# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=773 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 774 --- ## [Cash, Debit, or Credit: Does payment method significantly affect spending?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cash-debit-or-credit-does-payment-method-significantly-affect-spending/780041)
**Author:** [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cash-debit-or-credit-does-payment-method-significantly-affect-spending/780041 "2017-02-20T00:12:25Z")
I have been reading various articles online that state that people who pay by credit card willingly pay more for the same goods and services than they otherwise would if they paid by cash. A few questions: Are there any… --- ## [A Day Without Men](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-without-men/780277)
**Author:** [@LinusK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LinusK)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-without-men/780277 "2017-02-20T00:10:28Z")
The Day Without Men has been set for March 8. So if you need tech-support on that day, you’re going to be fucked. --- ## [Oroville Dam: How does a failed spillway cause a flash flood?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oroville-dam-how-does-a-failed-spillway-cause-a-flash-flood/779741)
**Author:** [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [February 20, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oroville-dam-how-does-a-failed-spillway-cause-a-flash-flood/779741 "2017-02-20T00:08:46Z")
There has been an evacuation order near Oroville Dam because of imminent failure of an auxiliary spillway. The story is here. The auxiliary spillway came into use because the main spillway was damaged, and because the d… --- ## [Math question -- estimating health care costs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-question-estimating-health-care-costs/780250)
**Author:** [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-question-estimating-health-care-costs/780250 "2017-02-19T23:47:55Z")
So my husband may decide to take early retirement, which means we’d have to go on COBRA for a while and then he would have to go on an individual policy for a few months. (Assuming he retires mid-summer, the 18 month CO… --- ## [How many WW2-era aircraft could a single modern fighter jet shoot down with guns only?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ww2-era-aircraft-could-a-single-modern-fighter-jet-shoot-down-with-guns-only/779995)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-ww2-era-aircraft-could-a-single-modern-fighter-jet-shoot-down-with-guns-only/779995 "2017-02-19T20:20:48Z")
Watched The Final Countdown again recently and was curious. In the film a then-modern (1980) USS Nimitz aircraft carrier accidentally goes back in time to December 6th 1941 and has a chance to prevent Pearl Harbor from o… --- ## [Question about Canada Pension Plan.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-canada-pension-plan/780216)
**Author:** [@wisernow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wisernow)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-canada-pension-plan/780216 "2017-02-19T16:38:17Z")
As an emloyee for whatever length of time, my paycheck has a deduction towards the Canada Pension Plan(CPP). My employer matches the amount, within some set maximum, which is again deposited with CPP. So effectively, sin… --- ## [Geographic Boundaries of Island County, Washington, USA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographic-boundaries-of-island-county-washington-usa/780210)
**Author:** [@Al\_Bumen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bumen)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographic-boundaries-of-island-county-washington-usa/780210 "2017-02-19T13:01:25Z")
Island County is comprised of two islands, the northern end of each separated from the mainland by a rocky channel in the one case and a thin slough in the other. The major portion of the larger of the islands being remo… --- ## [What are these patterns in the fields (aerial photos)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-patterns-in-the-fields-aerial-photos/780171)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-patterns-in-the-fields-aerial-photos/780171 "2017-02-19T05:54:13Z")
While looking around Lorain County in Ohio in this 1952 aerial photo, I can’t help but notice how many fields have the same odd pattern in them. Note the fields in the upper left with an “X”, or more typically, the one d… --- ## [Danger from automatic car door locks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danger-from-automatic-car-door-locks/780199)
**Author:** [@DtypeJag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DtypeJag)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danger-from-automatic-car-door-locks/780199 "2017-02-19T04:10:09Z")
Video of a cop rescuing a woman from a car with an underhood fire was on TV in the last day or two. He had to break the window with his baton to drag her out of the car. The voiceover said the woman could not open the … --- ## [High or low body temperature](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-or-low-body-temperature/779984)
**Author:** [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-or-low-body-temperature/779984 "2017-02-19T02:13:57Z")
I have read that having a low body temperature can be a sign of infection or other health issues. Is it considered better, worse or neutral compared to an elevated temperature? Let’s say an adult who has always measured … --- ## [Bagging or ragging on someone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagging-or-ragging-on-someone/37169)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bagging-or-ragging-on-someone/37169 "2017-02-19T00:32:58Z")
Seems people in these parts (California) say bagging on someone, i.e., subjecting them to criticism which may or may not be deserved. But I also seem to remember hearing the phrase raggingon someone, meaning the same th… --- ## [Global warming and asphalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-and-asphalt/780124)
**Author:** [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-and-asphalt/780124 "2017-02-18T23:29:03Z")
Has there been any investigation into the effects of asphalt on global warming. Sounds like a silly question, but consider the millions of miles of blacktop road in the United States alone, add in asphalt shingles on ro… --- ## [How long was ‘dolls’ used as a term for prescription drugs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-dolls-used-as-a-term-for-prescription-drugs/780179)
**Author:** [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-dolls-used-as-a-term-for-prescription-drugs/780179 "2017-02-18T22:21:33Z")
In Jacqueline Susanne’s novel Valley of the Dolls, the term ‘dolls’ refers not to attractive women, but to the prescription amphetamines and barbiturates which the characters used during the 20 year period from 1945 to 1… --- ## [Cookbook fractions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookbook-fractions/779901)
**Author:** [@Johnegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnegee)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookbook-fractions/779901 "2017-02-18T21:47:53Z")
As part of this cookbook I’m editing I want to offer buyers an Excel spreadsheet that converts various weights and measures, just as one so often sees elsewhere. My question has to do with converting to fractions. How … --- ## [Who on earth are Roe and Wade?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-on-earth-are-roe-and-wade/37770)
**Author:** [@Harris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harris)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-on-earth-are-roe-and-wade/37770 "2017-02-18T20:57:23Z")
There is a great debate going on here; http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=42730 And I’m a little confused. It sounds interesting and I’d like to fully understand what the guys in this debate ar… --- ## [When in US history did the country share the continent with the most nations?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-us-history-did-the-country-share-the-continent-with-the-most-nations/780090)
**Author:** [@Flying\_Saucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Saucer)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-us-history-did-the-country-share-the-continent-with-the-most-nations/780090 "2017-02-18T20:50:19Z")
I’ve been playing the Risk computer game, and it allows for play in historical scenarios. Along with Napoleon-era Europe, there’s a setting in early-19th-century America. If you set up the game with a lot of AI opponent… --- ## [How Long Would It Take to Accelerate to Four Percent of the Speed of Light?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-to-accelerate-to-four-percent-of-the-speed-of-light/780134)
**Author:** [@Weaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weaver)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-to-accelerate-to-four-percent-of-the-speed-of-light/780134 "2017-02-18T19:04:12Z")
When accelerating at a human-friendly 1G or less, how long would it take to get to four percent of the speed of light? I’ve been trying to work it out for myself but I kind of suck at maths. --- ## [Creating a bootable backup disk](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-bootable-backup-disk/780095)
**Author:** [@MTVhike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTVhike)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-bootable-backup-disk/780095 "2017-02-18T18:21:12Z")
After a recent episode where my C: (system) disk failed, I had to reinstall everything on the new disk. There must be a way to copy everything on my C: disk to another one so if the first one fails, I can simply replace … --- ## [Another Excel question: Hidden rows](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-excel-question-hidden-rows/780118)
**Author:** [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-excel-question-hidden-rows/780118 "2017-02-18T18:01:03Z")
My beloved old Excel 2003 decided to go weird yesterday. Somehow all rows 1 thru 51 in a particular spreadsheet got hidden (not by me - must have been an alien flyby), and the usual method of unhiding them don’t seem to… --- ## [Jack the Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-the-ripper/780135)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-the-ripper/780135 "2017-02-18T17:17:32Z")
(I did do a search. It I couldn’t find anything) “One day men will look back and say I gave birth to the twentieth century.” A Ripper quote? I thought for sure this was in the famous From Hell letter. Reading wiki just… --- ## [How much total energy in common batteries?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-total-energy-in-common-batteries/779949)
**Author:** [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-total-energy-in-common-batteries/779949 "2017-02-18T16:55:22Z")
From a little triple-A cell to a big Sears car battery… How much total energy? Also…how long to discharge? If I put a wire across the contacts of a double-A cell, the wire gets hot…but how long until the battery is ka… --- ## [How do large corporations handle vendor payments?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-large-corporations-handle-vendor-payments/780063)
**Author:** [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-large-corporations-handle-vendor-payments/780063 "2017-02-18T16:53:57Z")
In my experience buying wholesale, larger companies want wire transfers. Wiring money is a fairly simple process, but you have to go to the bank, sit with the banker, hand over your information, the other companies wiri… --- ## [What are these two electronic cable connectors for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-two-electronic-cable-connectors-for/780120)
**Author:** [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-two-electronic-cable-connectors-for/780120 "2017-02-18T15:14:00Z")
Please help me identify these two electronic cables. I don’t recognize them. I found them in a plastic display box together, but I can’t recall what product they belong to. Thanks! Here are the two photos. --- ## [529 plans and Grants](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/529-plans-and-grants/780122)
**Author:** [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/529-plans-and-grants/780122 "2017-02-18T14:51:50Z")
Can I take a non-penalty but tax required withdrawal from a 529 plan against a grant? It is clear I can take such a withdrawal against a scholarship, but it is less so for a grant. --- ## [So what were the doctor & nurse listening to back then?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-were-the-doctor-nurse-listening-to-back-then/779955)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-were-the-doctor-nurse-listening-to-back-then/779955 "2017-02-18T08:08:02Z")
Once upon a time, back when I was between 11 and 13, I had a physical and the doctor used the stethoscope to listen to something on my back. After a while, he motioned his nurse over and had her listen too, asking her “w… --- ## [What formula switches from pints to milliliters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-formula-switches-from-pints-to-milliliters/713676)
**Author:** [@Johnegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnegee)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-formula-switches-from-pints-to-milliliters/713676 "2017-02-18T07:57:23Z")
February 26, 2015 Hello, all, I’m writing a calculator for a digital cookbook, and I can’t figure out the exact conversion rate from the American system of teaspoons and pints and gallons to the metric system of millil… --- ## [Tax time: Is it necessary to include 1099's with form 1040?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-time-is-it-necessary-to-include-1099s-with-form-1040/780043)
**Author:** [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-time-is-it-necessary-to-include-1099s-with-form-1040/780043 "2017-02-18T02:29:12Z")
All of the 1099’s seem to say that the data were furnished to the IRS. I’ve thrice tabulated all amounts (doing things the pen and paper way this year), and of course included all of the amounts on the 1040 form. I know… --- ## [Tech question: 6 cell Lithium Ion battery life](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tech-question-6-cell-lithium-ion-battery-life/780025)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tech-question-6-cell-lithium-ion-battery-life/780025 "2017-02-18T01:12:58Z")
I recently purchased a new mid-range gaming laptop, MSI GL72 7RD-02. My preliminary research concluded the battery life on it should last between 4-5 hours depending on workload. I’ve been running only Crusader Kings I… --- ## [Desegregation of South: were any white businesses ahead of the curve in serving African-Americans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desegregation-of-south-were-any-white-businesses-ahead-of-the-curve-in-serving-african-americans/779727)
**Author:** [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desegregation-of-south-were-any-white-businesses-ahead-of-the-curve-in-serving-african-americans/779727 "2017-02-18T01:04:45Z")
What I’ve learned from my study of history is that there are always outliers and surprises. Things that don’t fit the trend. So, although I’ve never heard of any\*, I’m curious if there were any of the following white-run… --- ## [Convert Excel spreadsheet to web-interactive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-excel-spreadsheet-to-web-interactive/716989)
**Author:** [@Johnegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnegee)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 17, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-excel-spreadsheet-to-web-interactive/716989 "2017-02-17T22:16:11Z")
Hello, all. The last two times I visited General Questions to ask a question, I got complete satisfaction. Those questions had to do with math; this one doesn’t. A few of the Excel spreadsheets I’ve written are, I thi… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=772) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=774)