# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=925 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 926 --- ## [Drink me! - Ashes in your cup](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drink-me-ashes-in-your-cup/751188)
**Author:** [@pieceoftheuniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pieceoftheuniverse)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drink-me-ashes-in-your-cup/751188 "2016-04-05T21:29:21Z")
One of my friends had some medical problems recently, to the point where he was sure he was going to die (he’s OK now). In discussing possible arrangements, he mentioned that he’d like to be cremated, and then have the a… --- ## [Tweets on Twitter: stored for how long?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tweets-on-twitter-stored-for-how-long/751275)
**Author:** [@nansbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nansbread)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tweets-on-twitter-stored-for-how-long/751275 "2016-04-05T18:55:47Z")
Will they be stored for perpetuity or have the company mentioned their tweet destruction policy? --- ## [electricity in a canal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electricity-in-a-canal/750973)
**Author:** [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electricity-in-a-canal/750973 "2016-04-05T15:41:36Z")
So behind my house there is a irrigation cannel which we and our neighbors and others use to water our plants. Many use flood irrigation but some use electric pumps. In the summer swimming or intertubing in the canal is … --- ## [Parisian shops. Are they just a money laundering business](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parisian-shops-are-they-just-a-money-laundering-business/751162)
**Author:** [@nansbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nansbread)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parisian-shops-are-they-just-a-money-laundering-business/751162 "2016-04-05T14:50:51Z")
I used Paris as an example but i think the same applues to major cities. Having lived in Paris for many months i am astonished at the large number of clothing shops that seem to do no business whatseover. Their clothes a… --- ## [Do cops know where all the drug fronts in town are?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-know-where-all-the-drug-fronts-in-town-are/751222)
**Author:** [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-know-where-all-the-drug-fronts-in-town-are/751222 "2016-04-05T14:36:25Z")
If you ask people who live in a neighbourhood, most of them have a good idea about what local businesses are probable drug fronts. I’m sure some of the time people are mistaken due to an overactive imagination but when a… --- ## [Microsoft Word - How to print index cards?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-how-to-print-index-cards/589255)
**Author:** [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-how-to-print-index-cards/589255 "2011-07-16T21:54:59Z")
OK, I have the old Microsoft Word (2003), and I want to print up a bunch of notes on 5 x 7 index card size. I’m OK with printing on 8.5 x 11 paper and cutting with a paper cutter, but I’d like some template so I don’t ha… --- ## [How old might this gun be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-might-this-gun-be/750894)
**Author:** [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-might-this-gun-be/750894 "2016-04-05T13:32:18Z")
My wife just out of the blue tonight showed me a gun I never even knew she owned. She doesn’t know much about its history—it was given to her mother by her first husband sometime in the early 1950s. He was LAPD, so I’m g… --- ## [Calenture and not walking on Grass](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calenture-and-not-walking-on-grass/751161)
**Author:** [@Hagen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hagen)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calenture-and-not-walking-on-grass/751161 "2016-04-05T13:11:37Z")
I’ve heard of the story of becalmed sailors who are dying of thirst imagining that the sea is a meadow and plunging into the ocean. I think it’s called Calenture. Is this a real thing? Does this go back a while or is it … --- ## [What did I make \[science fair experiment that dissolved drill bit\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-i-make-science-fair-experiment-that-dissolved-drill-bit/751125)
**Author:** [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-i-make-science-fair-experiment-that-dissolved-drill-bit/751125 "2016-04-05T13:00:19Z")
Helping daughter with science fair project. She picked something simple - electrolysis of water. Simple enough, get distilled water, multimeter, DC power supply (plenty of old phone chargers), catalysts, jar, scale, wi… --- ## [Kerosene and jet fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerosene-and-jet-fuel/751176)
**Author:** [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerosene-and-jet-fuel/751176 "2016-04-05T10:24:58Z")
Jet fuel is kerosene, with anti-freeze (Jet A-1) or naphtha (Jet B). Could a jet be run on straight kerosene, unmodified? What would happen? Could older jet engines, say in the decade after WWII, have run on pure kerose… --- ## [In bear encounters conflicting advice. Do you make eye contact or not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bear-encounters-conflicting-advice-do-you-make-eye-contact-or-not/751168)
**Author:** [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bear-encounters-conflicting-advice-do-you-make-eye-contact-or-not/751168 "2016-04-05T08:01:04Z")
Hi Most websites advise you not to make eye contact with bears. Virtually every program I’ve seen on TV or on youtube does the same. Does anyone have direct experience in such matters? I look forward to your feedback. … --- ## [Prisoner who learned to change pants while ankles were chained](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-who-learned-to-change-pants-while-ankles-were-chained/751173)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prisoner-who-learned-to-change-pants-while-ankles-were-chained/751173 "2016-04-05T05:38:57Z")
A long time ago, I read about the experience of a prisoner in an Asian prison, I think sometime in the 1970s. While in prison, he learned how to change his pants…while his ankles were chained. Uh…what? I have been pond… --- ## [euthanizing a hamster](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanizing-a-hamster/697108)
**Author:** [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Replies:** 128\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanizing-a-hamster/697108 "2016-04-05T00:38:58Z")
My daughter has a 3 year old roborovski hamster that has some sort of skin infection/growth/something that does not look good. The hamster otherwise looks fine. He is eating, active, and no watery eyes, etc. But it appe… --- ## [What exactly happens when you fall from a height?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864)
**Author:** [@hello\_hello\_hello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hello_hello_hello)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-happens-when-you-fall-from-a-height/750864 "2016-04-05T00:10:13Z")
I am writing a twisted story where a character needs to commit suicide by jumping from an 8 story office building because he will soon be attacked. He is an extremely paranoid character (for a bit of humor), so he also c… --- ## [Historically confirmed mass infanticides](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historically-confirmed-mass-infanticides/750815)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historically-confirmed-mass-infanticides/750815 "2016-04-04T20:04:58Z")
The Bible contains several stories of mass infanticide. In Exodus, for example, the Pharaoh ordered the killing of all male Hebrew children, and the Gospel of Matthew describes Herod’s command that all male children in … --- ## [What does "25% less than X" mean ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-25-less-than-x-mean/750151)
**Author:** [@Iamnotivan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iamnotivan)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-25-less-than-x-mean/750151 "2016-04-04T18:25:12Z")
The media constantly says that X is 30 times less than last last year, or 11 times less than Monday. What does that mean ? How does it translate into reality? How is one to calculate such a figure? Why don’t they say … --- ## [What happened to the American steel industry?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-american-steel-industry/750907)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-american-steel-industry/750907 "2016-04-04T12:35:11Z")
I was talking about this with my friend who is a mechanical engineer, but neither one of us understand the economics behind it. He is very concerned that this is killing American jobs, and would put us at a lot of risk i… --- ## [Falling and jolting after a C4C5 fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-and-jolting-after-a-c4c5-fusion/751157)
**Author:** [@V\_with\_c4c5\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/V_with_c4c5_fusion)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falling-and-jolting-after-a-c4c5-fusion/751157 "2016-04-04T09:26:56Z")
Has anyone ever taken a real fall after aC4C5 fusion!?? I was goi g to the bathroom in the middle of the night with my walker and my walker caught the door and I lost my balance being jolted away from the walker grabbed … --- ## [Is there an alphabet song for Greek?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-alphabet-song-for-greek/463282)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-alphabet-song-for-greek/463282 "2016-04-04T07:13:24Z")
Is there an alphabet song for the Greek alphabet (either as the Greeks pronounce the letters, or as the letters are pronounced in English)? --- ## [Computer viruses and the felony murder rule](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-viruses-and-the-felony-murder-rule/750685)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-viruses-and-the-felony-murder-rule/750685 "2016-04-04T04:33:43Z")
I have been reading about the ransomware attacks on several hospitals. It made me wonder, if somebody ended up dying because of this, could the creators of the software be charged with capital murder? Cyberattacks are … --- ## [What is the difference between Art Deco and Streamline Moderne?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-art-deco-and-streamline-moderne/751015)
**Author:** [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-art-deco-and-streamline-moderne/751015 "2016-04-04T02:35:10Z")
I gather they are different. --- ## [Use of trademarks in fiction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-trademarks-in-fiction/750127)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-trademarks-in-fiction/750127 "2016-04-04T02:31:14Z")
What are the rules, limitations, etc. of using a trademarked product, by name, in a work of fiction? To be specific, I had an idea for a short story last night where a phone AI (a bit more advanced than the current ones… --- ## [Amps and volts to watts: conversion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amps-and-volts-to-watts-conversion/740588)
**Author:** [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amps-and-volts-to-watts-conversion/740588 "2016-04-04T00:44:26Z")
When you know the amperage and voltage of an appliance, how do you find the wattage? A heater we were using this evening tripped a breaker on the power strip it was plugged into, and it was a while before I could restor… --- ## [Reasons why Australia is infested with flies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-australia-is-infested-with-flies/750165)
**Author:** [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-australia-is-infested-with-flies/750165 "2016-04-04T00:39:34Z")
What makes Australia a haven for flies. Why dont other countries have the problem in such scale as the outback does. Some reasons proferred are high temp, dung, dead carcasses, but most countries have similar situations… --- ## [Condensation inside low-E double pane windows?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-inside-low-e-double-pane-windows/337559)
**Author:** [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2005, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/condensation-inside-low-e-double-pane-windows/337559 "2005-12-30T04:47:05Z")
I have Milgard windows in my house, vinyl-clad, double pane. I forget if they’re filled with some kind of special gas. Anyway, I noticed condensation all around the edges of the inner pane of the bathroom window (there h… --- ## [A company or organization with higher capability of surveillance than NSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-company-or-organization-with-higher-capability-of-surveillance-than-nsa/751061)
**Author:** [@MaverocK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaverocK)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-company-or-organization-with-higher-capability-of-surveillance-than-nsa/751061 "2016-04-03T23:29:50Z")
Maybe, my question is not well enough thought out but please let me ask it. I assume that NSA is a governmental organization of the US with the highest technical and human resource capability to make surveillance and re… --- ## [Lost license - airport security](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-license-airport-security/750170)
**Author:** [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-license-airport-security/750170 "2016-04-03T23:17:19Z")
I was recently traveling and had a 5 minute span of being unable to find my driver’s license. What do you do if you lose your license and you are schedule to board a plane in 36 hours? I suppose I could have asked someo… --- ## [Is there a bio-/psycho- logical reason why candy bars are stolen more than other snack room items?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-bio-psycho-logical-reason-why-candy-bars-are-stolen-more-than-other-snack-room-items/750752)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-bio-psycho-logical-reason-why-candy-bars-are-stolen-more-than-other-snack-room-items/750752 "2016-04-03T22:43:29Z")
We have an employee-supported snack room with candy bars, chips, sodas, etc. There’s a lock box where people leave money for the items they take. The door has a combo lock and we change it frequently enough that it sho… --- ## [If left untreated, how long does lead paint stay a hazard?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-left-untreated-how-long-does-lead-paint-stay-a-hazard/750759)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-left-untreated-how-long-does-lead-paint-stay-a-hazard/750759 "2016-04-03T22:39:37Z")
In the USA, lead paint was banned for most uses in 1978. There are still many areas where lead paint is doing significant damage to children. How long does it stay hazardous? --- ## [Silly Malthusian probability question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-malthusian-probability-question/750787)
**Author:** [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-malthusian-probability-question/750787 "2016-04-03T14:30:15Z")
On another thread, someone said “if on a specified day, everyone on earth kills one other person, we would cut the global population in half in one day”. Now, I am fairly certain the comment was made in jest, but it got… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=924) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=926)