# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=721 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 722 --- ## ["Almost all the clean up workers who worked on the Exxon Valdez spill are dead." Can this be true?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-all-the-clean-up-workers-who-worked-on-the-exxon-valdez-spill-are-dead-can-this-be-true/563327)
**Author:** [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-all-the-clean-up-workers-who-worked-on-the-exxon-valdez-spill-are-dead-can-this-be-true/563327 "2017-06-06T01:18:43Z")
According to Peter Willcox, master of the Greenpeace ship M.V. Arctic Sunrise: This shit can’t possibly be true, can it? It’s the sort of thing that would justify every gut-level prejudice I have against the oil compa… --- ## [Legality of limiting a movie theater to one gender only](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-limiting-a-movie-theater-to-one-gender-only/787439)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 92\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-limiting-a-movie-theater-to-one-gender-only/787439 "2017-06-06T00:50:42Z")
Given that this is a legal question I suppose the mods may move it to IMHO soon, but it is still more GQ in nature: So today there has been this big kerfuffle here in Austin, Texas on social media whereby Alamo Drafthou… --- ## [Car Question, Noise driving me insane](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-question-noise-driving-me-insane/787329)
**Author:** [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-question-noise-driving-me-insane/787329 "2017-06-06T00:32:45Z")
I’m pretty sure I posted something about this before, yet I am unsure. So here goes. Sorry ahead of time for the long background on this. I had a blowout almost a year ago and had to get a new tire, so I replaced them a… --- ## [Are snakes fatally injured if you step on them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-fatally-injured-if-you-step-on-them/788109)
**Author:** [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-fatally-injured-if-you-step-on-them/788109 "2017-06-06T00:03:46Z")
I remember being told in boy scout camp, 22 years ago, that if you step on a snake, it dooms the snake to death, but it still gets a chance to bite you and poison you with it’s venom. This was at a camp in Texas, where … --- ## [Lifting Air](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-air/788176)
**Author:** [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-air/788176 "2017-06-05T23:05:08Z")
I was re-reading the Belgariad and Polgara just collapsed after causing a storm to come in because of the effort of moving all the air and it started my mind thinking in a weird direction. Air is pressing down on us all… --- ## [Fixing Dead/Bad Soil](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fixing-dead-bad-soil/788106)
**Author:** [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fixing-dead-bad-soil/788106 "2017-06-05T22:39:03Z")
Hoping for a little help from the gardeners here. I live in central Ohio, zone 5. I have a section of my flower bed along the east side of my home that the soil seems completely dead. The soil quality feels very sandy… --- ## [Legality of owning counterfeit goods](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-owning-counterfeit-goods/787898)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-owning-counterfeit-goods/787898 "2017-06-05T22:32:53Z")
I just realized that some of my anime posters are probably counterfeit. I understand that items can be seized in transit if CBP finds them to be fake. Are these items legal to own? I have no intention to sell them. --- ## [Can a TV show be sued?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065)
**Author:** [@danderson400](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danderson400)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065 "2017-06-05T22:28:32Z")
Like the Shulman case in the early 90s? http://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/4th/18/200.html --- ## [Have any US states never been involved in a war?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-us-states-never-been-involved-in-a-war/787970)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-us-states-never-been-involved-in-a-war/787970 "2017-06-05T22:14:23Z")
I am asking if there are any US states that A. Did not join the Union as a result of a war. and B. Have never been directly attacked since. The original 13 states were involved in the Revolutionary War and 1812. Hawaii… --- ## [What was the largest privatization of a previously Federal function (e.g. air-traffic) in history?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-privatization-of-a-previously-federal-function-e-g-air-traffic-in-history/788184)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-largest-privatization-of-a-previously-federal-function-e-g-air-traffic-in-history/788184 "2017-06-05T20:30:05Z")
See query–I’m not sure about the word “function”: I’m reading about the feints and shuffles for privatizing air traffic control (WSJ), and would like to get some context. It occurs to me that the query could also apply … --- ## [Immigration ban question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immigration-ban-question/788196)
**Author:** [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immigration-ban-question/788196 "2017-06-05T19:29:47Z")
1st. This is NOT a question on the merits of an immigration ban. It is a question on procedures. Suppose the President put out a memo telling Immigration officials to enforce all of the aspects of immigration law and pr… --- ## [Why is Neosporin OTC?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-neosporin-otc/788168)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-neosporin-otc/788168 "2017-06-05T17:56:00Z")
The current thread on antibiotics reminded me of this question: Why is Neosporin sold over the counter, without clear instructions to use it for X period of time before discontinuing? It does say to apply “1 to 3 times … --- ## [Are there any cultures with... "platonic marriage", I guess you could call it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cultures-with-platonic-marriage-i-guess-you-could-call-it/787931)
**Author:** [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cultures-with-platonic-marriage-i-guess-you-could-call-it/787931 "2017-06-05T17:15:40Z")
I’m not sure exactly what the right words to use here are… I mean a legally or culturally recognized bond between two people who want to spend their lives together, but in a philia rather than eros way. Is there somewhe… --- ## [How can President Trump unilaterally withdraw the USA from the Paris Accord?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-president-trump-unilaterally-withdraw-the-usa-from-the-paris-accord/787880)
**Author:** [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-president-trump-unilaterally-withdraw-the-usa-from-the-paris-accord/787880 "2017-06-05T16:25:16Z")
Title says it all. Doesn’t he need an act of Congress or something? What was the mechanism that got is \*into \*the Accord in the first place? Was it just Obama unilaterally deciding we should be in that club? Neither soun… --- ## [Is an infinite past logically impossible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-infinite-past-logically-impossible/562011)
**Author:** [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-infinite-past-logically-impossible/562011 "2017-06-05T15:26:52Z")
Note that I’m not asking whether or not it’s compatible with the Big Bang model. There are other models out there that posit a steady state, or a series of big bangs, etc. So it’s not does it happen to be true, but is it… --- ## [Ceiling fan.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceiling-fan/788171)
**Author:** [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ceiling-fan/788171 "2017-06-05T14:55:47Z")
When I google this I just get confused. We have a 20 year old Casablanca ceiling fan whose motor has died. It is controlled by a wall switch. Upon replacement we still want wall control. Almost (or perhaps all) curre… --- ## [What happens to Hydrogen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-hydrogen/788098)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-hydrogen/788098 "2017-06-05T01:36:22Z")
I know plants take hydrogen from water. What happens to the hydrogen when the sugar or fat it was turned into either burns or breaks down and decays? Does it go back into water somehow? --- ## [Free face recognition software](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-face-recognition-software/787950)
**Author:** [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-face-recognition-software/787950 "2017-06-05T01:33:49Z")
I have a pile of photos, and would like to find free facial recognition software. Any ideas? --- ## [SR-71 Blackbirds playing chicken, what do the pilots see?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sr-71-blackbirds-playing-chicken-what-do-the-pilots-see/787885)
**Author:** [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sr-71-blackbirds-playing-chicken-what-do-the-pilots-see/787885 "2017-06-05T00:59:17Z")
Inspired by a scene in a story I recently read (in that only one plane was a Blackbird but this simplifies things) The scenario is both planes are approaching head on at operational altitude and Mach 3 (for a closing sp… --- ## [Grass and weed killer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grass-and-weed-killer/788136)
**Author:** [@dragonfly92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonfly92)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grass-and-weed-killer/788136 "2017-06-05T00:09:29Z")
Has anyone had any issues with neighbors that spray herbicides that affect your trees, flowers, or lawn? I know that stuff drifts, as I can smell it in my yard. I use only organic things in my yard. My neighbors sprays t… --- ## [Crustumius? A lost city of Rome?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crustumius-a-lost-city-of-rome/788067)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crustumius-a-lost-city-of-rome/788067 "2017-06-04T20:07:26Z")
L Sprague De Camp, in his non-fiction article “Lost Cities”, refers to a city named Crustumius, allegedly lost beneath a sea. Online, I find the name, but it refers to a region, or to a river. Which would make a kind o… --- ## [Does Mueller have the authority to investigate any Trump-China ties](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mueller-have-the-authority-to-investigate-any-trump-china-ties/788035)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mueller-have-the-authority-to-investigate-any-trump-china-ties/788035 "2017-06-04T20:07:07Z")
My understanding is Mueller can investigate Trump-Russia ties related to the election of 2016. However the report written by Christopher Steele says that the Trump campaign was more worried about Trump-China ties than T… --- ## [How is it that Greece has Russian S-300 missiles?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-that-greece-has-russian-s-300-missiles/788099)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-that-greece-has-russian-s-300-missiles/788099 "2017-06-04T17:30:57Z")
See query. There was a very large international AF exercise there in March, as well as one with Israel, separately, and it was (presumably) a major Red Team asset. I don’t know how well Allied defenses have progressed a… --- ## [What is the point of the "Stay with me" instruction?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-the-stay-with-me-instruction/787833)
**Author:** [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-the-stay-with-me-instruction/787833 "2017-06-04T14:20:44Z")
See this all the time in movies after someone suffers bad injury of some kind… Is there a danger in an injured person going to sleep or being unconscious. Is there benefit for the injured to remain conscious and awake? (… --- ## [Meister Eckhart - "Only the hand that erases..."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meister-eckhart-only-the-hand-that-erases/788072)
**Author:** [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meister-eckhart-only-the-hand-that-erases/788072 "2017-06-04T00:54:35Z")
Can write the true thing…" Does anyone know where this quote comes from? It has been used by Marshall McLuhan and Dag Hammarskjold, but it is hard to google past that. --- ## [HSA Proper Use If Medical, But...?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hsa-proper-use-if-medical-but/788027)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hsa-proper-use-if-medical-but/788027 "2017-06-03T22:53:11Z")
Can funds in an HSA account be used for medical expenses with a date of service PRECEDING the HSA start date? My wife claims it doesn’t matter - as long as it is a medical expense. But, I’d like to hear the wisdom of the… --- ## [How long for a 20 LY trip at 1 G.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-20-ly-trip-at-1-g/787857)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-20-ly-trip-at-1-g/787857 "2017-06-03T22:27:54Z")
I know I ought to be able to figure it out, but maybe one of you already knows the answer. Imagine you could build and launch a space ship with enough power and reaction mass to go to a star that is 20 LY away accelerat… --- ## [Tiger Woods DUI - Arrest Video](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiger-woods-dui-arrest-video/787965)
**Author:** [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiger-woods-dui-arrest-video/787965 "2017-06-03T22:26:41Z")
Tiger Woods was found earlier this week, asleep in his semi-wrecked Mercedes (Tires falt, Bumpers damaged) parked on a 6 lane road. His arrest video and sobriety test has hit most if not all the news outlets. He failed… --- ## [70% tax rate in EUR countries because of healthcare?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-tax-rate-in-eur-countries-because-of-healthcare/787799)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/70-tax-rate-in-eur-countries-because-of-healthcare/787799 "2017-06-03T21:01:18Z")
I just read a claim that this is so; that European countries tax at a 70% income tax rate. Seems like a false claim to me. Anybody across the pond like to set things straight for me? Thanks. --- ## [Which battleground saw the most battles?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-battleground-saw-the-most-battles/787949)
**Author:** [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-battleground-saw-the-most-battles/787949 "2017-06-03T17:59:52Z")
There are certain regions of the world which due to geostrategic reasons have suffered frequent military combat throughout history. A European example is Flanders, which got devastated every time France wanted to conquer… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=720) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=722)