# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=745 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 746 --- ## [Why do toilet seats turn colors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-toilet-seats-turn-colors/784536)
**Author:** [@Corrineo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corrineo)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-toilet-seats-turn-colors/784536 "2017-04-18T21:00:20Z")
The two toilet seats that I use in my house have recently turned blue. The one that I don’t has not. I searched on it and it doesn’t seem like anyone knows why this can happen. There are many anecdotes about this happeni… --- ## [Marine Corps question: who delivers the news of a Marine's death?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marine-corps-question-who-delivers-the-news-of-a-marines-death/360696)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marine-corps-question-who-delivers-the-news-of-a-marines-death/360696 "2017-04-18T19:25:12Z")
Yet another thread about Skald’s novel-in-progress; that makes 1,000,0002. This should be a fairly simple question. My novel has two protagonists, one of whom is Andy T., who is a ten-year-old boy at the beginning of th… --- ## [What happened to the immigration ban?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-immigration-ban/784702)
**Author:** [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-immigration-ban/784702 "2017-04-18T18:08:12Z")
I’ve never seen a topic dropped so fast by both the media and politicos. The day the ban was found unconstitutional the second time it seems like it completely disappeared from the national conversation. What’s the sta… --- ## [How does overbooking flights lower costs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-overbooking-flights-lower-costs/784566)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-overbooking-flights-lower-costs/784566 "2017-04-18T16:47:06Z")
I’ve read a couple references to this recently (of course). But I don’t understand how this actually works. If the cost of flying a plane is a constant, and if the airlines priced the tickets of each flight to exactly … --- ## [Why has America stopped producing superold people?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-america-stopped-producing-superold-people/784544)
**Author:** [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-america-stopped-producing-superold-people/784544 "2017-04-18T16:30:29Z")
If you look at the list of oldest people ever, the United States dominates the list, with 10 of the top 20 and 45 of the top 100 spots. However, if you look at the list of oldest people still alive, America is nowhere to… --- ## [Why do we no longer hear that dreaded cell phone interference sound anymore?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-no-longer-hear-that-dreaded-cell-phone-interference-sound-anymore/784636)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-no-longer-hear-that-dreaded-cell-phone-interference-sound-anymore/784636 "2017-04-18T14:56:56Z")
This sound When I was in high school in 2008 I still remember how whenever we watched anything on the TV mounted in the corner of the room it would pick up every single cell phone signal used in the class and thus you … --- ## [Hiring musicians to create instrumentals and copyright issues..](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-musicians-to-create-instrumentals-and-copyright-issues/784647)
**Author:** [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-musicians-to-create-instrumentals-and-copyright-issues/784647 "2017-04-18T14:50:57Z")
I was thinking of hiring someone online to just create an instrumental of my several favorite songs. I was wondering if they’ll be any copyright issues associated with creating the instrumentals. Could I enter a contrac… --- ## [Airline overbooking - same seat sold twice?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-overbooking-same-seat-sold-twice/784619)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-overbooking-same-seat-sold-twice/784619 "2017-04-18T13:23:45Z")
Every time I’ve made an airplane reservation, I’ve been asked to specify a seat of the ones supposedly available. When a flight is overbooked, does the airline have the overbooked persons identify seats that have alread… --- ## [Longest substitution word pair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-substitution-word-pair/784609)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-substitution-word-pair/784609 "2017-04-18T11:03:16Z")
What’s the longest pair of words that differ by one letter? That is, you can get from one to the other by making a single letter substitution. After thinking about this question, I figure the answer is probably some rel… --- ## [Is it safe to pull out a wall plug by the part in between the plug and the cord?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-pull-out-a-wall-plug-by-the-part-in-between-the-plug-and-the-cord/784225)
**Author:** [@pinkorangebeige](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkorangebeige)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-pull-out-a-wall-plug-by-the-part-in-between-the-plug-and-the-cord/784225 "2017-04-18T05:18:10Z")
My partner used to have the bad habit of pulling electric cords by the cord rather than the plug. Now he pulls the textured tubular part in between the cord and the plug. Is this safe? Can it still damage the device? --- ## [How to distinguish warblers/vireos/flycatchers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-distinguish-warblers-vireos-flycatchers/784438)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-distinguish-warblers-vireos-flycatchers/784438 "2017-04-18T01:08:02Z")
It is April in Chicagoland, the trees haven’t leafed out yet, and many yellowish grey birds are flitting around in the trees in my backyard. I’m a somewhat casual birdwatcher - I try it enough to realize how hard it can… --- ## [Math error in Brian Greene book?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-error-in-brian-greene-book/319474)
**Author:** [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-error-in-brian-greene-book/319474 "2017-04-18T00:08:13Z")
I’m reading The Fabric of the Cosmos right now, and there’s something in it that puzzles me. I think Greene may have made a mistake in one of his analogies. Either that or–more likely–I’m not getting something. Anyway t… --- ## [moonlet vs moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moonlet-vs-moon/784672)
**Author:** [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moonlet-vs-moon/784672 "2017-04-17T23:54:07Z")
sez that:\* Saturn has 62 moons with confirmed orbits, 53 of which have names and only 13 of which have diameters larger than 50 kilometers\* but later talks about "moonlets. But Aegaeon is tiny, hardly larger than the… --- ## [way to test & objectively compare night vision?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-test-objectively-compare-night-vision/784355)
**Author:** [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-test-objectively-compare-night-vision/784355 "2017-04-17T22:36:39Z")
I may have terrible astigmatism & nearsightedness, but if I were in one of those mutant-heroes movie remakes, my superpower would still be in my eyes: my night vision. Compared to others (say, when the power goes out) m… --- ## [colorblind glasses: how do they work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorblind-glasses-how-do-they-work/784646)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorblind-glasses-how-do-they-work/784646 "2017-04-17T22:34:49Z")
This video was in the news last week. In it, a grandfather is given a gift of special glasses that somehow alleviate the colorblindness he’s suffered all his life. Apparently they work really well, as he’s moved to tea… --- ## [Physics/engineering of circus/fair motorcyle-360-loop: max/min radius; optimum energy expenditure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physics-engineering-of-circus-fair-motorcyle-360-loop-max-min-radius-optimum-energy-expenditure/784640)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physics-engineering-of-circus-fair-motorcyle-360-loop-max-min-radius-optimum-energy-expenditure/784640 "2017-04-17T21:09:26Z")
Undoubtedly this has been posed before in GQ, but humor me, if you would, with a step-through of the basic dynamics of the loop (this kind of thing). I was thinking of aircraft banking envelopes, and at the same time im… --- ## [A question about election advertising](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-election-advertising/784635)
**Author:** [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-election-advertising/784635 "2017-04-17T18:13:26Z")
There is a special election coming up nearby to where I live and a boatload of advertising is being bought. Listening to all this campaign advertising made me wonder about something. When it isn’t campaign season, tele… --- ## [Can salicylic acid bleach clothes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-salicylic-acid-bleach-clothes/784638)
**Author:** [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-salicylic-acid-bleach-clothes/784638 "2017-04-17T18:06:25Z")
I’m talking about the kind found in OTC skin treatments. Will it bleach (or stain?) clothes? --- ## [What's the deal with whole grains?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-whole-grains/410348)
**Author:** [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-whole-grains/410348 "2017-04-17T15:55:14Z")
I want to lose weight and eat healthier, so I decide to try eating whole wheat bread instead of white bread. My understanding is that for the same amount of total substance, the whole wheat bread should have fewer calori… --- ## [Which public pronouncements did Fidel Castro make to the US during the Cuban Missile Crisis?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-public-pronouncements-did-fidel-castro-make-to-the-us-during-the-cuban-missile-crisis/784611)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-public-pronouncements-did-fidel-castro-make-to-the-us-during-the-cuban-missile-crisis/784611 "2017-04-17T14:45:09Z")
Hi I’ve been unable to find Castro’s public statements (if there are any) concerning his attitude toward what he believed to be an imminent invasion by the US. I haven’t searched in Spanish. Perhaps there were public sp… --- ## [Expensive in the USA but cheap in Europe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-in-the-usa-but-cheap-in-europe/782138)
**Author:** [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Replies:** 143\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-in-the-usa-but-cheap-in-europe/782138 "2017-04-17T13:47:01Z")
With every healthcare debate, people point out that Americans pay 2.5 times more per capita for healthcare compared to Europe and receive much poorer results. I’m skeptical of this in large part because I perceive ever… --- ## [Question about checking in @ the airport](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-checking-in-the-airport/784162)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-checking-in-the-airport/784162 "2017-04-17T12:50:32Z")
Of the zillions of times we’ve flown, this has never come up. Wife and I are flying to Europe on Thursday. Unfortunately I have to work a full shift before we are scheduled to leave so time will be tight. And I have no … --- ## [Why would landlords not want tenants who live on social security?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-landlords-not-want-tenants-who-live-on-social-security/762461)
**Author:** [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2016, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-landlords-not-want-tenants-who-live-on-social-security/762461 "2016-08-30T11:20:09Z")
Per below news story, the Seattle city council passed an ordinance that forbids landlords from discriminating against potential tenants whose income is from monthly social-security payments. I wasn’t aware of this probl… --- ## [Tax filing incomplete](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-filing-incomplete/784564)
**Author:** [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-filing-incomplete/784564 "2017-04-17T06:09:37Z")
Family member forgot to include 1099s with simple Fed tax form 1040A filed a few days ago. What should be done to avoid penalty and be “complete”? Send them separately now, with a short letter, before the deadline, with… --- ## [Why do people still die of kidney disease?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-still-die-of-kidney-disease/784416)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-still-die-of-kidney-disease/784416 "2017-04-17T03:51:04Z")
Don Rickles died of kidney disease. https://www.tv3.ie/xpose/article/entertainment-news/236906/Coroners-confirm-Don-Rickles-died-from-kidney-disease Why? Isn’t dialysis a substitute for bad kidneys? Sent from my XT15… --- ## [What's the Straight Dope on eye exercises?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-eye-exercises/306752)
**Author:** [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-eye-exercises/306752 "2017-04-17T01:30:30Z")
Is there any kind of exercise that reliably improves or maintains the quality of your vision? --- ## [Is Trump demanding a golden carriage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-demanding-a-golden-carriage/784563)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-demanding-a-golden-carriage/784563 "2017-04-17T01:26:34Z")
We’ll skip the obvious joke, since this is General Questions and I’m looking for a factual answer. According to The Times the ‘President insists on a carriage journey down The Mall to Buckingham Palace.’ That’s pretty… --- ## [The awful Three-frame format of news videos](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-three-frame-format-of-news-videos/784541)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-three-frame-format-of-news-videos/784541 "2017-04-16T23:52:52Z")
I’ve been seeing this a lot in news clips. They often do this when showing a video of an event. The video clip being shown only fills the center third of the screen, and the other two thirds are either blank or severely… --- ## [Radium 'treasury' in NYC, c 1923](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radium-treasury-in-nyc-c-1923/784401)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radium-treasury-in-nyc-c-1923/784401 "2017-04-16T23:01:47Z")
I was doing some local research and came across an interesting story on what they called the radium treasury in 1923. The story is attributed to the NY Times. I will link to the newspaper archive but I am not sure if you… --- ## [Plant identification help (picture)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help-picture/784532)
**Author:** [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plant-identification-help-picture/784532 "2017-04-16T20:26:47Z")
Saw this at an acquaintance’s house, but she didn’t know what it was. I’m turning to you for help! Photobucket image Growing in northeast Wyoming, fairly sure it isn’t native. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=744) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=746)