# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=789 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 790 --- ## [Best software to manage Kindle Paperwhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-software-to-manage-kindle-paperwhite/777424)
**Author:** [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-software-to-manage-kindle-paperwhite/777424 "2017-01-19T17:57:48Z")
I used to have a kindle DX, then switched to reading books on a tablet. Someone gave me a present of a kindle paperwhite recently so I’m making the switch back again. In the old days I used Calibre and Kindle Collection… --- ## [Help me to make sense of this image](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-to-make-sense-of-this-image/777506)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-to-make-sense-of-this-image/777506 "2017-01-19T13:33:26Z")
I was talking about the Ratcliffe Highway murders in another thread and later was looking through connected images. There was one in particular of the funeral of three of the victims. Here is the contemporary drawing. I… --- ## [Rendering and storing lard (for lubrication)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rendering-and-storing-lard-for-lubrication/777212)
**Author:** [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rendering-and-storing-lard-for-lubrication/777212 "2017-01-19T09:19:59Z")
Not sure if this belongs in G.Q. or C.S. but anyway… I yesterday started an apprenticeship with the only working traditional Dutch-style windmill in Africa. I’ve always loved baking and it’s pretty cool to be involved i… --- ## [What is the maximum distance I can throw myself a ball?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-maximum-distance-i-can-throw-myself-a-ball/777457)
**Author:** [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-maximum-distance-i-can-throw-myself-a-ball/777457 "2017-01-19T05:59:52Z")
I’m watching Season 2 of “The Simpsons” and in “Bart vs Thanksgiving”, Bart throws a football and then catches the ball. Now clearly, if I throw a ball straight up, it will come back down and I can catch it. If I throw… --- ## [Crashing a military plane](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crashing-a-military-plane/776998)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crashing-a-military-plane/776998 "2017-01-19T04:12:18Z")
How much trouble would military pilot be in for showboating and then crashing a jet or helicopter? Don’t these things cost about 60 million dollars? What would be the standard punishment? Link to video example: --- ## [How much $ for an FM station to play a song?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-for-an-fm-station-to-play-a-song/777412)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-for-an-fm-station-to-play-a-song/777412 "2017-01-19T03:42:41Z")
A radio station presumably pays music owners (studios, artists, or their reps) for permission to broadcast their songs. How does this work? Does a station pay X dollars for permission to broadcast the song once, or is … --- ## [Who Handles Security for (US) Cabinet Officials?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-handles-security-for-us-cabinet-officials/486970)
**Author:** [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-handles-security-for-us-cabinet-officials/486970 "2017-01-19T03:06:34Z")
The President has his potective detail from the Secret Service, but who handles security for, say, the Secretary of Defence? And does that change when he’s inside the US, vice when he’s overseas? Along similar lines, as… --- ## [Fire extinguishers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-extinguishers/777458)
**Author:** [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-extinguishers/777458 "2017-01-19T00:23:20Z")
Do they explode on prolong contact with flame? would they if someone shot a bullet at them a la video games/movies? these are the things I think about when I can’t sleep. Thanks -J --- ## [Internet nuisance: Immovable "advertisements" on your computer screen!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-nuisance-immovable-advertisements-on-your-computer-screen/777486)
**Author:** [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-nuisance-immovable-advertisements-on-your-computer-screen/777486 "2017-01-18T23:52:45Z")
I just got rid of one of these! After seeking an answer to a topic via Google, I searched through the links offered for a suitable answer to my problem (does the law in California require interpreters in court?), I click… --- ## [Identify this coin from a vague description](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-coin-from-a-vague-description/777415)
**Author:** [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-coin-from-a-vague-description/777415 "2017-01-18T22:41:13Z")
The coin was silver (colored?) with a bronze (colored?) eagle attached to it. When I say attached I mean it looked like the eagle had been soldered on. The eagle was very stylized, sort of reminiscent of Native American … --- ## [Justifiable homicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justifiable-homicide/777460)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justifiable-homicide/777460 "2017-01-18T21:56:47Z")
Just watched the film Eadweard about the life of the 19th century English photographer Eadweard Muybridge. In 1874 while living in California he shot and killed his wife’s lover, was arrested and tried but acquitted by t… --- ## [Russia Today \[RT\] interrupting C-SPAN broadcast?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-today-rt-interrupting-c-span-broadcast/777400)
**Author:** [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-today-rt-interrupting-c-span-broadcast/777400 "2017-01-18T21:55:00Z")
A few days ago RT /Russia Today interrupted a C-SPAN broadcast. I’ve not heard anything more about it since. Did anyone ever find out how this happened? What was the cause? Story… C-Span Online Broadcast Interrupted by… --- ## [Can someone help me understand this gender list?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-understand-this-gender-list/777214)
**Author:** [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-understand-this-gender-list/777214 "2017-01-18T21:05:52Z")
I was having an in-depth conversation with my stepdaughter about how many genders are officially recognized. With my limited experience I came up with two or three. My stepdaughter however, challenged this notion, saying… --- ## [BluRay Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bluray-question/777275)
**Author:** [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bluray-question/777275 "2017-01-18T19:48:37Z")
Hi I am about to replace a Samsung player (BDJ 6500 WITH WI-FI). It was a refurb and crapped out on me a week ago after about one year’s use. I have a Netgear router, but my question is: Even with the router, do I stil… --- ## [Did Franz Liszt speak Hungarian?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-franz-liszt-speak-hungarian/27693)
**Author:** [@aschrott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aschrott)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-franz-liszt-speak-hungarian/27693 "2017-01-18T18:56:52Z")
I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer on this, and I’m curious to know if any of the teeming millions is sitting on a great Franz Liszt biography or other source that addresses the issue. Liszt was Hungarian b… --- ## [What does Jupiter look like from Mars?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-jupiter-look-like-from-mars/776499)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-jupiter-look-like-from-mars/776499 "2017-01-18T18:44:52Z")
Basically as the title - what does Jupiter look like in the Martian sky, especially at its closest point? Would it be visible with the naked eye (assuming you can, you know, breath)? I’ve JFGI but it turns out one image … --- ## [Snickersnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snickersnee/777437)
**Author:** [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snickersnee/777437 "2017-01-18T17:44:41Z")
I have often heard Gilbert and Sullivan’s song The Criminal Cried and wondered exactly what kind of sword is a snickersnee. The internet does not help. It just shows dozens of dictionaries that tell me that it’s a type… --- ## [Google Chrome: I Want to Read But Not Download pdf files](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-chrome-i-want-to-read-but-not-download-pdf-files/777373)
**Author:** [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-chrome-i-want-to-read-but-not-download-pdf-files/777373 "2017-01-18T17:06:05Z")
I have started using Google Chrome. Adobe Acrobat is the default pdf viewer. I want to read but not download pdf files (unless I explicitly decide to save them). Right now it is dumping all of them into my Download folde… --- ## [Slowest developing animals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slowest-developing-animals/777333)
**Author:** [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slowest-developing-animals/777333 "2017-01-18T16:42:39Z")
A human takes an incredibly long amount of time between birth and sexual maturity and/or full growth. Besides humans what animal takes the longest to become an adult? --- ## [Explain this hummingbird behavior?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-hummingbird-behavior/777232)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-hummingbird-behavior/777232 "2017-01-18T14:54:26Z")
We have Anna’s hummingbirds here year round, and I put out a feeder in the winter for them. Whenever I go out onto the deck, I can hear a hummer “chipping” at me, but I don’t know if that’s a warning to stay away from it… --- ## [Excel Question: Paste as values](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-question-paste-as-values/777427)
**Author:** [@Chet\_Manley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chet_Manley)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-question-paste-as-values/777427 "2017-01-18T14:31:02Z")
So I use Excel at work and last year I found a way to simplify my job using macros. Essentially I’d copy data, paste it in to my “Toolkit” Excel file (A kind of middle man file with formulas and macros), click a format b… --- ## [Accidental Electrocution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-electrocution/777379)
**Author:** [@KeymarRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeymarRob)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidental-electrocution/777379 "2017-01-18T10:43:15Z")
Can you be fatally electrocuted by contact with an appliance in a properly grounded 20 amp circuit if a load carrying conductor shorts to the metal casing? I have been told that the breaker would trip preventing electroc… --- ## [Vertical videos - why do they put blurry copies at the sides?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vertical-videos-why-do-they-put-blurry-copies-at-the-sides/777308)
**Author:** [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vertical-videos-why-do-they-put-blurry-copies-at-the-sides/777308 "2017-01-18T10:05:14Z")
Whenever a cellphone video that has been taken in portrait format is shown on TV or a YouTube compilation these days they always seem to fill the space at the sides with a horrible blown-up blurry version of the video it… --- ## [Statistics: judging scores with one data point missing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statistics-judging-scores-with-one-data-point-missing/777390)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statistics-judging-scores-with-one-data-point-missing/777390 "2017-01-18T07:10:38Z")
I have a list of 15 applicants for an event with 5 judges. Each judge scores the applicants individually, and the scores will be added together for a final number. It turns out that one judge cannot provide a score for… --- ## [Harp music symbolizing a flashback: Where did that start?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harp-music-symbolizing-a-flashback-where-did-that-start/775990)
**Author:** [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harp-music-symbolizing-a-flashback-where-did-that-start/775990 "2017-01-18T04:04:30Z")
I was listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour this week, and they were doing their annual “did we keep our resolutions from last year” episode. And for each person on the podcast, they would set up an audio clip from last ye… --- ## [What is the sweet smell from a rich oxyacetylene flame?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-sweet-smell-from-a-rich-oxyacetylene-flame/777423)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-sweet-smell-from-a-rich-oxyacetylene-flame/777423 "2017-01-18T02:11:50Z")
Subject line says it. It’s been a while since I worked with an oxyacetylene torch, but ISTR a sweet smell when the flame burns rich. Is there a specific combustion product that’s creating that smell? --- ## [How will spheres of influence be determined in space?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-spheres-of-influence-be-determined-in-space/776800)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-spheres-of-influence-be-determined-in-space/776800 "2017-01-18T01:14:52Z")
Hi How will spheres of influence be determined in space? No one own the moon. I presume countries will claim stakes in planets, moons and asteroids for mining purposes or for way stations. Who will decide on internation… --- ## [Which political titles are retained?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-political-titles-are-retained/777363)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-political-titles-are-retained/777363 "2017-01-17T23:09:33Z")
We all saw from the previous election that Gary Johnson and Hillary Clinton were referred to by their former titles of Governor and Secretary, respectively. Neither one was in office at the time. I know Senators keep t… --- ## [Where does CNN International get their royalty-free music?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-cnn-international-get-their-royalty-free-music/777307)
**Author:** [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-cnn-international-get-their-royalty-free-music/777307 "2017-01-17T19:24:46Z")
This question is probably more suited to dopers who travel, live or have lived outside the United States (specifically UK) since I doubt that CNN International is commonly viewed in the US. I know that some songs by mod… --- ## [Males and females kissing on greeting. Which countries?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-and-females-kissing-on-greeting-which-countries/777200)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/males-and-females-kissing-on-greeting-which-countries/777200 "2017-01-17T19:19:45Z")
I mean the French custom of greeting each other by kissing on each cheek. How many countries worldwide do this? Is it only the French or is this more widespread? I’ve seen show business types in the US and UK do this but… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=788) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=790)