# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=73 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 74 --- ## [What is this guy wearing on his head?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-on-his-head/1007282)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-guy-wearing-on-his-head/1007282 "2024-09-18T18:15:58Z")
There’s a guy I know (but not well enough to ask him this directly). I’ve seen on a few occasions he has a small oval-shaped disk attached to his head. It’s about an inch across. He wears it a little ways above his righ… --- ## [DisplayPort 1.2 (HDCP 1.2), HDMI (HDCP 1.4) question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/displayport-1-2-hdcp-1-2-hdmi-hdcp-1-4-question/1007397)
**Author:** [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/displayport-1-2-hdcp-1-2-hdmi-hdcp-1-4-question/1007397 "2024-09-18T16:42:33Z")
Hello, i just bought a cheap new Monitor for my PC. (My old Philips 27" is about 8 years old, so i wanted to try a new monitor. Getting unreliable…) So this new monitor is a CHEAP Samsung 27" monitor C27C322. But my qu… --- ## [Mold on clothes - throw out or clean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mold-on-clothes-throw-out-or-clean/1007373)
**Author:** [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mold-on-clothes-throw-out-or-clean/1007373 "2024-09-18T13:22:48Z")
I took a pair of dress pants from my closet today and found white mold on them. This has happened a handful of times before and I’m uncertain if it’s the nature of the garment, the conditions in the closet or both. The m… --- ## [Is there a fence around Trump's golf course in Florida?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-fence-around-trumps-golf-course-in-florida/1007352)
**Author:** [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-fence-around-trumps-golf-course-in-florida/1007352 "2024-09-17T23:37:18Z")
Regarding the recent assassination attempt – I would have assumed there’s a fence around the Trump golf course where the incident occurred. Is there a fence? If so, what kind (solid concrete vs chain link)? How high? If … --- ## [If the defendant in a civil case dies before the case is adjudicated, can the victim still get relief?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-defendant-in-a-civil-case-dies-before-the-case-is-adjudicated-can-the-victim-still-get-relief/1006793)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-defendant-in-a-civil-case-dies-before-the-case-is-adjudicated-can-the-victim-still-get-relief/1006793 "2024-09-17T21:52:24Z")
Let’s say I accuse Fred Flintstone of embezzling $50k from me (assume for the sake of this thought experiment that he’s single and has no dependents and that he has plenty in the bank) and I sue. Fred keels over dead aft… --- ## [Shooting heroin question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-heroin-question/1007370)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-heroin-question/1007370 "2024-09-17T15:16:23Z")
{Mods - I don’t use heroin, nor intend to. This isn’t seeking medical advise. It’s a question about human body physiology} All I know about shooting heroin has been learned from movies and TV, in otherwards no real life… --- ## [A question about shingles (The Disease)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289)
**Author:** [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289 "2024-09-17T12:05:41Z")
This was a train of thought brought about by a commercial about getting the shingles vaccine. My memories of having chicken pox as a kid are that it was pretty mild for me and wasn’t difficult to ignore the itching and … --- ## [A question for you Army guys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490)
**Author:** [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490 "2024-09-17T01:26:42Z")
Companies, troops, and batteries have long been designated by letters of the alphabet, such as the famous E Co. The US Military use the NATO alphabet, in which ‘A’ is “Alfa”. But I keep seeing references in print to “A… --- ## [Astronaut pay](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astronaut-pay/1007079)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astronaut-pay/1007079 "2024-09-17T00:53:40Z")
Q1: Do astronauts get hazardous duty pay if they actually fly in space? Q2: The two astronauts who launched on June 5 were supposed to spend 8 days in space, but their mission has been extended to about 93 days because … --- ## [How oppressive were the British taxes on the American colonies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-oppressive-were-the-british-taxes-on-the-american-colonies/1007302)
**Author:** [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-oppressive-were-the-british-taxes-on-the-american-colonies/1007302 "2024-09-16T19:02:40Z")
The origin story of the United States of America usually begins with a debate over “taxation without representation”. The British Crown, needing to pay for the costs of the recently concluded French and Indian War, impo… --- ## [Why would a car's wheel move by itself?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-cars-wheel-move-by-itself/1006904)
**Author:** [@Mr.Baggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Baggins)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-cars-wheel-move-by-itself/1006904 "2024-09-16T01:10:31Z")
My car just came back from the dealer after the 100,000 km tuneup. A few days later, I started to feel, when driving slowly (such as, when you just start moving) that the wheel pulls itself quite forcefully a bit to the … --- ## [Is paying a credit card bill 2 days late bad?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paying-a-credit-card-bill-2-days-late-bad/1007262)
**Author:** [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paying-a-credit-card-bill-2-days-late-bad/1007262 "2024-09-16T00:55:47Z")
I pay for almost all our household expense through my credit card and then pay it all off every month. I do this for the airline miles. This month, I forgot to schedule the payment through my bank and it won’t be paid u… --- ## [Old Military Records](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-military-records/1007308)
**Author:** [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-military-records/1007308 "2024-09-15T23:44:57Z")
Anyone have the process/address to acquire old military records? --- ## [Government Address Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-address-question/956673)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-address-question/956673 "2024-09-15T22:14:09Z")
I want to send a letter to the governor. I went to the official government website and saw the following… State Capitol, Room 204 PO Box 200801 Helena, MT 59620-0801 There’s both a physical address “State Capitol, Room… --- ## [Is there a term for this awkward stance used in group photos?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-awkward-stance-used-in-group-photos/1000568)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-awkward-stance-used-in-group-photos/1000568 "2024-09-15T21:55:48Z")
I’ve been noticing group photos in a local Facebook group lately where everyone is standing with one hand clasped on top of the other. It looks really uncomfortable, unnatural, and stupid, especially when the whole group… --- ## [Restaurants with mini jukeboxes at each table](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-with-mini-jukeboxes-at-each-table/1006926)
**Author:** [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-with-mini-jukeboxes-at-each-table/1006926 "2024-09-15T19:38:09Z")
Are they still a thing? I have not been in such a place in almost 40 years. And I wonder how they worked in two respects: Did not the music “bleed” into any neighboring tables music creating a cacophony? As I recall th… --- ## [Soap, soap suds and lather](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soap-soap-suds-and-lather/1007293)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soap-soap-suds-and-lather/1007293 "2024-09-15T12:33:57Z")
This might have something to do with optics. All of the bar soap I’ve ever seen and used (with the exception of Ivory) is made with dye in it. This lends a bar of soap a distinctive color. But when I use a bar of soap, … --- ## [Can scientists predict our actions before we're aware?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-scientists-predict-our-actions-before-were-aware/1007170)
**Author:** [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2024, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-scientists-predict-our-actions-before-were-aware/1007170 "2024-09-15T06:21:18Z")
Asked another way: Have there been legit studies done that detected what someone would do before they were aware of it? If so, what are they/where can I read about them? For example of the concept, I’m sitting in a cha… --- ## [How is the invasion of Ukraine being pitched to Russians?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-invasion-of-ukraine-being-pitched-to-russians/1007241)
**Author:** [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-invasion-of-ukraine-being-pitched-to-russians/1007241 "2024-09-14T23:39:13Z")
I post here in FQ because it seems there should be a straight-forward factual answer to this question. No country’s people wants to send its sons into the meatgrinder of war. However, sometimes, the public can be convi… --- ## [Material that limits air transfer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/material-that-limits-air-transfer/1007044)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/material-that-limits-air-transfer/1007044 "2024-09-14T17:28:14Z")
I’m trying to insulate our garage. I’ve added insulating tiles to the inside of the garage door which, though fairly cheap to do, doesn’t seem to have really changed how much the temperature inside differs from outside. … --- ## [Any way to dissolve (or at least soften) thermosetting plastic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-dissolve-or-at-least-soften-thermosetting-plastic/1007140)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2024, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-dissolve-or-at-least-soften-thermosetting-plastic/1007140 "2024-09-13T20:31:39Z")
I have a bunch of used c-pap face masks with magnetic clasps that I would like to recover the magnets from. Unfortunately the clasps consist of a magnet embedded in very hard tough thermosetting plastic. Sawing or cuttin… --- ## [Constructing a homemade magnifying glass that has a 100-foot focal point](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-a-homemade-magnifying-glass-that-has-a-100-foot-focal-point/1006709)
**Author:** [@Caribbean\_cruiser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caribbean_cruiser)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-a-homemade-magnifying-glass-that-has-a-100-foot-focal-point/1006709 "2024-09-13T19:50:20Z")
Could an armchair optical engineer and DIY lens grinder craft a homemade magnifying glass capable of incinerating a pile of leaves from a distance of, say, 100 feet? Would the ideal configuration consist of one gigantic … --- ## [Why does it take a second after you press on the gas for an internal combustion engine car to accelerate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-a-second-after-you-press-on-the-gas-for-an-internal-combustion-engine-car-to-accelerate/1007171)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-a-second-after-you-press-on-the-gas-for-an-internal-combustion-engine-car-to-accelerate/1007171 "2024-09-13T18:35:07Z")
If you’re cruising along at 1400 RPM and then you need to pass a car, you press on the gas and it goes to 4000 RPM. You can hear the engine revving up but it takes a second before the car actually accelerates. What happ… --- ## [What was the purpose of puttees?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2024, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-puttees/1006502 "2024-09-13T07:19:48Z")
They were a thing with British Empire troops at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. As far as I can tell, they were strips of khaki that the soldiers wound around their calves, from ankles to just und… --- ## [Any research on spiders avoiding wasp stingers in their web](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-research-on-spiders-avoiding-wasp-stingers-in-their-web/1007123)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-research-on-spiders-avoiding-wasp-stingers-in-their-web/1007123 "2024-09-12T21:10:08Z")
I currently am cultivating a relationship with a European garden spider. I notice that when she captures a wasp in her web, she seems to wrap the head end of the wasp and actively avoids the pointy end. Other critters … --- ## [Across many species, why are the reproductive organs placed where they are?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-many-species-why-are-the-reproductive-organs-placed-where-they-are/1006910)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-many-species-why-are-the-reproductive-organs-placed-where-they-are/1006910 "2024-09-12T13:43:04Z")
Once we move away from microscopic organisms and move into the realm of complex-celled creatures of the deep, not to mention those who made it to the beachhead and onto dry land, it seems to me that almost all species ha… --- ## [If your flight is diverted ... to your final destination](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-flight-is-diverted-to-your-final-destination/1006972)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2024, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-flight-is-diverted-to-your-final-destination/1006972 "2024-09-12T06:29:02Z")
Let’s say I’m flying from Wherever to Tucson, changing planes in Phoenix. But there’s some sort of calamity and the flight is diverted to Tucson. Yay me, right? Or can the airline compel me to complete the trip on pain o… --- ## [If you leave a bottle of laundry soap in a hot car](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-leave-a-bottle-of-laundry-soap-in-a-hot-car/1006765)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2024, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-leave-a-bottle-of-laundry-soap-in-a-hot-car/1006765 "2024-09-10T22:24:40Z")
…will the soap leak out? Will the screw-on cap pop? --- ## [Where do those LED signs get their weather information from?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-those-led-signs-get-their-weather-information-from/1007035)
**Author:** [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-those-led-signs-get-their-weather-information-from/1007035 "2024-09-10T20:28:52Z")
About a year ago the school across the street from my house installed one of those LED signs that alternates between displaying the current time, the current temperature, and whatever messages the school administration w… --- ## [Why is The Peanuts Gang called that?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-peanuts-gang-called-that/1007065)
**Author:** [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-peanuts-gang-called-that/1007065 "2024-09-10T16:05:58Z")
Continuing the discussion from When the usual name is a no-go: From Charles Shultz himself: Peanuts was originally sold under the title of Li’l Folks , but that had been used before, so they said we have to think of … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=72) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=74)