# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=826 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 827 --- ## [Are the Ways in Which Business' Use/Display Sales Tax Regulated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-ways-in-which-business-use-display-sales-tax-regulated/769771)
**Author:** [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-ways-in-which-business-use-display-sales-tax-regulated/769771 "2016-10-27T15:48:02Z")
I shop at businesses like everyone else, and I know that when I go a buy a shirt that’s $24.99 on the price tag, the price isn’t ACTUALLY $24.99 because the 7% sales tax will make it more expensive. I also really like f… --- ## [Seeking Factual Answer from Auto Insurance Sales People](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-factual-answer-from-auto-insurance-sales-people/769790)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-factual-answer-from-auto-insurance-sales-people/769790 "2016-10-27T14:42:05Z")
Before the internet, I understand the auto insurance industry frowned upon those who switched auto insurance providers too frequently. Is this still the case? Or, have modern times made this a buyer’s market? Specificall… --- ## [Why don't mayors run for President?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mayors-run-for-president/769433)
**Author:** [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mayors-run-for-president/769433 "2016-10-27T14:32:22Z")
Candidates for the presidency of the United States are overwhelmingly governors or congressmen. The only serious run by a big city mayor I can remember was Rudy Giuliani, and the last big city mayor to be nominated IIRC… --- ## [why is it so easy to hotwire a car? or is it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769)
**Author:** [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2016, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769 "2016-10-27T08:54:14Z")
Is it really easy to learn how to hot wire any car you jump into, or just some poorly made ones? If so, why? I’m not looking to pick up on criminal lessons (I think that’s against the Rules around about these parts), but… --- ## [Do Pregnant Japanese Women Eschew Sushi?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pregnant-japanese-women-eschew-sushi/769613)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pregnant-japanese-women-eschew-sushi/769613 "2016-10-27T04:12:26Z")
Just about any OB/GYN in the US will tell pregnant women to stay off sushi until their pregnancy is over - something about mercury in fish or something (I think). Does the same hold true in Japan? --- ## [What’s wrong with my vacuum pump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-wrong-with-my-vacuum-pump/768354)
**Author:** [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 27, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-wrong-with-my-vacuum-pump/768354 "2016-10-27T01:26:30Z")
I have a five-gallon vacuum chamber that I use for storing drugs and nutritional supplements. It’s been working just fine up until recently. Then one morning I opened it and there were several tablespoons of the pump’s m… --- ## [How many times has Walk of Fame been vandalized?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-has-walk-of-fame-been-vandalized/769795)
**Author:** [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-has-walk-of-fame-been-vandalized/769795 "2016-10-26T22:55:39Z")
Just saw the post about Trump’s Hollywood star getting vandalized and it makes me wonder how many times this has happened before? I seem to recall an episode of ‘I Love Lucy’ about this very thing - so the idea of steali… --- ## [name for standardized desktop computer power cord?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-standardized-desktop-computer-power-cord/769678)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-standardized-desktop-computer-power-cord/769678 "2016-10-26T22:39:48Z")
Desktop PCs all use the same style of connector on the end of the power cord that plugs into the back of the PC. It’s got three sockets (the receptacle on the PC’s power supply has three prongs), with a rectangular shap… --- ## [Egyptian Language Question from Piper Cub: "Mummy"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egyptian-language-question-from-piper-cub-mummy/769547)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egyptian-language-question-from-piper-cub-mummy/769547 "2016-10-26T21:45:14Z")
We were playing a Hallowe’en themed hangman game today and the Cub used “mummy”. I mentioned that “mummy” is an English word. Then he asked, "Daddy, what did the Egyptians call ‘mummies’ ? " I told him I did not know, … --- ## [Antares launch and other things like it](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antares-launch-and-other-things-like-it/769692)
**Author:** [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antares-launch-and-other-things-like-it/769692 "2016-10-26T16:30:59Z")
We watched the Wallops Island launch from from the beach in southern NJ. It was pretty cool. I didn’t expect to see much more than a speck of light but the plume was plainly visible. It reminded me of a memory from my ch… --- ## [Why haven't the bee shortages caused price increases?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-the-bee-shortages-caused-price-increases/769409)
**Author:** [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-the-bee-shortages-caused-price-increases/769409 "2016-10-26T15:22:03Z")
Lately it seems that bees have been continually besieged by any number of fatal importunances - fungi, mites, pesticides, fertilizers, multi-factorial colony collapse disorder, you name it, it’s apparently killing bees. … --- ## [Are female testosterone levels dropping too?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-female-testosterone-levels-dropping-too/769758)
**Author:** [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-female-testosterone-levels-dropping-too/769758 "2016-10-26T07:10:22Z")
Many of you are probably aware of a longitudinal mens’ health study done several years ago that indicated mens’ average testosterone levels have been steadily dropping for years, across the board – in other words, a 40-y… --- ## [What are these markings on these old US bills?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-markings-on-these-old-us-bills/769043)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-markings-on-these-old-us-bills/769043 "2016-10-26T04:38:30Z")
I haven’t seen bills this old before. What’s the significance of the bank markings on the fifties and hundreds? Weren’t these issued by the US Treasury? The Citizens National Bank of South Bend The Federal Reserve B… --- ## [DVD ripping/copying questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-ripping-copying-questions/552809)
**Author:** [@BomTek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BomTek)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-ripping-copying-questions/552809 "2016-10-26T03:50:52Z")
Hey, Dopers, I’m having trouble finding the answers to these questions elsewhere and feel pretty certain I can get the answers I’m looking for here. I tried searching for an old SDMB thread on this subject, but didn’t ha… --- ## [Why is street heroin being laced with fentanyl](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-street-heroin-being-laced-with-fentanyl/769329)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-street-heroin-being-laced-with-fentanyl/769329 "2016-10-26T01:01:31Z")
Why is this happening? Is it just because some dealers figure since fentanyl is 50-100x more potent than morphine, they can just mix 10mg of fentanyl with 990mg of filler and sell it as a gram of heroin? Is that why the … --- ## [Discharge from prison/jail vs discharge from psyche care](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discharge-from-prison-jail-vs-discharge-from-psyche-care/766051)
**Author:** [@sanj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sanj)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discharge-from-prison-jail-vs-discharge-from-psyche-care/766051 "2016-10-26T00:58:57Z")
Why do people get more social stigma for being discharged from in-patient psychiatric care, than being discharged from a correctional facility? Both are stereotyped as a potential threat to society, so I don’t know why. … --- ## [Electric Dryer exhaust indoors for winter use if using dehumidifier?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electric-dryer-exhaust-indoors-for-winter-use-if-using-dehumidifier/769587)
**Author:** [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electric-dryer-exhaust-indoors-for-winter-use-if-using-dehumidifier/769587 "2016-10-26T00:42:20Z")
I’ve known people that do it in the winter to save some extra heat, I dunno if they have mold problems or not but I decided to just try it for a load and see what happens. It certainly raised the entire house temperature… --- ## [Help me solve the mystery of my broken watch.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-solve-the-mystery-of-my-broken-watch/769575)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 26, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-solve-the-mystery-of-my-broken-watch/769575 "2016-10-26T00:03:47Z")
I always have 2 watches, a dress watch and an every day watch. For an every day watch I prefer an analog Timex with the Indiglo feature. I’ve worn them for decades. By the time the battery runs down the watch is a bit b… --- ## [Quick question about my zucchini](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-question-about-my-zucchini/766668)
**Author:** [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-question-about-my-zucchini/766668 "2016-10-25T23:59:02Z")
My friend gave me a zucchini earlier in the week, but I totally forgot about it and left it in my car. Temps inside the car have topped 100 degrees the last few afternoons. Zucchinis have some pretty high water content (… --- ## [children and Aussie catholic weddings](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-and-aussie-catholic-weddings/769438)
**Author:** [@catweasel1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catweasel1)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-and-aussie-catholic-weddings/769438 "2016-10-25T23:54:36Z")
Hi my cousin got married but it wasn’t a church wedding. I asked my mum about it and she said the bride was catholic while the groom comes from a Lutheran family. I wondered why they didn’t have a Catholic wedding and my… --- ## [The Scarlet Letter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-scarlet-letter/767247)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-scarlet-letter/767247 "2016-10-25T23:53:57Z")
Two questions: Did Puritans really make adulterers wear the letter? If so, were men forced to wear it or only women? --- ## [If Obama becomes a SCOTUS member what would he have to recuse himself from hearing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-becomes-a-scotus-member-what-would-he-have-to-recuse-himself-from-hearing/769700)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-becomes-a-scotus-member-what-would-he-have-to-recuse-himself-from-hearing/769700 "2016-10-25T22:03:05Z")
Just curious. Does he have to recuse himself from all issues involving decisions he made as POTUS or just things he has a financial interest in? --- ## [Will a human head sink or float in water?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-human-head-sink-or-float-in-water/444295)
**Author:** [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-human-head-sink-or-float-in-water/444295 "2008-04-09T00:51:57Z")
OK, I know it is a bizarre question, but I am reading Dexter in The Dark and the question came up. The majority of the police characters believe that a head will float, while one of them maintains it will sink. So now … --- ## [Is it possible to find the temperature at the center of a lake if you know the temperature of the wa](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-find-the-temperature-at-the-center-of-a-lake-if-you-know-the-temperature-of-the-wa/768937)
**Author:** [@joeytk7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joeytk7)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-find-the-temperature-at-the-center-of-a-lake-if-you-know-the-temperature-of-the-wa/768937 "2016-10-25T21:05:14Z")
Is it possible to find the temperature at the center of a lake if you know the temperature of the water on the shore line and other factors? --- ## [Massive White Jellyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massive-white-jellyfish/769648)
**Author:** [@Potestas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Potestas)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massive-white-jellyfish/769648 "2016-10-25T18:28:54Z")
Article is here that I stumbled across: Scuba diver Christian Hauser encounters a massive jellyfish while diving in Mexico | Daily Mail Online Now I was naturally curious about what kind of jellyfish this was. It was l… --- ## [Help with PC Build - scavenged parts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-pc-build-scavenged-parts/761207)
**Author:** [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-pc-build-scavenged-parts/761207 "2016-10-25T17:18:51Z")
I want to make myself a NAS, and I have available parts from a Dell Optiplex 980, a few years old, but it doesn’t take top of the line stuff to run a bunch of hard drives. However: The Dell case is the “desktop” form fa… --- ## [Could the serving POTUS smoke a joint and get away with it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-serving-potus-smoke-a-joint-and-get-away-with-it/769404)
**Author:** [@MrLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrLee)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-serving-potus-smoke-a-joint-and-get-away-with-it/769404 "2016-10-25T13:12:51Z")
Asked out of pure idle curiosity… Let’s say Obama (or Trump, or Clinton #2…) fancied lighting up a doobie… Would there be any way for him/her to do so without being caught out by the Secret Service/Journalists/White Hou… --- ## [Can I Use the Wrong Size Spare Tire?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-the-wrong-size-spare-tire/769561)
**Author:** [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-the-wrong-size-spare-tire/769561 "2016-10-25T13:00:22Z")
The little doughnut spare for my truck is old and cracked on the sidewall and looking like it wants to be replaced. The size is T155/90D16 and the other tires are P205/75R15. Little doughnut spares are hard to get and ex… --- ## [Tracking devices (RFID maybe?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracking-devices-rfid-maybe/769641)
**Author:** [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracking-devices-rfid-maybe/769641 "2016-10-25T12:51:11Z")
Remember the old James Bond film where they surreptitiously attached a tracking device to a car which allowed the good guys to tell where the car was via radar or something? I want one of those. Somebody keeps stealing s… --- ## [Weird YouTube problem -- My computer or YouTube?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-youtube-problem-my-computer-or-youtube/769655)
**Author:** [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 25, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-youtube-problem-my-computer-or-youtube/769655 "2016-10-25T12:02:03Z")
This problem just started in the last few days, and I haven’t had anything different happen on my computer, but it has me stumped. A couple of times, after watching a YouTube video, I will pause or cancel at the end, an… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=825) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=827)