’t exercise, you rapidly start losing muscle and in a few months you can lose more or less all of your gains, since your body doesn’t have the need to keep the additional muscle mass, right? Well I have a pr… --- ## [Copying and pasting images into emails](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copying-and-pasting-images-into-emails/790545)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 7, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copying-and-pasting-images-into-emails/790545 "2017-07-07T22:32:13Z")
Time was, I could right-click an image, copy, and then past the actual image into the body of an email. Now, though, I am noticing that this often does not work. When I paste, I will get either a lengthy url pasted in t… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=704) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=706)