# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=770 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 771 --- ## [Trying to find source of quote](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-source-of-quote/780774)
**Author:** [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-source-of-quote/780774 "2017-02-25T23:42:49Z")
But I can only paraphrase the darn thing. “Nothing is so awful that somebody doesn’t benefit and nothing is so wonderful that somebody doesn’t suffer.” Anybody? --- ## [Enthalpy of dissolved CaCl2 and NaHCO3](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enthalpy-of-dissolved-cacl2-and-nahco3/780434)
**Author:** [@swaneycpcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swaneycpcc)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enthalpy-of-dissolved-cacl2-and-nahco3/780434 "2017-02-25T22:45:55Z")
The question: What’s the enthalpy when aqueous CaCl2 and aqueous NaHCO3 are reacted? The background: I’m a high school chemistry teacher and we do a lab where we mix calcium chloride and baking soda. Most things on th… --- ## [Will 2 colliding black holes always result in a single black hole?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-2-colliding-black-holes-always-result-in-a-single-black-hole/780730)
**Author:** [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-2-colliding-black-holes-always-result-in-a-single-black-hole/780730 "2017-02-25T22:19:12Z")
Consider 2 (not necessarily super-massive) black holes approaching each other at relativistic (0.5 c or something) speed, such that at the closest approach, the event horizons are just overlapping by some suitably small … --- ## [Why no HMS Queen Victoria?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hms-queen-victoria/600853)
**Author:** [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hms-queen-victoria/600853 "2017-02-25T20:48:12Z")
In addition to such awesome names as HMS Indefatigable, HMS Furious, and HMS Invincible, the Royal Navy named a lot of ships after monarchs - Queen Elizabeth, King George V (twice!), Queen Mary… Why no Queen Victoria? S… --- ## [Why can't I use Grecian Formula on my beard?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-use-grecian-formula-on-my-beard/132108)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-use-grecian-formula-on-my-beard/132108 "2017-02-25T19:32:52Z")
My otherwise youthful appearance is ruined my the grey hairs that are peppered within my beard. I have absolutely no grey in the hair on my head. The makers of Grecian Formula warn not to use their product on the beard,… --- ## [Riding light](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riding-light/780611)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riding-light/780611 "2017-02-25T19:21:47Z")
I’m watching a video here on Vimeo at the moment. It’s called Riding Light and it puts you as it were on a spaceship traveling at light speed. You have a view from the rear window of the ship as it leaves the Sun and beg… --- ## [Can the police legally compel you to stand in a lineup?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-police-legally-compel-you-to-stand-in-a-lineup/780631)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-police-legally-compel-you-to-stand-in-a-lineup/780631 "2017-02-25T18:19:00Z")
Suppose the police suspect a person of a crime, but have not yet charged him. AIUI, they cannot legally require this person to provide fingerprints or a DNA sample without a warrant (though they may trick him into doing … --- ## [Any surveys of Iraqi people regarding war prior to troop withdrawal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-surveys-of-iraqi-people-regarding-war-prior-to-troop-withdrawal/780749)
**Author:** [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-surveys-of-iraqi-people-regarding-war-prior-to-troop-withdrawal/780749 "2017-02-25T16:52:33Z")
I’m curious to know if any surveys were conducted of the Iraqi people before the US withdrew troops as to whether the Iraqis felt the Iraq war was “worth it.” Do any exist? Edit: Whoops forgive dangling modifier in tit… --- ## [How different are naval reactors from reactors on land?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-are-naval-reactors-from-reactors-on-land/780548)
**Author:** [@cjackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjackson)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-are-naval-reactors-from-reactors-on-land/780548 "2017-02-25T14:21:54Z")
What are the major differences between reactors on subs and carriers, and reactors at power plants? Why is the government so secretive about its naval reactors? --- ## [The four "great caliphates" in Islamic history](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-great-caliphates-in-islamic-history/780701)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-four-great-caliphates-in-islamic-history/780701 "2017-02-25T12:46:04Z")
Concise info about Islamic caliphates was surprisingly hard to find, but I think I was able to find the four “great” caliphates of Muslim history, can someone please correct me if I’m off on anything here? There were fo… --- ## [Tax question: Changed states without changing jobs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-changed-states-without-changing-jobs/780614)
**Author:** [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-changed-states-without-changing-jobs/780614 "2017-02-25T12:45:47Z")
I’m using TurboTax\* to help someone do their taxes. He lived in Indiana at the start of the year and started a job in April. Then in May he moved to Michigan, but continued working in Indiana with Indiana taking taxes … --- ## [Could the Gulf states build a Hormuz dam?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-gulf-states-build-a-hormuz-dam/780544)
**Author:** [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-gulf-states-build-a-hormuz-dam/780544 "2017-02-25T10:01:26Z")
The states around the Persian gulf are, at least currently, filthy rich and mostly at low elevation. If they pooled their resources to dam the strait of Hormuz to combat raising sea levels, could it be done? Since I fin… --- ## [How do people hang themselves sitting or lying down?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-hang-themselves-sitting-or-lying-down/780698)
**Author:** [@kelsoply\_gmail.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelsoply_gmail.com)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-hang-themselves-sitting-or-lying-down/780698 "2017-02-25T07:35:07Z")
Just out of curiosity, I read an article recently about people committing suicide that way, especially inmates possibly because they dont have another choice. I’m curious, how is this even possible? Wouldn’t their surviv… --- ## [ID this animal based on the sound it makes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-animal-based-on-the-sound-it-makes/780648)
**Author:** [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-animal-based-on-the-sound-it-makes/780648 "2017-02-25T02:52:04Z")
For the last few nights, there’s an animal that makes this rather loud yapping noise. It starts around 9pm or so, and stops around 11pm or so. It goes on non-stop, except for a break every few seconds. It sounds kinda… --- ## [Who bombed my grandmother?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-bombed-my-grandmother/780309)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-bombed-my-grandmother/780309 "2017-02-25T01:45:23Z")
Reading the recent thread on 1980s war tech against 1940s war tech in The Final Countdown (and reading various older threads linked in the recent one) has brought to mind a question of my own about a very specific airpla… --- ## [Has 'Bullwinkle' Ever Been Used As A Boy's Name?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-bullwinkle-ever-been-used-as-a-boys-name/780603)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-bullwinkle-ever-been-used-as-a-boys-name/780603 "2017-02-24T23:52:29Z")
In this video, the performer identifies himself as “Bishop Bullwinkle, from The First Church Of Nothing But The Truth.” While I’m almost positive he’s using a nom de chaire\* , I’m curious if there’s any possibility his n… --- ## [Distinguishing languages written in Arabic script](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663)
**Author:** [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663 "2017-02-24T23:29:13Z")
I will be working a local election again, and Los Angeles County has added three languages to those in which voting materials are available–Armenian, Russian, and Farsi. I know that Farsi and Urdu, and Arabic, of course… --- ## [Form 1095-B received date](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/form-1095-b-received-date/780634)
**Author:** [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/form-1095-b-received-date/780634 "2017-02-24T23:07:45Z")
I found out in late January that I had been on my company’s (actually, my union’s) insurance plan “since September”, via words to that effect from our payroll guy. Somehow I had totally not been notified that I’d been ad… --- ## [Do grown mammals remember/love their mothers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grown-mammals-remember-love-their-mothers/780335)
**Author:** [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grown-mammals-remember-love-their-mothers/780335 "2017-02-24T22:21:25Z")
Something I’ve frequently wondered while watching Planet Earth and similar nature shows is whether, after all the work that female animals (particularly mammals) put into in raising their young, that bond persists after … --- ## [Printer Self-Alignment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-self-alignment/780630)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/printer-self-alignment/780630 "2017-02-24T20:26:38Z")
I have a common, all-in-one HP printer. When you replace the print cartridges, you have to perform a printer realignment. Nowadays, this is a self-test the printer can perform by printing a test sheet with a pattern on i… --- ## [Is the science of fingerprints reliable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-science-of-fingerprints-reliable/780307)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-science-of-fingerprints-reliable/780307 "2017-02-24T19:51:34Z")
I just watched a 2012 documentary on forensic science. During the show one judge they spoke to said there was no scientific basis for the belief that no two persons’ fingerprints could be identical, that no study had bee… --- ## [Weird visualization paradox - width of trains](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-visualization-paradox-width-of-trains/780584)
**Author:** [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-visualization-paradox-width-of-trains/780584 "2017-02-24T19:50:34Z")
(Not sure if GQ is right for this…) So here’s a kind of mental optical illusion that’s been bugging me for years… Imagine the interior of a commuter train car. There’s an aisle wide enough for people to walk down. And … --- ## [CG versus CGI - have we given up?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599)
**Author:** [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599 "2017-02-24T19:31:43Z")
Some while ago back (waves hand ambiguously) there seemed to be an effort among the technically informed to distinguish “CG” for computer graphics from the misused term “CGI”, which has nothing to do with animation but m… --- ## [Can aluminum (tin) foil catch on Fire?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-aluminum-tin-foil-catch-on-fire/302824)
**Author:** [@Alexlamf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alexlamf)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-aluminum-tin-foil-catch-on-fire/302824 "2017-02-24T19:21:17Z")
Hi all: Recently someone told me not to cover the stove drip pans with aluminum foil, because it may catch on fire. Is this true? I have an electric stove with over the top coil heating elements (2600watt 8") that can … --- ## [Battery Charger with Round Slots? (What Did I See Today?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-charger-with-round-slots-what-did-i-see-today/780443)
**Author:** [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-charger-with-round-slots-what-did-i-see-today/780443 "2017-02-24T17:23:15Z")
At work we have a “freebie table” in the lunchroom where employees leave, basically, junk they don’t want anymore for someone else to take. Today there was something on that table that I’d never seen before and am not su… --- ## [Desperate to get data off faulty hard drive (but not that desperate).](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperate-to-get-data-off-faulty-hard-drive-but-not-that-desperate/780635)
**Author:** [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desperate-to-get-data-off-faulty-hard-drive-but-not-that-desperate/780635 "2017-02-24T17:17:36Z")
Very short background. I have a lot of data in the program The Master Genealogist, which has been discontinued. I currently don’t have a valid installation, and I believe the license key is stored somewhere on a computer… --- ## [Is it possible to capture/copy an area that is larger than your screen on a mac?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-capture-copy-an-area-that-is-larger-than-your-screen-on-a-mac/780589)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-capture-copy-an-area-that-is-larger-than-your-screen-on-a-mac/780589 "2017-02-24T16:13:45Z")
For example, when I log onto the SDMB, I have to scroll down to see the BB Pit. What if I want to capture the whole front page from top to bottom, but the whole thing doesn’t fit on my screen? I’ve tried cmd+ctrl+shift+4… --- ## [Why the giant wheels on old locomotives?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-giant-wheels-on-old-locomotives/779079)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-giant-wheels-on-old-locomotives/779079 "2017-02-24T13:47:38Z")
We were at the local train museum yesterday. They have some old locomotives that are enormous. The wheels on them are as tall as I am. Why were they so large? Was it a casting problem or because of an inferior alloy that… --- ## [Why Doesn't the Human Eye See Fish-Eyed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-human-eye-see-fish-eyed/780375)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-human-eye-see-fish-eyed/780375 "2017-02-24T12:13:56Z")
A healthy human eye has a focal length about 20-some mm. I know this for a fact because of my wife’s eye problems being extremely myopic with a focal length of 34mm measured by an eye specialist. Now, consider a camera l… --- ## [Do pc's have cache memory like browsers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pcs-have-cache-memory-like-browsers/780575)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2017, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pcs-have-cache-memory-like-browsers/780575 "2017-02-24T09:07:09Z")
I know that after I’ve been using browsers for a long period of time, they get slower and slower and slower, specially if I watch hd videos and such, then I go to ,minimize memory usage" (on Firefox), it clears the memor… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=769) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=771)