# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=936 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 937 --- ## [Help, please. Flooded car with water. NAF!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-please-flooded-car-with-water-naf/748644)
**Author:** [@applebetty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/applebetty)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-please-flooded-car-with-water-naf/748644 "2016-03-14T13:57:15Z")
So the water was too deep and the engine died. Is there anything I can do to get it started? It’s been pulled out of the water but when I turn it over all I get is a metallic clunk. I was stupid, I know. --- ## [Does Saudi Arabia allow female pilots?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saudi-arabia-allow-female-pilots/748629)
**Author:** [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-saudi-arabia-allow-female-pilots/748629 "2016-03-14T13:13:28Z")
If there is a ban like with female drivers how does that work with foreign airlines that fly into Saudi Arabia? Do they have to have a female pilot turn the controls over to a male co-pilot when they hit Saudi airspace,… --- ## [What are the chances of you needing a second kidney to survive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-chances-of-you-needing-a-second-kidney-to-survive/748849)
**Author:** [@s0meguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/s0meguy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-chances-of-you-needing-a-second-kidney-to-survive/748849 "2016-03-14T01:10:45Z")
If you give a kidney as a living donor, what are your chances of dying for that reason afterwards because your one kidney failed and you needed a second kidney? What are the chances of an average person having only one w… --- ## [Eradicating mosquitos](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eradicating-mosquitos/748800)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eradicating-mosquitos/748800 "2016-03-14T01:01:12Z")
Recently, there was some news about a technique to release GM-mosquitos to control Aedes aegypti. Is this technique actually being used in Brazil and in which parts? A. aegypti is one of the main vectors of zika, among … --- ## [Mechanics Advice Needed!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanics-advice-needed/748833)
**Author:** [@imb7777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imb7777)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanics-advice-needed/748833 "2016-03-14T00:53:16Z")
My 1997 Ford Taurus had been running just fine. Today when I got back from going to town the steering wheel locked up so I put the key back in the ignition to unlock it. The steering unlocked but I then realized it wou… --- ## [Question about dots in e-mail addresses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dots-in-e-mail-addresses/748376)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dots-in-e-mail-addresses/748376 "2016-03-14T00:48:03Z")
We know that Gmail ignores dots in users’ e-mail addresses. But does this apply to dots in outgoing e-mail addresses as well as incoming? Does gmail strip dots out or something? The situation: I sent an e-mail from m… --- ## [Musician in U.S. Civil War?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-in-u-s-civil-war/748813)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-in-u-s-civil-war/748813 "2016-03-13T23:39:39Z")
I recently learned my gg grandfather served in the Civil War. He died at the National Military Home in Dayton, OH in 1913. He is buried at the Dayton National Cemetery. I went to visit his grave site recently. Here is a… --- ## [Tennis elbow more sore on days off](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-elbow-more-sore-on-days-off/748834)
**Author:** [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-elbow-more-sore-on-days-off/748834 "2016-03-13T19:13:57Z")
For some odd reason the soreness from tennis elbow is worse on days when I’m off work. My job is mostly stacking items on pallets and wrapping them with shrinkwrap, so the muscles and tendons around my elbow get a pretty… --- ## [On average how many human beings are airborne at any given time](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-average-how-many-human-beings-are-airborne-at-any-given-time/748537)
**Author:** [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-average-how-many-human-beings-are-airborne-at-any-given-time/748537 "2016-03-13T19:04:54Z")
I’m not sure what day is the most popular day to fly. I was think the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but of course, that’s just an American holiday, so that can’t be it. In any case, I wasn’t able to figure it out the m… --- ## [Any way to lookup typical liability costs for a car?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-lookup-typical-liability-costs-for-a-car/748697)
**Author:** [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-lookup-typical-liability-costs-for-a-car/748697 "2016-03-13T18:22:32Z")
I’m looking for a car for my daughter and was surprised at some of the seemingly random variations in liability costs in different vehicles or even the same vehicles over different years. For example, a 96 Pathfinder mi… --- ## [Why oh why am I the only one who gets a runny nose after eating soup?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-am-i-the-only-one-who-gets-a-runny-nose-after-eating-soup/748720)
**Author:** [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-am-i-the-only-one-who-gets-a-runny-nose-after-eating-soup/748720 "2016-03-13T16:32:47Z")
Like the title says. I’m a bit of mucus merchant anyway, but soup (when I have it about, oh, twice a year, maybe?) just brings it on like a Splash Mountain of clear/cloudy white slime. Also - do you eat soup? You can’t… --- ## [Why was brown paper used of old for cuts and bruises?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-brown-paper-used-of-old-for-cuts-and-bruises/748782 "2016-03-13T16:02:07Z")
I’ve come across this several times, most recently in Buckingham’s The Rehearsal, 1672, where Bayes taking a tumble and breaking his nose calls for ‘a wet piece of brown paper’ and then of course Jill in the nursery rhym… --- ## [Could i make my own particle board?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-particle-board/748702)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-make-my-own-particle-board/748702 "2016-03-13T11:05:11Z")
I have a bunch of cracked lumber, and no good way to dispose of it. Its not really usable for anything, but I was wondering if I could somehow turn it into particle board and make something out of it. --- ## [What makes a CEO's trading on the insider knowledge of not being a crook, not insider trading?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-ceos-trading-on-the-insider-knowledge-of-not-being-a-crook-not-insider-trading/748018)
**Author:** [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-a-ceos-trading-on-the-insider-knowledge-of-not-being-a-crook-not-insider-trading/748018 "2016-03-13T04:42:46Z")
I wonder about this after a recent case that occurred here in Germany: A financial services company, listed on the stock exchanges, was accused, by an anonymous screed published on a web site the domain of which was re… --- ## [Easy electronics project question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-electronics-project-question/748388)
**Author:** [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-electronics-project-question/748388 "2016-03-13T04:11:05Z")
I have a bunch of sensors, and when they activate, they have 2 I/O pins that give off 7V. I am using the 7Vs to power an LED. I would like to also have a buzzer as well as an LED in case the lighting is not ideal to se… --- ## [Nuclear Waste Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-waste-question/748721)
**Author:** [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-waste-question/748721 "2016-03-13T03:51:25Z")
There seems to always be some debate about how/where to properly store spent uranium. Which to my understanding remain radioactive for thousands of years after. After which time the uranium would turn into a stable eleme… --- ## [How is the travelling salesman problem in NP?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-travelling-salesman-problem-in-np/748327)
**Author:** [@doubled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doubled)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [March 13, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-travelling-salesman-problem-in-np/748327 "2016-03-13T02:43:45Z")
As I recall from my computer science classes, the P=NP question means P problems can be SOLVED in polynomial time, but NP problems can be VERIFIED in polynomial time. I also recall that the travelling salesperson proble… --- ## [Death by Loud Noise? Is this a real thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-loud-noise-is-this-a-real-thing/748518)
**Author:** [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by-loud-noise-is-this-a-real-thing/748518 "2016-03-12T22:55:22Z")
I was half asleep and there was the TV version of “click bait” on, and one segment was about some breakdancer (a woman, in NYC, or somewhere around there) that was more-or-less killed by “high volume”. Some kind of loud … --- ## [Fukushima repair robots question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fukushima-repair-robots-question/748682)
**Author:** [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fukushima-repair-robots-question/748682 "2016-03-12T21:53:36Z")
So apparently the Robots trying to clean up Fukshima are getting their IC’s fried by radiation. One of the problems is that they are using tethered robots trailing power / control cables behind them that keep getting s… --- ## [Inter-species bird calls](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inter-species-bird-calls/748784)
**Author:** [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inter-species-bird-calls/748784 "2016-03-12T21:31:51Z")
I’ve often noticed when I step out of my apartment waiting for a carpool (Mid-atlantic; Maryland), the bird chirp seems to go up into high gear for about five minutes and then dies off to basal levels. Are birds of diff… --- ## [How did early humans reproduce with a low life expectency?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-early-humans-reproduce-with-a-low-life-expectency/748634)
**Author:** [@CJfromSanAndreas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJfromSanAndreas)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-early-humans-reproduce-with-a-low-life-expectency/748634 "2016-03-12T19:26:37Z")
My girlfriend was studying the other night, and I glanced across a question that asked about the life expectancy of early humans. It basically stated that the average life expectancy 50,000 years ago was 10 years old. Ho… --- ## [Id this 'evolutionary oddball?' \[Cambrian/Greenland: looks like spiny postage stamp\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-evolutionary-oddball-cambrian-greenland-looks-like-spiny-postage-stamp/748735)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-evolutionary-oddball-cambrian-greenland-looks-like-spiny-postage-stamp/748735 "2016-03-12T18:50:52Z")
In the late 1980s/early 1990s, John S. Peel and Simon Conway Morris discovered a fossil that they tentatively called ‘Grasper.’ At the time, they weren’t sure whether it might have been an annelid, arthropod, or even a … --- ## [Id this snake?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/748707)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-snake/748707 "2016-03-12T15:07:54Z")
Pic. Sorry for the poor quality, but a) all I had was my phone, and b) I had a spirited dog at the end of a leash. About a foot long, if it were stretched out. Central South Carolina in a flood plain. --- ## [What are the similarities and differences between Von Braun's proposed mission to Mars and SpaceX's?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-similarities-and-differences-between-von-brauns-proposed-mission-to-mars-and-spacexs/748729)
**Author:** [@SHARKBITEATTACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SHARKBITEATTACK)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-similarities-and-differences-between-von-brauns-proposed-mission-to-mars-and-spacexs/748729 "2016-03-12T10:25:36Z")
Title --- ## [When Was the SUA Model of The Four Wheel Drive Co. Manufactured?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-sua-model-of-the-four-wheel-drive-co-manufactured/748728)
**Author:** [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-sua-model-of-the-four-wheel-drive-co-manufactured/748728 "2016-03-12T10:19:31Z")
When Was the SUA Model of The Four Wheel Drive Co. Manufactured? I am guessing 1920s to 1930s. Hopefully someone here knows? Is SUA an abbreviation for something? The only abbreviation I can find which looks reasonab… --- ## [Origin of the square root sign 'hook' at far left?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-square-root-sign-hook-at-far-left/748577)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-square-root-sign-hook-at-far-left/748577 "2016-03-12T06:17:08Z")
This page gives a decent brief accounting of the origin of most of the symbol, but in the cursory perusing I’ve done, I haven’t found any obvious accounting of the little ‘hook’ at the far left of the symbol. I look for… --- ## [What does "within the hour" mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-within-the-hour-mean/748355)
**Author:** [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-within-the-hour-mean/748355 "2016-03-12T01:07:47Z")
… as opposed to “within an hour”. Say it’s 2:36 PM right now and someone says “I need an answer from you within the hour.” Does that mean they expect an answer before 3:00 PM, which is only 24 minutes away? Or does it me… --- ## [Philosophical defense of "redistribution" only to citizens](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philosophical-defense-of-redistribution-only-to-citizens/748479)
**Author:** [@Hooleehootoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hooleehootoo)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/philosophical-defense-of-redistribution-only-to-citizens/748479 "2016-03-11T23:46:56Z")
this encyclopedia article about redistribution refers to the “subject” of redistribution, by which it means the recipients. The article mentions Rawls, who in his formulation of the concept of the “veil of ignorance” exp… --- ## [Does the placebo effect work on dogs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-placebo-effect-work-on-dogs/748625)
**Author:** [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-placebo-effect-work-on-dogs/748625 "2016-03-11T22:49:23Z")
A simple question, based on recently getting a dog with severe separation anxiety… There’s a number of articles out there that confirm this, but none of them have cites. :wink: --- ## [How often are (quickie?) stalls in commercial airlines? Other query on 737 simulator](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-quickie-stalls-in-commercial-airlines-other-query-on-737-simulator/748542)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-quickie-stalls-in-commercial-airlines-other-query-on-737-simulator/748542 "2016-03-11T22:43:02Z")
Just watched this 18-min run through of data only ILS simulations–what does that mean? ILS by definition is data “only,” I thought. But the co-topic of the little vid is stall and stall recovery. Now, I … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=935) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=937)