# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=758 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 759 --- ## [Is There a Small Blue Light By Headlights?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-small-blue-light-by-headlights/782802)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-small-blue-light-by-headlights/782802 "2017-03-23T02:02:51Z")
Does anyone else see a small blue light by the headlights on cars? I was certain it was a false image from my eyeglasses. But, I have heard others discussing this. I am not sure if they wear glasses or not. Is this real … --- ## [Hoity-Toity Love Seat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoity-toity-love-seat/782798)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoity-toity-love-seat/782798 "2017-03-23T00:34:57Z")
Just what do you call the figure-8 shaped love seat that looks kinda like this: --- ## [Techie Car Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/techie-car-question/782752)
**Author:** [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/techie-car-question/782752 "2017-03-22T23:23:16Z")
Are there any RF signals a car emits when the engine is running? I know there’s the plug under the dashboard, or even just the DC outlet (“cigarette lighter”) that would provide a hardwired indication, but I’d like to f… --- ## [What sort of anesthesia did I have for oral surgery?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-anesthesia-did-i-have-for-oral-surgery/782640)
**Author:** [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sort-of-anesthesia-did-i-have-for-oral-surgery/782640 "2017-03-22T23:02:25Z")
So I’ve been put under general anesthesia 3 times. Once for eye surgery as a kid, once for a stomach endoscope a few years back, and this weekend for oral surgery. I needed to have an impacted wisdom tooth dug out. The … --- ## [How difficult to get programming done on an existing software product ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-difficult-to-get-programming-done-on-an-existing-software-product/782750)
**Author:** [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-difficult-to-get-programming-done-on-an-existing-software-product/782750 "2017-03-22T22:22:19Z")
4 weeks ago I get a phone call out of the blue from a guy I’ve known of for 20 years. Similar business’s we have in the same industry although his niche and mine are different. He has health issues and wants out. All t… --- ## [Literary Devices](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literary-devices/782748)
**Author:** [@Brian\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brian_K)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/literary-devices/782748 "2017-03-22T21:32:20Z")
Is there a literary device or word to describe phrases such as patronizing patron or womanizing woman? I guess it’s technically alliteration, but I thought there may be something to describe specific phrases like those. … --- ## [Is this an accurate factoid about pi?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-accurate-factoid-about-pi/782209)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 98\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-accurate-factoid-about-pi/782209 "2017-03-22T17:49:11Z")
In honor of pi day, I told my third graders that you could assign a different value to each letter: 01 for A, 02 for B, and so on, up to 26 for Z. Somewhere in pi’s digits is thereby buried the message, “Left Hand of Dor… --- ## [Outlook 2013 -- Possible to see who added an attendee to a Meeting?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-2013-possible-to-see-who-added-an-attendee-to-a-meeting/782759)
**Author:** [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-2013-possible-to-see-who-added-an-attendee-to-a-meeting/782759 "2017-03-22T17:23:51Z")
I’ve been asked if i can figure out who added an attendee to a large Outlook meeting (going to 140-ish people). I created the meeting, and now there’s an attendee from outside our organization (whom I did not add). I c… --- ## [Car batteries - why no standard size?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-batteries-why-no-standard-size/782619)
**Author:** [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-batteries-why-no-standard-size/782619 "2017-03-22T16:40:04Z")
I know there might be an obvious answer to this, but I am asking it anyway. All of the cars I’ve owned have had a 12v battery. None of the batteries has ever been the same size. Why is there so much difference between… --- ## [How could a single man damage a military base the most?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-single-man-damage-a-military-base-the-most/782751)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-single-man-damage-a-military-base-the-most/782751 "2017-03-22T14:35:41Z")
Let’s say that you’re a saboteur on an enemy territory or maybe someone invaded your country,etc. and for whatever reason you have to inflict as much damage to a large military base (not airbase) as possible. You can el… --- ## ["d" in Castillan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-in-castillan/782668)
**Author:** [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-in-castillan/782668 "2017-03-22T14:23:13Z")
How is the the letter “d” pronunced in the words “mirado”, “mitad”? Is the first like a voiced “th” and the second not? --- ## [Problem with AOL email search function](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-aol-email-search-function/699671)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-with-aol-email-search-function/699671 "2017-03-22T05:07:49Z")
I used to be able to do word searches in my Sent Mail folder and find stuff going back years. Recently it’s only found things going back a month or so, and sometimes not even that far. I haven’t adjusted any of my set… --- ## [Deported Immigrants, and income earned while in the US](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deported-immigrants-and-income-earned-while-in-the-us/782529)
**Author:** [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deported-immigrants-and-income-earned-while-in-the-us/782529 "2017-03-22T01:56:39Z")
I have a friend who by birth is a United States citizen, however his older brother was born in Thailand, and is still not a citizen. His brother moved here when he was about 12, went to school, went to college, has a ca… --- ## [Location and identifiable buildings in TV Program "Green Acres" penthouse view?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-and-identifiable-buildings-in-tv-program-green-acres-penthouse-view/782638)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-and-identifiable-buildings-in-tv-program-green-acres-penthouse-view/782638 "2017-03-22T01:15:36Z")
This is what is shown from the Douglas’s penthouse view. Is this actually a New York scene? It looks more like the PETRONAS towers toward the left. --- ## [What's the difference between a capacitor and a battery?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-capacitor-and-a-battery/782643)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-capacitor-and-a-battery/782643 "2017-03-21T22:07:41Z")
I know I can look this up, but the short answer for a device–it stores energy which can be discharged at will–works for both. I don’t know what the few words are I can add to make the distinction. --- ## [Dual Citizenship Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dual-citizenship-question/782688)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dual-citizenship-question/782688 "2017-03-21T21:22:48Z")
Is it possible to become a dual citizen of the US and Canada? I live near the Canadian border and there would be advantages to having 2 passports. --- ## [X-Ray Vision?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-ray-vision/782552)
**Author:** [@Nickrz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nickrz)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-ray-vision/782552 "2017-03-21T20:25:40Z")
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has begun salvaging and declassifying films of our government’s nuclear weapons testing from the 1950s and 60s. Some of them have been posted on youtube: Nuclear Footage Readi… --- ## [Nose Shape Theories](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-shape-theories/782611 "2017-03-21T19:14:31Z")
So apparently there are these theories that people from populations that have lived for a long time in different climates tend to have different nose shapes as a result. The basic idea - which has apparently been around… --- ## [Meals on Wheels](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meals-on-wheels/782547)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meals-on-wheels/782547 "2017-03-21T14:59:24Z")
A meme claims that the cost of Meals on Wheels is $3 million annually, and compares this amount to one golfing trip for Trump. $3 million seems extremely low for Meals on Wheels. Trump’s budget cuts include $3 million … --- ## [Selling an idea to a company](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-an-idea-to-a-company/782532)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-an-idea-to-a-company/782532 "2017-03-21T14:31:09Z")
OK so assume an idea that is not patentable. Suppose I had an idea for a company that would make them money. Not a “make a homesized fusion reactor” but one they could implement tomorrow. For example - make a mini-siz… --- ## [Is there anyway to tell Google not to bring up a site again?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anyway-to-tell-google-not-to-bring-up-a-site-again/782655)
**Author:** [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anyway-to-tell-google-not-to-bring-up-a-site-again/782655 "2017-03-21T13:33:40Z")
Some old amateur gardening and houseplant sites mostly linked to pictures that don’t exist anymore. There are other reasons too. Some were always just worthless. Is there anyway to tell Google not to bring up a site a… --- ## [Declaring a State of Emergency (US)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declaring-a-state-of-emergency-us/782433)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declaring-a-state-of-emergency-us/782433 "2017-03-21T10:53:13Z")
I want to keep this a factual Q&A. Please keep your political views to yourself. According to wikipedia, a State of Emergency in a general sense is when "A government or division of government (i.e. on a municipal, prov… --- ## [Charlatans with earpieces making predictions or "reading" things.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlatans-with-earpieces-making-predictions-or-reading-things/782674)
**Author:** [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlatans-with-earpieces-making-predictions-or-reading-things/782674 "2017-03-21T05:51:56Z")
I know I’ve seen at least one or two docs that show how people gather info in various ways and then present them to the "Host"and make it look like the host is divining these facts from nothing. Google hasn’t helped me … --- ## [Fake Facebook accounts - any apparent reason?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-facebook-accounts-any-apparent-reason/782607)
**Author:** [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-facebook-accounts-any-apparent-reason/782607 "2017-03-21T02:43:55Z")
Something I became dimly aware of is the existence of fake FB accounts that seem to have no current use, but have the mark of nefarious purpose. I while ago, a few posts I made on a local interest group on FB garnered l… --- ## [How much money would the federal government save if all their printing was double-sided?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-the-federal-government-save-if-all-their-printing-was-double-sided/782553)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-the-federal-government-save-if-all-their-printing-was-double-sided/782553 "2017-03-20T22:43:23Z")
Every government form i’ve had to fill out by hand, whether it was to get a passport, or tax forms, or anything else, has been stacks of single-sided paper. How much taxpayer money would be saved in a year if all these … --- ## [His head just popped right off!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-head-just-popped-right-off/709386)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 122\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/his-head-just-popped-right-off/709386 "2017-03-20T21:31:21Z")
Hello Everyone, I’m reading a book now called American Warrior: The true story of a Ranger legend by Gary O’Neil. This is an autobiographical book covering Mr. O’Neil’s time as a special forces soldier. It’s been a q… --- ## [Mining and mountains](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mining-and-mountains/782592)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mining-and-mountains/782592 "2017-03-20T21:12:57Z")
Or “Is there really gold in them thar hills?” Thanks to board games and fantasy novels, my brain has filed away the “fact” that you have to go to the mountains of you want to mine for metals. But if there any actual ge… --- ## [Why is Facebook so insistent that I view top stories instead of recent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-facebook-so-insistent-that-i-view-top-stories-instead-of-recent/782486)
**Author:** [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-facebook-so-insistent-that-i-view-top-stories-instead-of-recent/782486 "2017-03-20T19:55:01Z")
Facebook has made lots of tweaks over the years, some of them sensible, some very annoying. One thing that’s never changed is the toggle to view either “most recent” or “top stories”. No matter how many times I select m… --- ## [Flying with meds regulations - need answer fast-ish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-with-meds-regulations-need-answer-fast-ish/782558)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-with-meds-regulations-need-answer-fast-ish/782558 "2017-03-20T19:34:38Z")
First - this is not a request for medical advice. I am under a doctors care. Second - I am looking for a factual answer though some anecdotal info is OK. I have a flight trip coming up on Tuesday morning (3/21). I’m pr… --- ## [Carwash workers driving with the door ajar and the left foot trailing outside, why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carwash-workers-driving-with-the-door-ajar-and-the-left-foot-trailing-outside-why/782597)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carwash-workers-driving-with-the-door-ajar-and-the-left-foot-trailing-outside-why/782597 "2017-03-20T19:31:15Z")
Whenever I’m at a full service carwash, I notice that the employees, when moving the cars from the end of the wash to the drying and wiping stations, drive with the door slightly open and with the left foot sticking outs… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=757) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=759)