# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=956 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 957 --- ## [Black US servicemen banned from Iceland. Is this true?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-us-servicemen-banned-from-iceland-is-this-true/308198)
**Author:** [@marky33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marky33)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-us-servicemen-banned-from-iceland-is-this-true/308198 "2016-02-08T14:28:04Z")
I have heard that the government of Iceland has an agreement with the government of the United States that no black serviceman will serve on the US’ base(s) in the country. Is this true? --- ## [Stein: Stine or Steen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stein-stine-or-steen/46682)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stein-stine-or-steen/46682 "2016-02-08T13:59:10Z")
The Frankenstein thread prompts this question. Some people pronounce “stein” in a name as “stine”, and some pronounce it as “steen”. In high school German class we learned that in German, the combination “ei” was pronou… --- ## [Buying a Bulk Order from Your Local Supermarket?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bulk-order-from-your-local-supermarket/745354)
**Author:** [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2016, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-bulk-order-from-your-local-supermarket/745354 "2016-02-08T07:51:05Z")
What’s the situation regarding a bulk order from your local supermarket: you want a couple cases or more of a particular product… They may or may not have this much in stock. Will they give a discount? Does this vary bet… --- ## [Any postal old-timers around? Review my theory on postal zone numbers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-postal-old-timers-around-review-my-theory-on-postal-zone-numbers/745387)
**Author:** [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2016, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-postal-old-timers-around-review-my-theory-on-postal-zone-numbers/745387 "2016-02-08T04:31:56Z")
The underlying question is how ZIP codes in Chicago and other large cities were assigned. For the most part, most Dopers would know, ZIP codes in large cities just added the sectional center prefix (606) in front of the… --- ## [Longest. Pregnancy. Ever. or, how long was the longest human pregnancy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-pregnancy-ever-or-how-long-was-the-longest-human-pregnancy/311162)
**Author:** [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-pregnancy-ever-or-how-long-was-the-longest-human-pregnancy/311162 "2016-02-08T03:52:02Z")
I’m well aware, what with a pregnant wife and related readings, that the “typical” human pregnancy lasts 40 weeks (38 weeks from fertilization, but I’ll use the more common 40 weeks from onset of last period counting met… --- ## [What was 'BZ', purchased in drugstores in the 1930's?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-bz-purchased-in-drugstores-in-the-1930s/745250)
**Author:** [@MsJinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsJinx)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-bz-purchased-in-drugstores-in-the-1930s/745250 "2016-02-08T02:46:29Z")
My friend collects old diaries and posts daily entries on her fb page. One recurring item in the diary of a young woman in Indianapolis c1937 is the frequent mention of going to the drugstore to buy a box of ‘BZ’. The wo… --- ## [HP Compaq la1951g Monitor Troubleshooting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hp-compaq-la1951g-monitor-troubleshooting/745336)
**Author:** [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 8, 2016, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hp-compaq-la1951g-monitor-troubleshooting/745336 "2016-02-08T02:11:03Z")
HP Compaq la1951g monitor. A month or two old. It’s plugged in and the computer recognizes it but there is no picture. To me that suggests that it is powered up and connected correctly but has failed. I can’t, however, … --- ## [21 year old Lindsey Graham adopted his 13 year old sister when their parents died. Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-year-old-lindsey-graham-adopted-his-13-year-old-sister-when-their-parents-died-why/745363)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-year-old-lindsey-graham-adopted-his-13-year-old-sister-when-their-parents-died-why/745363 "2016-02-07T22:32:52Z")
US Senator Lindsey Graham adopted his 13 year old sisterwhen their parents died. Why? Why couldn’t he simply be her adult guardian as her adult brother? Why was adoption necessary? What would be the legally necessary ra… --- ## [Most efficient way to load a rotary clothesline.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-efficient-way-to-load-a-rotary-clothesline/745038)
**Author:** [@Jesta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesta)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-efficient-way-to-load-a-rotary-clothesline/745038 "2016-02-07T19:51:52Z")
Hi Dopers, just found myself wondering about this the last few times I’ve hung washing out, so figured it’s about time I asked the experts once and for all! Talking about using rotary clotheslines, outside. Hills Hoist … --- ## [Two Great Depression Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-great-depression-questions/745160)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-great-depression-questions/745160 "2016-02-07T18:54:26Z")
During the Run on the Banks following the 1929 stock market crash were most people able to get their savings out eventually, or did lots of people lose their entire life savings if it happened to be deposited in a bank… --- ## [What is the longest county name in the US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-county-name-in-the-us/745241)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-county-name-in-the-us/745241 "2016-02-07T18:50:03Z")
For the purposes of this question, consider Alaska’s and Louisiana’s administrative districts to be the equivalent of a ‘county.’ Just looking at Alaska, I found ‘Fairbanks North Star,’ clocking in at 20 characters (inc… --- ## [Map with both Lincoln Hwy & Rte 66](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/map-with-both-lincoln-hwy-rte-66/744928)
**Author:** [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/map-with-both-lincoln-hwy-rte-66/744928 "2016-02-07T17:21:36Z")
Can you help me find a map that shows both the Lincoln Highway and Route 66, so I can easily make a visual comparison? The only one I’ve found so far has weird blocks instead of the simple clear lines I’d like. --- ## [How do we know the electrical charge of individual quarks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-the-electrical-charge-of-individual-quarks/745107)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-the-electrical-charge-of-individual-quarks/745107 "2016-02-07T14:39:55Z")
If it’s impossible to isolate a quark, how can we measure it’s charge? Thanks, Rob --- ## [Why is QuickBooks Online so different in appearance from desktop QuickBooks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-quickbooks-online-so-different-in-appearance-from-desktop-quickbooks/745385)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-quickbooks-online-so-different-in-appearance-from-desktop-quickbooks/745385 "2016-02-07T09:30:44Z")
Having trained in desktop QuickBooks, I nearly panicked when called upon to work with QuickBooks online and at first didn’t even recognize what the hell I was looking at. Fortunately there was enough commonality that wit… --- ## [Has the Treaty of Tripoli been erased?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-treaty-of-tripoli-been-erased/745329)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-treaty-of-tripoli-been-erased/745329 "2016-02-07T04:13:55Z")
Do treaties get abrogated or rendered inoperable? I’ve just come across the remarkable (Article 11 !) Treaty of Tripoli (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th\_century/bar1796t.asp#art11) that states that the United States of… --- ## [Question about gas appliances and ventilation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gas-appliances-and-ventilation/745350)
**Author:** [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-gas-appliances-and-ventilation/745350 "2016-02-07T01:29:39Z")
You know how kitchen ranges used to have a stovepipe that went into the wall and vented outside? (And now, if you live in an old house, the holes for those pipes are sometimes covered with charming pie plate art.) Why a… --- ## [Is there crime in ant colonies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-crime-in-ant-colonies/745172)
**Author:** [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-crime-in-ant-colonies/745172 "2016-02-07T00:53:28Z")
Does, say, a worker ant ever go rogue and try to eat the Queen, or anything like that? More generally, are eusocial animals always thoroughly adherent to their biologically prescribed roles? --- ## [La Mancha Negra](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-mancha-negra/745369)
**Author:** [@mancha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mancha)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-mancha-negra/745369 "2016-02-07T00:27:30Z")
Just wondering if this has ever been explained, is it real? --- ## [Home Electrical Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electrical-question/745256)
**Author:** [@ChrisGw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisGw)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electrical-question/745256 "2016-02-06T21:31:50Z")
Trying to change a light fixture out and after turning off every breaker in my box…it still doesn’t turn off the light…even with the main breaker getting turned off it doesn’t go out. Just bought the home 2 months ago T… --- ## [Structure of Atoms](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/structure-of-atoms/745115)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/structure-of-atoms/745115 "2016-02-06T19:11:04Z")
When I was in high school (70s) we learned about protons, neutrons, and electrons. But now we know about quarks, leptons, bosons, etc. Is it possible that there are even smaller particles than quarks, etc. or is that … --- ## [What are those teardrop things on outdoor telephone cables?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-teardrop-things-on-outdoor-telephone-cables/745275)
**Author:** [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-those-teardrop-things-on-outdoor-telephone-cables/745275 "2016-02-06T18:12:04Z")
In my area we still have the tall wood telephone poles. The highest wires are part of the electricity distribution grid. The lowest wires are larger diameter cable bundles, which I suppose are telephone cables (or poss… --- ## [Who regulates Homeopathy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-regulates-homeopathy/745141)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-regulates-homeopathy/745141 "2016-02-06T17:15:00Z")
Not it’s effectiveness, but the claims of how often and in what way the different solutions are diluted. What’s to stop me from putting tap water and food coloring in a small bottle and charging $39.95 for homeopathetic… --- ## [How is 恭禧發財 pronounced in Sichuan dialect?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-pronounced-in-sichuan-dialect/745168)
**Author:** [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-pronounced-in-sichuan-dialect/745168 "2016-02-06T16:44:33Z")
Or, rather, what would be a reasonable transliteration of it? I’m doing a drawing for Chinese New Year of one of my characters, who is Canadian-born and learned what Chinese he knows from talking to his Sichuanese grand… --- ## [Evolution: did our guts wind up yummy for microflora like flowers sweet/colorful for bees?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-did-our-guts-wind-up-yummy-for-microflora-like-flowers-sweet-colorful-for-bees/745324)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-did-our-guts-wind-up-yummy-for-microflora-like-flowers-sweet-colorful-for-bees/745324 "2016-02-06T16:42:56Z")
See query. Of course it’s about evolution of symbiosis as well–my mind is still blown from learning (here) about viruses and their sneaky ways of messing with their host. And I’ve looked at (no time now to find/cite the… --- ## [why don't the US primaries system get challenged in court?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-us-primaries-system-get-challenged-in-court/744906)
**Author:** [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Replies:** 107\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-the-us-primaries-system-get-challenged-in-court/744906 "2016-02-06T10:30:54Z")
Some more questions while I watch your ever more bizarre political process play out. The Iowa caucus system as I understand it requires people to be physically present for several hours. Other states primaries are a si… --- ## [Propylene Glycol sensitivity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/propylene-glycol-sensitivity/659542)
**Author:** [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/propylene-glycol-sensitivity/659542 "2016-02-06T09:32:16Z")
Googled a bit, and it’s hard to find articles that deal with propylene glycol outside of e-cig articles. Is propylene glycol sensitivity/allergy a real thing? It’s noted in several places that the sensitivity is actual… --- ## [Can anyone make sense of this Polish propaganda poster about the US and EU?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-make-sense-of-this-polish-propaganda-poster-about-the-us-and-eu/745226)
**Author:** [@SHARKBITEATTACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SHARKBITEATTACK)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-make-sense-of-this-polish-propaganda-poster-about-the-us-and-eu/745226 "2016-02-06T09:23:33Z")
I see the grim reaper and that’s not usually a good thing… What’s the message they are trying to convey here? --- ## [Reasons for a court case to be confidential](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-a-court-case-to-be-confidential/745197)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-for-a-court-case-to-be-confidential/745197 "2016-02-06T09:17:22Z")
I called the jail my sister was transferred to today to find out when her court date was. They told me her case was confidential and they couldn’t tell me anything. She is over 18. Why would her case be confidential? … --- ## [a number that exceeds the total number of atoms in the universe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-number-that-exceeds-the-total-number-of-atoms-in-the-universe/744884)
**Author:** [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-number-that-exceeds-the-total-number-of-atoms-in-the-universe/744884 "2016-02-06T05:39:27Z")
I have asked this question before, this type of question but now I have a more detailed way of asking it. If a number that exceeds the total number of atoms in the universe, is that number “real” or is it just made up si… --- ## [Does any part of an atomic or hydrogen bomb survive detonation or does it all just vaporize?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-part-of-an-atomic-or-hydrogen-bomb-survive-detonation-or-does-it-all-just-vaporize/745187)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-part-of-an-atomic-or-hydrogen-bomb-survive-detonation-or-does-it-all-just-vaporize/745187 "2016-02-06T04:37:58Z")
Just curious. If an atomic or hydrogen bomb exploded would there be any components (at all) that could survive the explosion? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=955) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=957)