# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=798 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 799 --- ## [Explain Jeep Models to me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-jeep-models-to-me/775653)
**Author:** [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-jeep-models-to-me/775653 "2016-12-28T23:01:37Z")
So I like my 2002 Grand Cherokee- a lot, but it needs transmission work (keeps throwing scary sounding “Torque Converter Clutch out of Range” check engine code)and a new oil pan and is starting to rust. I’m less found of… --- ## [IPhone: "Last backup could not be completed"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-last-backup-could-not-be-completed/775725)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-last-backup-could-not-be-completed/775725 "2016-12-28T22:18:12Z")
My iPhone is full, so I’m trying to back it up. I’ve gone to “Settings” =\> iCloud =\> Backup and click “Backup Now”. The little wheel starts going, and it says “Backing up … / Estimating time remaining …” Then it stops… --- ## [WW2 London Bombings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-london-bombings/775708)
**Author:** [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-london-bombings/775708 "2016-12-28T22:07:34Z")
So I was binge watching Foyle’s War. Very enjoyable, I love the detail and the stories. I did sort of have a question - several times they covered the London Blitz and it showed people in the subway tunnels - in the bomb… --- ## [Origins of comic portrayal: suddenly poor = wearing a barrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-comic-portrayal-suddenly-poor-wearing-a-barrel/400296)
**Author:** [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origins-of-comic-portrayal-suddenly-poor-wearing-a-barrel/400296 "2016-12-28T21:25:28Z")
It used to be a common visual clue – a guy wearing a barrel held up with shoulder straps was poor, usually suddenly and unexpectedly, and often previously rich. (Click here for a clip art pic). (One of my favorite exam… --- ## [The very first war ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-first-war/775625)
**Author:** [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-first-war/775625 "2016-12-28T18:42:17Z")
I’ve been asking myself this : what is the earliest, scientifically authenticated instance of organized violence in human history ? I’m not talking about foundation myths like Troy or Biblical stuff (which may or may no… --- ## [What does 9C HPUS mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-9c-hpus-mean/775734)
**Author:** [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-9c-hpus-mean/775734 "2016-12-28T17:53:47Z")
Bought some Chestal cough syrup today. Was disappointed to discover it’s actually a homeopathic product, even though I’ve used it for years with good effect. I’m a little confused by the active ingredients and what the… --- ## [Guardians of the Galaxy space walks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guardians-of-the-galaxy-space-walks/775595)
**Author:** [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guardians-of-the-galaxy-space-walks/775595 "2016-12-28T16:43:37Z")
In Guardians of the galaxy the main character has a device which covers his face and somehow provides air for him to breath. My question is since the rest of his body is exposed to space how would his body behave in that… --- ## [Minimum number of breeding pairs for humans to repopulate the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minimum-number-of-breeding-pairs-for-humans-to-repopulate-the-world/775392)
**Author:** [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minimum-number-of-breeding-pairs-for-humans-to-repopulate-the-world/775392 "2016-12-28T15:20:32Z")
I recently watched a pretty good post-apocalyptic short movie that ended with a man and woman finding themselves to quite possibly be the last humans alive. I assume that it would not be possible to repopulate the world … --- ## ["Shortest Day of the Year" Rituals South of the Equator](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-day-of-the-year-rituals-south-of-the-equator/775754)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-day-of-the-year-rituals-south-of-the-equator/775754 "2016-12-28T14:28:45Z")
In the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and various pre-Christian European groups had rituals to bring back the light, etc., which is why Christmas ended up around this time of yea… --- ## [Seeing weird noise in night](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-weird-noise-in-night/775691)
**Author:** [@TheTyopian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyopian)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-weird-noise-in-night/775691 "2016-12-28T04:15:59Z")
Hi guys, recently I have just discovered weird thing. It is, that when I woke up in the middle of a night, I saw a little bit of like noise with my eyes, I cant properly explain how it looked, so I am posting a picture a… --- ## [Why forcefully hold own citizens? (East Berlin)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-forcefully-hold-own-citizens-east-berlin/775627)
**Author:** [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-forcefully-hold-own-citizens-east-berlin/775627 "2016-12-28T03:21:26Z")
I don’t know why, but I was thinking about the Berlin Wall today, and all of the people essentially imprisoned in their own city by their own government, and all of the people killed trying to escape, and I had what I’m … --- ## [Question about dental implements](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dental-implements/775747)
**Author:** [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dental-implements/775747 "2016-12-28T01:14:32Z")
Went to the dentist, got 2 old fillings drilled out and replaced with new fillings. During the process, while my mouth was full of medical instruments, I had a couple questions about the tools the dentist was using. Howe… --- ## [Is There A Way To Watch Netflix In Virtual Reality/3D?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-watch-netflix-in-virtual-reality-3d/775585)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-watch-netflix-in-virtual-reality-3d/775585 "2016-12-27T23:14:59Z")
I have one of those cheap virtual reality helmets that functions basically like an old-timey stereoscope, only with your smart phone. It produces neither true 3D nor true Virtual Reality, but the concept is the same. Yo… --- ## [The best area to fill sphere surface - dome](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-area-to-fill-sphere-surface-dome/775714)
**Author:** [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-area-to-fill-sphere-surface-dome/775714 "2016-12-27T22:10:08Z")
In my dreams, I’m living under a dome. I have no experience in geo-mathemathics, but a sphhere, not any icosahedron or somebodu’s fyllerine or anyrhong. I have a limimited resourshe - only one piece and a half sphere, pl… --- ## [Purpose of covers on power cord plugs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-covers-on-power-cord-plugs/775709)
**Author:** [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-covers-on-power-cord-plugs/775709 "2016-12-27T21:41:26Z")
When you buy new electronics & appliances, there is sometimes a plastic cover on the AC power plug. Is there any point to those? Are they just to protect other items in the package from being scratched by the metal, or i… --- ## [Regional U.K. Air line where attendants wore Morris hats?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-u-k-air-line-where-attendants-wore-morris-hats/775715)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-u-k-air-line-where-attendants-wore-morris-hats/775715 "2016-12-27T20:11:57Z")
Trying to remember the name of a regional carrier I flew on in the UK a decade ago. During take off and landing the attendants put on broad brimmed hats that reminded me of Morris dancers. Was it Midlands Air or some n… --- ## [U.S. Commercial Aviation: even safer of late?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-commercial-aviation-even-safer-of-late/763337)
**Author:** [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-commercial-aviation-even-safer-of-late/763337 "2016-12-27T20:10:17Z")
Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, fatal crashes involving airliners in the U.S. weren’t an uncommon thing – at least, not as I remember it. It seems like the rate was one or two catastrophic crashes per year, in which … --- ## [How was/is Kaiser Wilhelm II regarded by Germans after WW I?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-is-kaiser-wilhelm-ii-regarded-by-germans-after-ww-i/775668)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-is-kaiser-wilhelm-ii-regarded-by-germans-after-ww-i/775668 "2016-12-27T17:02:24Z")
Did/do post-WW I & II Germans, and present day Germans, regard him as a sort of proto-Hitler, or a once-hero, or were/are they more or less indifferent to him and his legacy? Thanks --- ## [Rod in wardrobe broke - suggestions needed on how to repair??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-in-wardrobe-broke-suggestions-needed-on-how-to-repair/775692)
**Author:** [@teddybound](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teddybound)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-in-wardrobe-broke-suggestions-needed-on-how-to-repair/775692 "2016-12-27T16:48:53Z")
Hey guys, Need a big favor again. The rod (that all the clothes hang on) in my wardrobe broke. To be exact, it’s the thing that’s holding up the rod that broke - the actual rod is still intact. Instead of buying a new… --- ## [PDF file icons in Photoshop CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-file-icons-in-photoshop-cc/775614)
**Author:** [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-file-icons-in-photoshop-cc/775614 "2016-12-27T15:35:02Z")
In previous versions of Photoshop, any saved PDF got a thumbnail icon. With Photoshop CC, all I get is a generic PDF icon for every file. How can I save PDFs and retain the thumbnails? (The option “Embed page thumbnails”… --- ## [Retired pensioner in the UK, relocating to the U.S.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-pensioner-in-the-uk-relocating-to-the-u-s/775642)
**Author:** [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-pensioner-in-the-uk-relocating-to-the-u-s/775642 "2016-12-27T14:59:31Z")
If a retired pensioner in the UK relocates to the U.S., can he continue to get his pension? --- ## [Coat of arms question: red lion rampant, three scallop shells; motto "Che Sera..."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coat-of-arms-question-red-lion-rampant-three-scallop-shells-motto-che-sera/774605)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coat-of-arms-question-red-lion-rampant-three-scallop-shells-motto-che-sera/774605 "2016-12-27T14:42:13Z")
The Cub and I came across a coat of arms we hadn’t seen before: red lion rampant on silver, beneath a black fess with three white scallop shells. Motto: “Che sera …” with a third word we couldn’t make out. I told him I … --- ## [Plumbing question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490 "2016-12-27T10:43:24Z")
My PVC plumbing under the kitchen sink decided to start leaking at one of the connections. I took it apart and reassembled a couple different times (replacing the O-ring with a new one), but still I get no joy. I though… --- ## [Heroin addiction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-addiction/571114)
**Author:** [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-addiction/571114 "2013-11-02T01:21:31Z")
Why don’t hospitals cure heroin addiction by putting the patient under for 4 or 5 days, breaking the addiction? --- ## [State abbreviations for congressmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-abbreviations-for-congressmen/775594)
**Author:** [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-abbreviations-for-congressmen/775594 "2016-12-27T05:58:52Z")
This morning, I noticed in an AP article a reference to Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. For all other state abbreviation uses, everyone has for 50 years been used to the standard postal 2-letter code. Why does the media not … --- ## [Acids and Teflon (need answer fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acids-and-teflon-need-answer-fast/775671)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acids-and-teflon-need-answer-fast/775671 "2016-12-27T05:29:51Z")
So, I am going to try out some, um, experimental-ish fish recipes and want to know if acidic substances such as lemon juice, orange juice or vinegar would harm Teflon cooking pans or make stuff leach out. Anyone know? --- ## [U.K. Drink Driving laws and court system](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-drink-driving-laws-and-court-system/775645)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-drink-driving-laws-and-court-system/775645 "2016-12-26T22:58:36Z")
I don’t need answer fast. Liverpool Football Club player Roberto Firmino was arrested on Christmas Eve and charged with drink driving. A court appearance is scheduled for 31 January. I know Europe is stricter on drunke… --- ## [Who had the largest empire in terms of contiguous area](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-had-the-largest-empire-in-terms-of-contiguous-area/775662)
**Author:** [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-had-the-largest-empire-in-terms-of-contiguous-area/775662 "2016-12-26T21:06:14Z")
Since written history who had the largest empire in terms of contiguous area? The contiguous aspect should rule out the British monarchs i presume. --- ## [Calculating d/dx e^x from first prinicples](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-d-dx-e-x-from-first-prinicples/774874)
**Author:** [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-d-dx-e-x-from-first-prinicples/774874 "2016-12-26T19:49:16Z")
I’m attempting to calculate d/dx e^x from first principles. My specific GQs at this point are a) can it be done and b) am I on the right track? I don’t want to Google it, because I don’t want the solution , and I’m hop… --- ## [Jacobites vs. The Scottish Enlightenment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jacobites-vs-the-scottish-enlightenment/775556)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jacobites-vs-the-scottish-enlightenment/775556 "2016-12-26T17:47:38Z")
Due to seeing the first episode of the TV show, The Outlander, I am curious about how the Enlightenment and the Jacobite uprising interrelated (if at all)? The Wikipedia largely presents these as two separate things wit… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=797) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=799)