# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=792 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 793 --- ## [When stores donate charity money collected from customers, do they take a tax deduction?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-stores-donate-charity-money-collected-from-customers-do-they-take-a-tax-deduction/776821)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-stores-donate-charity-money-collected-from-customers-do-they-take-a-tax-deduction/776821 "2017-01-12T18:53:11Z")
Many stores have promotions where they ask customers at the register to donate towards a charity and the store will donate the collected funds. A pet store may be collecting for a dog shelter, a grocery store for a food… --- ## [2013 Nissan Murano Fuel Door Auto Open?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2013-nissan-murano-fuel-door-auto-open/773410)
**Author:** [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2013-nissan-murano-fuel-door-auto-open/773410 "2017-01-12T16:42:31Z")
Finally replaced my old vehicle with a new to me 2013 Murano. It’s got a few more bells & whistles than I’m used to having, including a fuel door that seems to have a mind of its own. Mostly, the door stays discreetly … --- ## [How survivable is prison for wrongfully convicted?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-survivable-is-prison-for-wrongfully-convicted/776653)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-survivable-is-prison-for-wrongfully-convicted/776653 "2017-01-12T15:09:39Z")
My question is predicated on the assumption that the wrongfully convicted isn’t a street-smart thug but is a male, joe-blow office dweeb who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m talking about someone … --- ## [Starting a Town or Village](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-a-town-or-village/776921)
**Author:** [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-a-town-or-village/776921 "2017-01-12T14:50:50Z")
How would somebody go about creating a town? Driving through rural North Dakota the landscape is littered with tiny, but functioning towns. Let’s say i have 1,000 acres, and a dream to create a village. Would i just c… --- ## [How does heat behave in no atmosphere?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-heat-behave-in-no-atmosphere/776482)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-heat-behave-in-no-atmosphere/776482 "2017-01-12T12:03:30Z")
How is heat dissipated? When radiant heat warms an object does it just radiate back off with no light behind it? How does it move through space? --- ## [Running Ceiling Fans during Winter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-ceiling-fans-during-winter/776888)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/running-ceiling-fans-during-winter/776888 "2017-01-12T04:20:59Z")
Do people run ceiling fans during the winter to reduce their heating bills just like they do in the summer to reduce their air conditioning bills? During the summer months I run my ceiling fans and the breeze they produ… --- ## [Which is preferred, rigmarole or rigamarole?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-preferred-rigmarole-or-rigamarole/504522)
**Author:** [@Skott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skott)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-preferred-rigmarole-or-rigamarole/504522 "2017-01-12T00:57:11Z")
I’ve always heard people say “rig-a-ma-role”. However, when checking on onelook.com, “rigmarole” (a spelling I’d never seen) has 25+ entries, while “rigamarole” only has 15. Is one more proper than the other? --- ## [What happened to this medicine in my cupboard?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-medicine-in-my-cupboard/776842)
**Author:** [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-this-medicine-in-my-cupboard/776842 "2017-01-11T23:38:52Z")
Found an expired bottle of analgesic gel in my cupboard today. Around the lid there were hundreds of tiny, as best as I can describe, glass needles. The seal on the jar was broken some time ago, I’d say it has been sitt… --- ## [Are viruses that can activate computer and smartphone cameras 'real'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-viruses-that-can-activate-computer-and-smartphone-cameras-real/776713)
**Author:** [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-viruses-that-can-activate-computer-and-smartphone-cameras-real/776713 "2017-01-11T22:37:29Z")
Ever since personal computers and smartphones became widespread in Western world and internet connectivity to large amounts of info rose across the world, computer viruses have become an inventable nasty side effect. I’… --- ## [anyone know this poem?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-this-poem/213322)
**Author:** [@hawkeyejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawkeyejo)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-this-poem/213322 "2017-01-11T21:09:57Z")
I had this poem in my seventh grade english book, but i have never found it anywhere since. I remember bits and pieces, and couldn’t find anything on the net. Anyone ever read this poem and remember all of it? Okee P… --- ## [How is iOS pronounced?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-ios-pronounced/776405)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-ios-pronounced/776405 "2017-01-11T18:44:25Z")
I’ve never heard it. Only read the letters. I’m not an Apple guy. Is it just the letters. I O S Like you’d pronounce I O U? Or is there a word pronounced like DOS or SCSI, “skuzzy”? no one says the letters. Unless th… --- ## [This is not fusion. But what is happening?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-fusion-but-what-is-happening/768294)
**Author:** [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Replies:** 119\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-fusion-but-what-is-happening/768294 "2017-01-11T17:25:49Z")
YouTube link The guy from the video is coming to the Seattle Skeptics meetup next week to show us his 'Do It Yourself Cold Fusion." As a group, we don’t like to attack our guests when they stray from reason, but I’d lik… --- ## [Why can thermometers only be read from a specific angle?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-can-thermometers-only-be-read-from-a-specific-angle/776724)
**Author:** [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-can-thermometers-only-be-read-from-a-specific-angle/776724 "2017-01-11T17:06:05Z")
see title. I’m talking about mercury / alcohol thermometers off course, not digital ones. I assume it’s something to do with the inner shape of the tube, but why not a cylindrical tube that can be read from any angle? … --- ## [Could the 1980s reverse engineer a modern iphone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-1980s-reverse-engineer-a-modern-iphone/775816)
**Author:** [@doubled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doubled)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-1980s-reverse-engineer-a-modern-iphone/775816 "2017-01-11T14:43:44Z")
Whenever I time-travel to the past, I always leave my IPhone home, to prevent changing the timeline if the past scientists find my phone and use it to invent technologies sooner than they should have. But then I realize… --- ## [When A Congressperson, A Supreme Court Justice, Or The POTUS/VPOTUS Are Accused Of Treason](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-congressperson-a-supreme-court-justice-or-the-potus-vpotus-are-accused-of-treason/776748)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-congressperson-a-supreme-court-justice-or-the-potus-vpotus-are-accused-of-treason/776748 "2017-01-11T14:00:34Z")
Let’s say there’s pretty ample evidence that a sitting member of Congress, a sitting Supreme Court justice, or even the sitting President or Vice President, committed a treasonous act. Define “treason” and “ample evidenc… --- ## [Electrical wattage, light bulbs, and fire safety](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-wattage-light-bulbs-and-fire-safety/776755)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-wattage-light-bulbs-and-fire-safety/776755 "2017-01-11T13:08:49Z")
Is it correct that you can always use a lower-wattage light bulb than the lamp is designed for, just not a higher-wattage bulb? So if the lamp is meant for 40 W bulbs, you can put in a 25 W bulb, just not anything highe… --- ## [What do people in Asia smell when they have a stroke?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-in-asia-smell-when-they-have-a-stroke/776605)
**Author:** [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-in-asia-smell-when-they-have-a-stroke/776605 "2017-01-10T22:19:01Z")
Before bread was really a thing in Asia, did Asian people smell, like, burnt rice or something when they have a stroke? --- ## [CAn I convert VHS to digital with a VHS recorder/camera?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-convert-vhs-to-digital-with-a-vhs-recorder-camera/776586)
**Author:** [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-convert-vhs-to-digital-with-a-vhs-recorder-camera/776586 "2017-01-10T21:49:38Z")
I have a panasonic camera recorder. Is it easy? --- ## [Sailors Taking Women On Ships As Stowaways](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-taking-women-on-ships-as-stowaways/530423)
**Author:** [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-taking-women-on-ships-as-stowaways/530423 "2017-01-10T21:48:53Z")
I have seen a couple of movies and TV shows where the woman escapes form prison (or something similar) and then runs down to the docks to pick up a sailor. The the sailor makes arangments for the woman to come on board … --- ## [Suppose a President-Elect Dies Before Inauguration?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-president-elect-dies-before-inauguration/776761)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-president-elect-dies-before-inauguration/776761 "2017-01-10T20:49:38Z")
I assume if he dies before the electoral college votes, that they’re free to vote for whoever they want. (I don’t know how that plays out in states which bind them to the winner of the votes in that state.) But what abo… --- ## [Spaceship: Minimum Gs for health?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaceship-minimum-gs-for-health/776643)
**Author:** [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaceship-minimum-gs-for-health/776643 "2017-01-10T20:01:20Z")
I’ve been fiddling around with another spaceship model. This one is going to be an ocean liner of space, designed to proceed at constant boost (to provide a semblance of gravity for passenger comfort). Also, I don’t wa… --- ## [Question about the inverse-square law and lasers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-inverse-square-law-and-lasers/776789)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-inverse-square-law-and-lasers/776789 "2017-01-10T19:28:49Z")
On the wiki page for the inverse-square law it says, I find this interesting, as I had thought very directional beams like flashlights and lasers did not obey the inverse-square law. Apparently the inverse-square law a… --- ## [A Message From VLC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-message-from-vlc/776817)
**Author:** [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-message-from-vlc/776817 "2017-01-10T17:00:58Z")
:mad: I received this message from VLC today: “No suitable decoder module: VLC does not support the audio or video format “undf”. Unfortunately there is no way for you to fix this.” Is this true? Can it be fixed? Ja… --- ## [What happens if you send an egift card to a dead email address?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-send-an-egift-card-to-a-dead-email-address/776786)
**Author:** [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-you-send-an-egift-card-to-a-dead-email-address/776786 "2017-01-10T13:58:57Z")
Let’s say you want to send an electronic gift card (Amazon, Fandango, whatever) to a friend. You go to the appropriate website, put in the person’s email address, provide your credit card information, and CLICK, gift sen… --- ## [Who Invented Stairs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304 "2017-01-10T09:23:57Z")
\[Dear Cecil:\] Steps, stairs, whatever you choose to call them. They’ve been around for some time. Even the Colosseum in Rome had them. But who invented them? Was it one person? Was it one culture? I’ve always wanted t… --- ## [What would happen if Obama refused to leave the White House?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-obama-refused-to-leave-the-white-house/776111)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-obama-refused-to-leave-the-white-house/776111 "2017-01-10T09:08:09Z")
Let me say first that I realize Obama wouldn’t do such a thing in a million years. He fully believes in the American system. With that out of the way let us imagine the scenario of the title. Obama broadcasts to the nat… --- ## [Anyone know Latin well? Need help with phrase.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-latin-well-need-help-with-phrase/776308)
**Author:** [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-latin-well-need-help-with-phrase/776308 "2017-01-10T06:03:39Z")
Teeming millions-- I am researching a tattoo that I’d rather have in Latin than English (classier that way :)). Basically, a translation of “We must always talk to each other.” I’ve used Google Translate, and the best … --- ## [What is the largest piece of forged metal in the world? Largest single manufactured piece ever?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-piece-of-forged-metal-in-the-world-largest-single-manufactured-piece-ever/775731)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-piece-of-forged-metal-in-the-world-largest-single-manufactured-piece-ever/775731 "2017-01-10T05:40:29Z")
The first part of the query was prompted by this awesome vid of forging a "part of large generator" (a driveshaft?). I then started thinking about other metal-manufacturing feats, so, to continue the game: What is the … --- ## [Await vs. Wait?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/await-vs-wait/776753)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/await-vs-wait/776753 "2017-01-10T01:36:25Z")
I have Googled this with inconclusive results. If I want to say “He left town wondering what adventures await.” Is that correct grammar? One source says “await” requires an object and the object is never a person. In thi… --- ## [Do any states (from its colonial days or Civil War days) still owe Britain any money?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-states-from-its-colonial-days-or-civil-war-days-still-owe-britain-any-money/775799)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-states-from-its-colonial-days-or-civil-war-days-still-owe-britain-any-money/775799 "2017-01-09T23:25:12Z")
Hi I remember listening to the BBC years ago on the topic of debt owed to Britain by states that had defaulted on their loans during colonial times and the Civil War. I look forward to your feedback [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=791) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=793)