# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=725 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 726 --- ## [Why Doesn't Water Shrink In Cold?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-water-shrink-in-cold/787368)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-water-shrink-in-cold/787368 "2017-05-28T18:46:26Z")
Weird thing I learned even in grade school. Water expands when it gets colder. In other words, it increases in size. Certainly that is how pot holes on roads form. Everybody knows that. And another thing I wondered, we… --- ## [Border property](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/border-property/783828)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/border-property/783828 "2017-05-28T09:00:19Z")
This article is of the ‘Ha, ha! You voted for Trump, and now look what you got!’ variety. But it raises some questions. This begs the question of whether the U.S. government took their property at all. Their propert… --- ## [Why is language becoming more sexualized?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-language-becoming-more-sexualized/787229)
**Author:** [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-language-becoming-more-sexualized/787229 "2017-05-28T07:59:10Z")
Don’t know whether this belongs in GQ or GD but anyway. I’m sure if you’re 35 and under, you’ll definitely have come across young people laughing at using the word ‘spanking children’ young boys ‘playing together’, or … --- ## [Children's Sweet Tooth: Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childrens-sweet-tooth-why/770374)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childrens-sweet-tooth-why/770374 "2017-05-28T07:55:40Z")
I think it’s pretty well accepted that children’s tastes run more to things like candy than do adults. Why is this? Do children have some nutritional need which is met by candy and the like? (Public health advocates tod… --- ## [Subtitles not working with Netflix.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtitles-not-working-with-netflix/787584)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtitles-not-working-with-netflix/787584 "2017-05-28T06:43:55Z")
Hello Everyone, I watch Netflix on my phone, a Samsung Note 2. For some reason subtitles are no longer showing up. Example, the first time I watched Breaking Bad subtitles of Spanish dialog would appear. Same with I… --- ## [A couple of physics questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-physics-questions/787505)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-of-physics-questions/787505 "2017-05-28T03:13:42Z")
Does the universe weigh the same or have as much mass as it had at the time of the big bang? Does atomic decay act the same way that matter and antimatter act when they come into contact with each other? The 1/2 lif… --- ## [How did fourth or fifth century priests approach pagans to convert them? What were their tactics?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fourth-or-fifth-century-priests-approach-pagans-to-convert-them-what-were-their-tactics/787412)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fourth-or-fifth-century-priests-approach-pagans-to-convert-them-what-were-their-tactics/787412 "2017-05-28T02:05:11Z")
Hi How did fourth or fifth century priests in Europe approach pagans to convert them? What were their tactics? Presumably they didn’t travel alone. I also presume they had converts with them who spoke the language of … --- ## [Women and "squirting", what's the straight dope?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-squirting-whats-the-straight-dope/787391)
**Author:** [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-squirting-whats-the-straight-dope/787391 "2017-05-28T00:11:34Z")
The phenomenon of women “squirting” or shooting a mystery substance out of their ?urethras? or vaginas during sex is one that I do not understand. What is this substance that comes gushing out and where does it come fro… --- ## [Phrase of condolence in Spanish--need answer fast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrase-of-condolence-in-spanish-need-answer-fast/787499)
**Author:** [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrase-of-condolence-in-spanish-need-answer-fast/787499 "2017-05-27T19:25:33Z")
I’m attending a wake this evening where many of the family will be primarily Spanish speakers (mostly Guatemalans, I know the dialect is a little idiosyncratic). My Spanish is pretty limited. What’s a simple and approp… --- ## [Help me set up my WiFi (Mac)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-set-up-my-wifi-mac/787349)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-set-up-my-wifi-mac/787349 "2017-05-27T17:28:31Z")
I have a primary laptop, a Mac (10.9.5), which is connected via an Ethernet cable to a cable modem. It works fine, and I can get online with it no problem. I also have much older laptop, also a Mac (10.4.11) that I mos… --- ## [Did some guy donate a missile silo to charity for the tax writeoff?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-some-guy-donate-a-missile-silo-to-charity-for-the-tax-writeoff/336602)
**Author:** [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-some-guy-donate-a-missile-silo-to-charity-for-the-tax-writeoff/336602 "2017-05-27T16:54:37Z")
I recall reading a story a few years back about some guy in the 'states who owned a missile, or a launch silo for one, or both. As I recall it, he donated it to a local museum or charity, then claimed the original build… --- ## [What does H&R Block retail stores do the rest of the year?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-h-r-block-retail-stores-do-the-rest-of-the-year/787456)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-h-r-block-retail-stores-do-the-rest-of-the-year/787456 "2017-05-27T05:53:53Z")
Hello Everyone, In one of our local strip malls there is an H&R Block store that open year round. What do they do for income after tax season is over? --- ## [Impossible request? Identifying a statue in England from a 1918 photo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760)
**Author:** [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760 "2017-05-27T04:26:47Z")
This is NOT my thread on the Rick Steves travel forum, but it piqued my interest so I thought I’d ask here. Summary: someone has a photo taken in 1918 that says “England” on the back. The photo is of a man kneeling i… --- ## [Combustion Engine Rotation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combustion-engine-rotation/787233)
**Author:** [@Fallsguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fallsguy)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combustion-engine-rotation/787233 "2017-05-27T02:22:04Z")
Do combustion engines all turn in the same direction? Are there some that don’t? All the lawn mowers I see discharge on the right, is there a reason? I thought of a lawnmower with counter rotating engines, discharging… --- ## [flying in one direction at same altitude - where do you end up?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-in-one-direction-at-same-altitude-where-do-you-end-up/787482)
**Author:** [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-in-one-direction-at-same-altitude-where-do-you-end-up/787482 "2017-05-27T02:01:02Z")
If you were to fly due east from the top of the Empire State Building, at the same altitude, what would you finally run into? And if you were to fly due west from the top of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, wh… --- ## [Help with math questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-math-questions/787455)
**Author:** [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-math-questions/787455 "2017-05-27T01:00:25Z")
I just want to check some questions I had on a test today, and see if I got the right answers. If anyone would help with the answers, that’d be great: Ted took a standardized test. If 53% of the students scored below T… --- ## [How did they do that, mathematically?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-they-do-that-mathematically/787497)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_Ecks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ecks)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-they-do-that-mathematically/787497 "2017-05-26T23:36:12Z")
So, an article in Slate recently talked about how a group of researchers showed how even studies using honest data and correct and widely accepted methods could produce bad conclusions; They did this by publishing a tec… --- ## [Can I sue my partner/SO for invasion of privacy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-sue-my-partner-so-for-invasion-of-privacy/787143)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-sue-my-partner-so-for-invasion-of-privacy/787143 "2017-05-26T22:43:06Z")
OK, here’s the scenario. I come home a little tipsy one night, undress without disturbing my wife and leave my clothes all over the floor. My wife wakes before me, picks up my scattered clothes and starts putting them aw… --- ## [Pressure Reducing Valve troubleshooting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-reducing-valve-troubleshooting/787090)
**Author:** [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pressure-reducing-valve-troubleshooting/787090 "2017-05-26T21:39:26Z")
I could post this on a plumbing forum, but you guys are much better at explaining why things happen, not just how to fix it. So here’s my problem. I have leaks all over the house. Shutoff valves aren’t working. There’… --- ## [Does Anything Prevent Trump from Pardoning Everyone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-prevent-trump-from-pardoning-everyone/787476)
**Author:** [@MorrisCody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MorrisCody)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anything-prevent-trump-from-pardoning-everyone/787476 "2017-05-26T21:14:28Z")
Could Trump grant pardons to everyone involved with his campaign for any illegal activities? Would he have to specify what those activities were? If his family did anything illegal in the course of running their business… --- ## ["Presidential Pardon"/"Pres. Order"/"Pres. Directive": how many distinct document types are there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-pardon-pres-order-pres-directive-how-many-distinct-document-types-are-there/787484)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-pardon-pres-order-pres-directive-how-many-distinct-document-types-are-there/787484 "2017-05-26T20:04:43Z")
Query is about the legal force and legal definition of stuff that is still (quaintly) signed and delivered with due aplomb somewhere to someone, sometimes for photo ops in the White House, many times not, in secret or mi… --- ## [Declining to appear for a subpoena.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declining-to-appear-for-a-subpoena/787245)
**Author:** [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declining-to-appear-for-a-subpoena/787245 "2017-05-26T18:03:03Z")
So I read where M Flynn may decline the subpoena. That’s nice for him, but can anyone NOT in government do such a thing? Who can, who can’t? What’s the point of the expense of a special prosecutor or an inquiry, if the … --- ## [Any way to stop text message spammers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-stop-text-message-spammers/787438)
**Author:** [@Clarence01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clarence01)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-stop-text-message-spammers/787438 "2017-05-26T17:54:08Z")
I put my phone number in a CL ad; no need to explain why one should not do this… Some say “Text STOP to stop” but others have no such function. --- ## [Are deposits by wire transfer like cash, i.e. without any hold on funds?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-deposits-by-wire-transfer-like-cash-i-e-without-any-hold-on-funds/787046)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-deposits-by-wire-transfer-like-cash-i-e-without-any-hold-on-funds/787046 "2017-05-26T17:47:54Z")
At my bank, if I deposit a paper check drawn on an ordinary personal or corporate account, and the amount is sufficiently large, my bank will hold most of that money for several days. I have a few questions about the be… --- ## [A Stupidly Obivious Question About Libraries I Should be Smart Enough to Know but Don't](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupidly-obivious-question-about-libraries-i-should-be-smart-enough-to-know-but-dont/787486)
**Author:** [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupidly-obivious-question-about-libraries-i-should-be-smart-enough-to-know-but-dont/787486 "2017-05-26T17:39:30Z")
I am fully admitting I should know this, but I don’t (mostly due to inexperience). If I want to join the Orange County Library System here in Orlando, can I do that at any branch and have it be good for all the other br… --- ## [Does this type of bathtub drain hole "hair-trap" exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-type-of-bathtub-drain-hole-hair-trap-exist/787282)
**Author:** [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-type-of-bathtub-drain-hole-hair-trap-exist/787282 "2017-05-26T15:32:18Z")
Some bathtubs have an open drain-hole into which you can fit a “hair-trap” net/screen thing. Then you can use a flat rubber disk as a drain stopper. What if a tub drain-hole has a built-in drain stopper that you lift up… --- ## [Judicial Review. I am confused on what it is.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-review-i-am-confused-on-what-it-is/787267)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/judicial-review-i-am-confused-on-what-it-is/787267 "2017-05-26T11:05:50Z")
I tried reading the wiki page on Judicial Review, but reading legal stuff has never clicked with me for some reason. Can someone explain it to me like I’m a 4th grader? What, exactly, is it? Does it mean courts can jud… --- ## [Retrofitting a Baby Stroller to a Shopping Cart](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrofitting-a-baby-stroller-to-a-shopping-cart/787142)
**Author:** [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrofitting-a-baby-stroller-to-a-shopping-cart/787142 "2017-05-26T04:18:46Z")
I found an excellent baby stroller (it looks very much like this one), and I would like to take the baby parts out and retrofit it into a bad-ass shopping cart. It is one sweet ride - big, smooth-riding wheels, a nice hi… --- ## [Trying to join military with "track marks"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-join-military-with-track-marks/787129)
**Author:** [@rider56AK907](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rider56AK907)\ **Replies:** 83\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-join-military-with-track-marks/787129 "2017-05-26T01:52:03Z")
im trying to join the national guard right now. Ive taken my asvab and scored a 77, did a back ground that came back clean except for my 4 year old O.U.I, and I’ve filled out most of the paperwork. My recruiter wants to… --- ## [Chickens: Ignorance-fighting opportunity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675)
**Author:** [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675 "2017-05-25T23:58:02Z")
There have been some great threads around here dealing with things that are in plain sight, but have complex, hidden layers and dimensions. For example, the Questions about bees thread from a few years ago. One of my ne… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=724) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=726)