# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=730 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 731 --- ## [F-111 loses wheels. They decide to flat belly land it. Huh?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-111-loses-wheels-they-decide-to-flat-belly-land-it-huh/786754)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-111-loses-wheels-they-decide-to-flat-belly-land-it-huh/786754 "2017-05-18T01:28:15Z")
Here’s a vid, at an Australian installation. What’s the backstory on the efficacy of belly landing, to risk trashed airplane after ejection vs. trashed airplane and dead crew? I was amazed they chose that, and perhaps… --- ## [Is it legal to sell foreign currency online?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-to-sell-foreign-currency-online/786828)
**Author:** [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-to-sell-foreign-currency-online/786828 "2017-05-17T23:25:13Z")
I have some Sterling coins and Guernsey pounds which the banks won’t accept. Since I’m not travelling to England any time soon, I was wondering if selling them on eBay or on an auction site is legal. Keep in mind that … --- ## [What's the straight dope on special / independent prosecutors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-special-independent-prosecutors/786844)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-special-independent-prosecutors/786844 "2017-05-17T22:34:02Z")
With everything going on with Trump, I thought it would be helpful to ask those dopers with legal expertise about special prosecutors. Who has the authority to appoint one? Would it be the AG, the whole Senate, the Hous… --- ## [Private detectives: Under pressure to produce "false positives?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/private-detectives-under-pressure-to-produce-false-positives/786767)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/private-detectives-under-pressure-to-produce-false-positives/786767 "2017-05-17T22:10:54Z")
When people hire private investigators to find out whether their spouse is having an extramarital affair, or such things, is there pressure on the investigators (within the investigator’s own mind, that is) to produce a … --- ## [Spiders in Australia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiders-in-australia/786631)
**Author:** [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiders-in-australia/786631 "2017-05-17T21:29:05Z")
My brother’s daughter lives in Australia with her husband, who is in the military (U. S. Navy), and two kids. To make a long story short, a friend of hers posted in Facebook about a problem with spiders there. To hear th… --- ## [flat feet as excuse from U.S. military service](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-feet-as-excuse-from-u-s-military-service/251583)
**Author:** [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-feet-as-excuse-from-u-s-military-service/251583 "2017-05-17T21:26:19Z")
In the U.S., it’s common mythology that during times of an active draft, men with flat feet were regularly excused or rejected from military service. I’ve always wondered about this, because I have flat feet and it does… --- ## [Strongwomen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strongwomen/786860)
**Author:** [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strongwomen/786860 "2017-05-17T20:10:03Z")
All the talk in the news of wannabe-dictators and “political strongmen” has got me thinking: has the strongman ever been a strongwoman? That is, have there been any female dictators? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one. … --- ## [Flight 93: Is there any type of switch in the cockpit to temporarily disable the flight controls?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flight-93-is-there-any-type-of-switch-in-the-cockpit-to-temporarily-disable-the-flight-controls/786845)
**Author:** [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flight-93-is-there-any-type-of-switch-in-the-cockpit-to-temporarily-disable-the-flight-controls/786845 "2017-05-17T20:02:21Z")
I’ve read that turning on auto-pilot is a bit more involved than just “flipping a switch”. But do the controls work while auto-pilot is engaged or is it like cruise control in a car where the steering wheel still works … --- ## [Do detectives really take a tiny taste-test of heroin or coke?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-detectives-really-take-a-tiny-taste-test-of-heroin-or-coke/547769)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-detectives-really-take-a-tiny-taste-test-of-heroin-or-coke/547769 "2017-05-17T18:52:44Z")
Just saw Goodfellas again, and in the end one of the detectives confirms (sarcastically) after a tiny dip into the powder and a lick of that finger that the captured powder is heroin. I’ve also seen that move in other Ho… --- ## [Why do intense flavors make my head itch?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-intense-flavors-make-my-head-itch/292268)
**Author:** [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-intense-flavors-make-my-head-itch/292268 "2017-05-17T16:58:03Z")
This happens to me all the time but I can never think of many specific examples. One is Italian salad dressing. Sometimes I’ll get a burst of intense flavor, and suddenly the top/back of my head will itch like crazy. … --- ## [Ten-hut??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-hut/654997)
**Author:** [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-hut/654997 "2017-05-17T16:28:56Z")
An army or police officer comes into a room and someone always says this word and the men come to “attention”. How did the word “attention” morph into “ten-hut”? Or am I wrong, and “ten-hut” means something else? --- ## [Smelly coprolite?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smelly-coprolite/786656)
**Author:** [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smelly-coprolite/786656 "2017-05-17T15:33:35Z")
Just got done streaming this three-parter about how plants have changed the biome and climate as much as the biome and climate have directed plants’ evolution. In the third part, covering the rise of grasses and the dec… --- ## [Grass Bread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grass-bread/786704)
**Author:** [@Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delicious)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grass-bread/786704 "2017-05-17T15:19:46Z")
As I understand it, all our modern cereal crops are grasses that have been selectively bred over many centuries to enhance the grain size, flavour, nutrition etc… This suggests that at some point, our ancestors started … --- ## [Microants?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745)
**Author:** [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745 "2017-05-17T14:02:35Z")
“Infested” might be a strong term, but our house has a lot of an incredibly tiny insect living in it. No bigger than about 0.1-mm I’m calling them an ant because they scuttle about on a counter top rather like an ant an… --- ## [Social Security Question: One spouse collects and one remains working: Penalties?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-question-one-spouse-collects-and-one-remains-working-penalties/786765)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-question-one-spouse-collects-and-one-remains-working-penalties/786765 "2017-05-17T12:05:00Z")
I know that once you start collecting SS benefits at age 62, for example, you can earn only so much outside of SS before the government starts taking some of the SS back (until you hit a certain age, and then there’s no … --- ## [Origin of "You kids get off my lawn"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-kids-get-off-my-lawn/498592)
**Author:** [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-you-kids-get-off-my-lawn/498592 "2017-05-17T11:34:40Z")
I tried poking around for the origin, but came up empty-handed. There are a lot of variations and I am not sure what to look for. Does anyone know? I remember Letterman making this joke back in the day as one of his t… --- ## [Laundromat in south Loop?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laundromat-in-south-loop/786780)
**Author:** [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laundromat-in-south-loop/786780 "2017-05-17T04:16:14Z")
I’m going to be in Chicago for an extended stay at the Congress Plaza - 520 S Michigan / Congress. Google Maps isn’t showing me any laundromats near there. The Congress has cleaning service, but I don’t want to pay $2.9… --- ## [Why are photos not permitted in the TV studio?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-photos-not-permitted-in-the-tv-studio/786706)
**Author:** [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-photos-not-permitted-in-the-tv-studio/786706 "2017-05-17T02:24:54Z")
In the last couple months I’ve attended tapings of both The Late Show (Stephen Colbert) and Last Week Tonight (John Oliver). Lots of fun, highly recommended, etc., but both of them enforced a policy that I don’t totally… --- ## [What do American GPA's mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-american-gpas-mean/205772)
**Author:** [@auliya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auliya)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-american-gpas-mean/205772 "2003-10-06T16:32:37Z")
I see people proudly quoting GPA’s of 3.9 and 4, so I assume they are very high. In Australian a GPA of 3.9 would be a conceded pass, a 4 just a pass. Our grading system is as follows - 85-100 - High distinction - grad… --- ## [Why are vitrectomies so expensive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vitrectomies-so-expensive/786292)
**Author:** [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-vitrectomies-so-expensive/786292 "2017-05-17T01:52:21Z")
My mother recently told me that a 28yr old uncle of mine received a FOV (Floater Only Vitretomy), a surgery which replaces the vitreous humour in both eyes with a saline solution to remove floater debris . Apparently it … --- ## [Best Way to Keep Owls Away from Yard?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-owls-away-from-yard/638397)
**Author:** [@dorsk188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorsk188)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-owls-away-from-yard/638397 "2017-05-17T01:47:44Z")
I’ve got a few friendly semi-stray cats that I feed and I’m worried about them at night. I’ve been hearing a lot of owl calls lately and glimpsed a really big one in a tree a few nights ago. Obviously, I wouldn’t think… --- ## [Has a US corporation with zero debt ever filed for bankruptcy protection?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-us-corporation-with-zero-debt-ever-filed-for-bankruptcy-protection/786799)
**Author:** [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-us-corporation-with-zero-debt-ever-filed-for-bankruptcy-protection/786799 "2017-05-17T00:34:48Z")
I have been buying stock in a US company with no debt (the only liability is a rental agreement for their offices). If you are curious the company is AVGR (Avinger) for any stock hounds. The shares are priced for liqui… --- ## [What was the rationale in designating midnight as 12AM?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-rationale-in-designating-midnight-as-12am/786533)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Replies:** 94\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-rationale-in-designating-midnight-as-12am/786533 "2017-05-16T23:25:03Z")
It has never made sense to me that midnight is 12AM. You go from 8PM to 9PM to 10PM to 11PM to 12AM?? It doesn’t fit the pattern! Same issue with 12PM being noon. 10AM then 11AM then 12PM. It seems like things should st… --- ## [When people misrepresent how much they indulge in their vice, are they lying to you or to themselves](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-misrepresent-how-much-they-indulge-in-their-vice-are-they-lying-to-you-or-to-themselves/786671)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-misrepresent-how-much-they-indulge-in-their-vice-are-they-lying-to-you-or-to-themselves/786671 "2017-05-16T23:13:01Z")
Quite often, people who have a vice or addiction will grossly understate how much they are doing it. Alcoholics may say they’ve had a few beers, when really it was a 24-pack. Gamblers will say they just lost a few hund… --- ## [need tech help: loading dozens of thumbdrives with pictures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-tech-help-loading-dozens-of-thumbdrives-with-pictures/786560)
**Author:** [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-tech-help-loading-dozens-of-thumbdrives-with-pictures/786560 "2017-05-16T20:57:00Z")
My SIL needs to load about 40 thumbdrives (AKA flash drives, memory sticks) with a the same group of pictures. The pictures are currently on “the cloud” (AKA Dropbox), but I would assume it’s easy to move them to the lo… --- ## [Quote starter verification](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quote-starter-verification/786622)
**Author:** [@virtually\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/virtually_yours)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quote-starter-verification/786622 "2017-05-16T20:33:17Z")
Hello, if someone comes up with a witty phrase/fancy quote etc. how can that person identify themselves with that quote/phrase so that no one can be identified with or claim it legitimatly? virtually yours Virtually Y… --- ## [What if a small internal battery goes flat in Electronic Safe?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-small-internal-battery-goes-flat-in-electronic-safe/786333)
**Author:** [@Loyuod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loyuod)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-small-internal-battery-goes-flat-in-electronic-safe/786333 "2017-05-16T20:25:17Z")
I have a basic small home electronic safe & it’s about 15years old. I brought it from some small store & they no longer are there. And there doesn’t seem to be much contact info in the manual with the manufacturer & no m… --- ## [Can a slice of mushroom make it all the way through the digestive system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-slice-of-mushroom-make-it-all-the-way-through-the-digestive-system/786636)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-slice-of-mushroom-make-it-all-the-way-through-the-digestive-system/786636 "2017-05-16T19:31:06Z")
I recently used the bathroom and saw something, um, odd looking in my solid waste. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, and of course it was too disgusting to investigate by anything but sight, but it struck me that it lo… --- ## [Could you really open a locked door by shooting the lock?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-really-open-a-locked-door-by-shooting-the-lock/786542)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-really-open-a-locked-door-by-shooting-the-lock/786542 "2017-05-16T19:19:11Z")
Standard in movies, I’ve often wondered if this would work. Besides the danger from a ricocheting bullet would the gunshot actually somehow unlock the door? --- ## [Anyone recently started getting weird full-screen pop-unders using chrome?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recently-started-getting-weird-full-screen-pop-unders-using-chrome/786771)
**Author:** [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recently-started-getting-weird-full-screen-pop-unders-using-chrome/786771 "2017-05-16T18:52:14Z")
This just started a few days ago. I’m pretty careful about the sites I visit and what I download. Anyways: Windows 10. Bitdefender Anti-Virus uBlock origin popup blocker. I ran a virus scan and a MalwareBytes scan an… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=729) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=731)