# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=844 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 845 --- ## [Speed Limits, BAC Limits, and Legislation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speed-limits-bac-limits-and-legislation/765909)
**Author:** [@FlyingScotsman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingScotsman)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speed-limits-bac-limits-and-legislation/765909 "2016-09-16T16:18:33Z")
The legend that goes around about both the national 55 mph speed limit in the 1970s and the national standard of blood alcohol content for drunk driving (reduced to 0.08% in 2000) is that states that did not agree to the… --- ## [Could someone explain the 5th amendent to the constitution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-5th-amendent-to-the-constitution/765936)
**Author:** [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-explain-the-5th-amendent-to-the-constitution/765936 "2016-09-16T14:50:41Z")
It occasionally figures in testimony, often in high profile trials and investigations. We’ve all seen this in countless Hollywood films or in actual real-life cases presented to the public on TV. A witness who is called… --- ## [Smothered With a Pillow? Does it Really Work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smothered-with-a-pillow-does-it-really-work/765834)
**Author:** [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smothered-with-a-pillow-does-it-really-work/765834 "2016-09-16T14:18:48Z")
I find I can breathe pretty well through a pillow, even when I press it down fairly hard over my face. It’s a standard in murder movies and TV shows, but…does it really work? I’m guessing that being panicked might make… --- ## [Wi-Fi Problems, any ideas?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-problems-any-ideas/765979)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-problems-any-ideas/765979 "2016-09-16T13:27:12Z")
I have to reset my wi-fi network every few days. It consists in a router, supported by a wi-fi extender. Typically we have four devices connected to this network. The maximum number of devices that are ever connected to… --- ## [Showing camera footage of others without permission - is it legal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-camera-footage-of-others-without-permission-is-it-legal/765993)
**Author:** [@ripply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ripply)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-camera-footage-of-others-without-permission-is-it-legal/765993 "2016-09-16T12:05:52Z")
Some of the reality TV shows have made me wonder about this. Many of the people they show seem very unhappy about being filmed and I doubt they’d have given permission for it to be shown. They’re often in compromising si… --- ## [Cross Border Speeding Ticket](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cross-border-speeding-ticket/766052)
**Author:** [@Potestas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Potestas)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cross-border-speeding-ticket/766052 "2016-09-16T11:49:58Z")
Say I’m a Canadian citizen. If I got a speeding ticket in the United States and I went back to Canada and didn’t pay it could they come after me in Canadian court to get me to pay Or say I was convicted of a driving off… --- ## [Mammals take 21 seconds to evacuate bladders; is there a similar time for coitus?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mammals-take-21-seconds-to-evacuate-bladders-is-there-a-similar-time-for-coitus/765313)
**Author:** [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mammals-take-21-seconds-to-evacuate-bladders-is-there-a-similar-time-for-coitus/765313 "2016-09-16T05:38:37Z")
According to several reports, regardless of their size, mammals take on average 21 seconds to evacuate their bladder. You might try timing yourself! Is there also an average length of time of coitus for mammals? Could t… --- ## [Is the neologism "trepidacious" now a real word? Why wasn't it before?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000)
**Author:** [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000 "2016-09-16T04:24:14Z")
My girlfriend and I just heard John Goodman use the word “trepidacious” on James Lipton’s show. Yet I remember a stern seventh-grade English teacher telling me, “trepidacious is not a word,” for reasons never explained. … --- ## [Does reverse T3 block T3 receptors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-reverse-t3-block-t3-receptors/669261)
**Author:** [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-reverse-t3-block-t3-receptors/669261 "2016-09-16T04:23:22Z")
Mrs. Tracer is currently going to a Naturopath for treatment of her hypothyroidism, because she was dissatisfied with her mainstream endocrinologist. The Naturopath has her on a regimen of pure T3 supplements. She is t… --- ## [Is there a searchable record of what cases an attorney has argued?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-searchable-record-of-what-cases-an-attorney-has-argued/765982)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-searchable-record-of-what-cases-an-attorney-has-argued/765982 "2016-09-16T04:08:11Z")
Let’s say I want to research a lawyer here in America before hiring her. Is it possible to do a search in some legal database that would show all the cases that lawyer had previously participated in? If so, what sort of… --- ## [Why Is There Trace Hg in Some Vaccines?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-trace-hg-in-some-vaccines/766029)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-trace-hg-in-some-vaccines/766029 "2016-09-16T01:54:29Z")
A simple question: In this age of clean rooms and precision purification processes, why is there trace amounts of mercury (Hg) in vaccines? Where does it come from, and why can’t it be removed? And, should this make us … --- ## [NAFTA and Canadian Jobs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nafta-and-canadian-jobs/765976)
**Author:** [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nafta-and-canadian-jobs/765976 "2016-09-15T23:12:39Z")
News that Ford is moving all of its small-car production to Mexico reminded me that at one time the U.S. automakers and other manufacturing companies had major facilities in Canada. AIUI labor costs in Canada were prett… --- ## [Help me understand this operation for sleep apnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-this-operation-for-sleep-apnea/765763)
**Author:** [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-this-operation-for-sleep-apnea/765763 "2016-09-15T22:23:14Z")
So I’ve been a horrible snorer for many years now, and it’s clear that I also have sleep apnea (I can remember a good handful of incidents where I woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air from blocked nasal pas… --- ## [Why does it feel cooler if you blow air on your skin vs. still air?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-feel-cooler-if-you-blow-air-on-your-skin-vs-still-air/765899)
**Author:** [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-feel-cooler-if-you-blow-air-on-your-skin-vs-still-air/765899 "2016-09-15T21:02:49Z")
Air’s moving, doesn’t that have high kinetic energy and should therefore feel warmer? --- ## [Writings aimed at slaves before New Testament](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writings-aimed-at-slaves-before-new-testament/765461)
**Author:** [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writings-aimed-at-slaves-before-new-testament/765461 "2016-09-15T15:50:33Z")
The Christian New Testament is criticized in some quarters for its attitude to slavery. But one thought occurred to me. By directing its message directly at slaves, it must have been pretty ground breaking, even if the … --- ## [Another Excel thread - stop spreadsheets from updating](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-excel-thread-stop-spreadsheets-from-updating/765939)
**Author:** [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-excel-thread-stop-spreadsheets-from-updating/765939 "2016-09-15T15:08:18Z")
I have an Excel 2003 spreadsheet that is linked to five other spreadsheets, and everytime it is opened Excel asks if it should be updated, which is OK since I linked it to these other files. Basically, this is a sheet … --- ## [Zero Times Infinity.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zero-times-infinity/765846)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zero-times-infinity/765846 "2016-09-15T14:47:00Z")
Something I have wondered since at least high school algebra: What is zero times infinity? A couple of things I already know, that may be significant. Of course, zero times ANY number, is zero. But infinity is not your … --- ## [Three Days and Three Nights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-and-three-nights/635886)
**Author:** [@rstrats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rstrats)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-and-three-nights/635886 "2016-09-15T14:44:20Z")
Does anyone have documentation from the first century or before that shows that the phrase “three days and three nights” has been used where it absolutely doesn’t refer to at least parts of three nighttime periods and at… --- ## [Free DVD Burner Software](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dvd-burner-software/766001)
**Author:** [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-dvd-burner-software/766001 "2016-09-15T14:29:48Z")
Any recommendations? Running Vista.:frowning: --- ## [Smithing: What does quenching do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smithing-what-does-quenching-do/765975)
**Author:** [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smithing-what-does-quenching-do/765975 "2016-09-15T13:53:23Z")
I’m enjoying the show “Forged in Fire”. It is a bit repetitive, but somehow it manages to be fun anyway. So I understand that the process of hardening a blade requires quenching it in oil. What exactly does this do? … --- ## [How probing and intimate can jury selection questions be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-probing-and-intimate-can-jury-selection-questions-be/764683)
**Author:** [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waltzes_with_Cacti)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-probing-and-intimate-can-jury-selection-questions-be/764683 "2016-09-15T12:33:40Z")
I’m not looking for legal advice and I don’t need an answer quickly. I’m merely curious. Say you’ve been called for jury duty. How deeply into your personal life are the lawyers for the prosecution and the defense allow… --- ## [Dumb Econ Question: Interstellar Trade](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-econ-question-interstellar-trade/765464)
**Author:** [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-econ-question-interstellar-trade/765464 "2016-09-15T11:29:48Z")
If we had either interstellar trade OR the ability to mine asteroids, is it safe to assume that most mined commodities would fall (or rise) to one common price? My thinking is that things like gold, copper, uranium, etc.… --- ## [Need an economical way to transfer $$ from US to Canada regularly](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-an-economical-way-to-transfer-from-us-to-canada-regularly/316382)
**Author:** [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-an-economical-way-to-transfer-from-us-to-canada-regularly/316382 "2005-11-14T22:39:41Z")
elfbabe is moving across the border. Mrs. Mercotan and I will still be sending her various monies over time, and we’d like to have an economical way to get the bucks to her. Wire transfers from our bank to her (as yet … --- ## [Found property](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-property/765868)
**Author:** [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-property/765868 "2016-09-15T05:04:10Z")
Here is the fact pattern: You see a person unintentionally drop an item without noticing that would fit in a person’s pocket. That person is walking on a public street, and you are behind them and pick up the item. 4 … --- ## [Lightning And Bicycles.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-and-bicycles/765886)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lightning-and-bicycles/765886 "2016-09-15T02:19:20Z")
Does riding a bike in the rain increase your risks of being struck by lightning, over simply walking? --- ## [Rear View mirrors for aircraft](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rear-view-mirrors-for-aircraft/765966)
**Author:** [@Billybonds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billybonds)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rear-view-mirrors-for-aircraft/765966 "2016-09-15T01:02:00Z")
I admit to a morbid fascination in watching Air Crash Investigation, but one thing intrigues me….the number of times you hear the captain say “ If only we had a rear vision mirror” when they have a crucial issue with eng… --- ## [How would Wells Fargo make money on more accounts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-wells-fargo-make-money-on-more-accounts/765845)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-wells-fargo-make-money-on-more-accounts/765845 "2016-09-15T00:48:27Z")
I understand the individuals responsible for opening fake accounts, get bonuses from their employer for ‘selling’ more accounts…but how does Wells Fargo actually make money on this…how does it financially benefit the com… --- ## [If the Earth was a perfectly round ball of glass, and I dropped a ball on it, would it roll?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-earth-was-a-perfectly-round-ball-of-glass-and-i-dropped-a-ball-on-it-would-it-roll/765350)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-earth-was-a-perfectly-round-ball-of-glass-and-i-dropped-a-ball-on-it-would-it-roll/765350 "2016-09-15T00:26:14Z")
Title pretty much says it all. If the Earth was perfectly round, perfectly smooth, and I placed a likewise perfectly round ball on it (Let’s say the ball is the size of a baseball) would it roll? Or would it stay in pla… --- ## [The medical effects of doing surgery without anesthesia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-medical-effects-of-doing-surgery-without-anesthesia/765895)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-medical-effects-of-doing-surgery-without-anesthesia/765895 "2016-09-14T22:19:08Z")
I read that in North Korea, some hospitals are so destitute that they are lacking in anesthetics at times and that surgery was sometimes done without anesthesia, having the patients tied down to boards. If we use an app… --- ## [Preserving WWI artifacts...letters, pictures, uniform items](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preserving-wwi-artifacts-letters-pictures-uniform-items/765856)
**Author:** [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preserving-wwi-artifacts-letters-pictures-uniform-items/765856 "2016-09-14T17:43:32Z")
As the only person on my Mom’s side of the family that has served in the military, I have been granted guardianship of a trunk full of my great-uncle’s belongings from World War I (among other things.) I want to preserv… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=843) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=845)