# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=97 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 98 --- ## [Help me track down this mathematician](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-track-down-this-mathematician/999166)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-track-down-this-mathematician/999166 "2024-03-23T15:33:15Z")
Or rather, her work. What I know: Her name was Sr. Mary Ferdinand Torline, CSJ. She might also be referred to as M. Ferdinand Torline, and the “Sr.” and “CSJ” might be omitted. She wrote a master’s thesis on “The Pra… --- ## [Was it General Pershing or General Henri Giraud's decision as to how long the 369th infantry brigade fought ? Why were they forced to fight for 191 days in thefront-line trenches](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-general-pershing-or-general-henri-girauds-decision-as-to-how-long-the-369th-infantry-brigade-fought-why-were-they-forced-to-fight-for-191-days-in-thefront-line-trenches/999235)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2024, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-general-pershing-or-general-henri-girauds-decision-as-to-how-long-the-369th-infantry-brigade-fought-why-were-they-forced-to-fight-for-191-days-in-thefront-line-trenches/999235 "2024-03-23T08:54:27Z")
Was it General Pershing or General Giroud’s decision as to how long the 369th infantry brigade fought ? --- ## [Who Played the MTV Guitar Riff?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-mtv-guitar-riff/153523)
**Author:** [@RocketRod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RocketRod)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2024, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-played-the-mtv-guitar-riff/153523 "2024-03-23T08:20:56Z")
Heya… Remember the original MTV network ident? The one with the rocket blasting off and the moonman planting the MTV flag??? Well… who was the guitarist who played the “duh, da-duh, da-duh-di-duh…” riff? :confused: … --- ## [Spotify / Alexa combo driving me to drink](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotify-alexa-combo-driving-me-to-drink/999149)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2024, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spotify-alexa-combo-driving-me-to-drink/999149 "2024-03-23T04:05:36Z")
I have a premium Spotify account and multiple Amazon Alexa devices scattered throughout the house. I don’t know who to blame, Spotify or Alexa, but one of them is having a good laugh messing with my head. Devices come … --- ## [How do I punctuate this possessive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-punctuate-this-possessive/999014)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2024, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-punctuate-this-possessive/999014 "2024-03-23T03:50:11Z")
In a thread over in CS about Michael Jackson videos, I wanted to make “Beat It” possessive. Since titles are typically in double quotes, would it be “Beat It”’s? That looks very wrong. Putting the apostrophe within the… --- ## [Can A U.S. State Ban One Or More Specific Foreigners](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-u-s-state-ban-one-or-more-specific-foreigners/998815)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-u-s-state-ban-one-or-more-specific-foreigners/998815 "2024-03-22T23:05:59Z")
Let’s say an Irish band upsets the feelings of a state’s governor, and the governor tells them not to come back. If they did try to fly into one of the state’s international airports (from abroad) at a later date, could … --- ## [Google Sheets help (regexreplace)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-sheets-help-regexreplace/999158)
**Author:** [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-sheets-help-regexreplace/999158 "2024-03-22T17:23:34Z")
I have a column of data that has been imported, A2:A1000. Along the way, it has been concatenated from two columns, using “AND”, “OR” or “WITH”. I only need the front half of this information. I also need it to be an exa… --- ## [Any non-NSAIDs over the counter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-nsaids-over-the-counter/997362)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-nsaids-over-the-counter/997362 "2024-03-21T22:14:48Z")
Had a “procedure” yesterday and the instructions included No NSAIDs for 6 days prior. Ok, but since I have chronic aches and pains that respond just fine to the occasional aspirin, Tylenol, or Advil, without that stuff … --- ## [WWII Japanese vehicle ID \[Sorry, FB post\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-japanese-vehicle-id-sorry-fb-post/998876)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2024, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-japanese-vehicle-id-sorry-fb-post/998876 "2024-03-21T19:54:41Z")
This image appeared on my Facebook feed. It’s a bullet-shaped thing, larger than a jeep, that appears to be designed to run on railroad tracks. There is a hatch on the side, but no windows. Speculation in the post is … --- ## [Religion based only what Jesus said](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-based-only-what-jesus-said/835349)
**Author:** [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2024, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-based-only-what-jesus-said/835349 "2024-03-21T05:49:50Z")
I was having a discussion with someone the other day, and I used some quotes from the Bible, and the response was “Jesus didn’t say that” Got me to thinking, are there any religions that are based on only what Jesus sai… --- ## [What is SODA (all caps IT related acronym)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-soda-all-caps-it-related-acronym/999084)
**Author:** [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-soda-all-caps-it-related-acronym/999084 "2024-03-20T19:45:13Z")
I got an email from a recruiter I’m part of the Trust in Soda Division here at … I look up Soda. Nothing. I ask Gemini (googles AI bot thingie) and it returns nothing whatsoever. Trust in SODA I cannot figure ou… --- ## [PowerPoint Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerpoint-question/999058)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/powerpoint-question/999058 "2024-03-20T17:19:13Z")
Does Ppt have a function that precisely and mathematically divides shapes? For example, suppose I created a square, using Insert Shape, and wanted it divided into sevenths. Is there some sort of Ppt formula function in … --- ## [Which tends to be louder inside - an apartment with wooden floors or cement?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-tends-to-be-louder-inside-an-apartment-with-wooden-floors-or-cement/998465)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 20, 2024, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-tends-to-be-louder-inside-an-apartment-with-wooden-floors-or-cement/998465 "2024-03-20T02:33:19Z")
I’m thinking that since wood absorbs sound better than cement that it would not be as loud or noisy. Noise is mainly caused by reflective surfaces, right? Anyone wishing to avoid loud noisy apartments would be, I think… --- ## [LASER attacks on commercial aircraft](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-attacks-on-commercial-aircraft/998936)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-attacks-on-commercial-aircraft/998936 "2024-03-19T22:09:11Z")
I know they have apprehended and prosecuted a few people who have aimed lasers at aircraft. Do the pilots have the technology to pinpoint the beam and merge the data with their GPS to get an accurate location? Or have th… --- ## [Why aren't there any semi-automatic towed anti-tank guns?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-semi-automatic-towed-anti-tank-guns/999004)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-any-semi-automatic-towed-anti-tank-guns/999004 "2024-03-19T20:56:36Z")
Thinking WW2 era and around those. Instead of breech loading, why not make it like AA guns and have like 5 round magazines? I know in real tanks there’s a definite preference between autoloaders and manual loaders, but … --- ## [Health Insurance and the Army](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-insurance-and-the-army/998999)
**Author:** [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2024, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-insurance-and-the-army/998999 "2024-03-19T13:29:43Z")
My oldest son, Fang, just got the Army to pay for his last two years of college. Of course in exchange, he owes them four years of active duty. Not a problem, this has been his career asperation since he was little. H… --- ## [What the heck language is Facebook showing me?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-language-is-facebook-showing-me/999002)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2024, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-language-is-facebook-showing-me/999002 "2024-03-19T01:32:13Z")
I don’t have a Facebook account but for the past several days if I end up at a Facebook page after a search it is in a foreign language. The title reads, “Lihat seterusnya di Facebook”. Wassup? --- ## [Are CDs made in West Germany valuable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 19, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472 "2024-03-19T00:48:16Z")
I was helping my father clear out his CD collection today. He wanted to save anything that was made in West Germany, because he thought it would be a rare collectors item. These are CDs manufactured in West Germany, bu… --- ## [Do vaccines strengthen the immune system overall?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vaccines-strengthen-the-immune-system-overall/998964)
**Author:** [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vaccines-strengthen-the-immune-system-overall/998964 "2024-03-18T23:28:12Z")
As I understand it, generally, if you get a vaccine, you are forcing your body into an immune response (by giving it an inert version of the illness - at whatever molecular level science is able to produce). This is why… --- ## [How can Amazon do this (new credit card)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-amazon-do-this-new-credit-card/997066)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-amazon-do-this-new-credit-card/997066 "2024-03-18T22:01:26Z")
This really is a factual question. My Master card had an expiration date of 03/24 so I was not astonished that on Thursday a new card arrived. Yesterday around 11:00, I used it with the pin at my drug store, thereby ac… --- ## [Super injunctions: How do those that are subject to it know about it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-injunctions-how-do-those-that-are-subject-to-it-know-about-it/998993)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2024, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-injunctions-how-do-those-that-are-subject-to-it-know-about-it/998993 "2024-03-18T17:57:35Z")
This is a spinoff from the IMHO thread What do the dopers think of the Kate Middleton brouhaha. A (controversial) thing in English law is the privacy-protecting “super injunction”: A court ruling that prohibits not only … --- ## [Why is a 3G connection so bad nowadays?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-3g-connection-so-bad-nowadays/998829)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2024, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-3g-connection-so-bad-nowadays/998829 "2024-03-18T12:24:17Z")
I remember when 3G mobile connectivity under the UMTS standard was rolled out on a large scale in the 2000s. It caused a massive hype, phone companies were paying billions for frequency allocations, and it made mobile da… --- ## [Questions regarding Africans from German-occupied Africa fighting alongside Germans on the Western Front in WWI?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-africans-from-german-occupied-africa-fighting-alongside-germans-on-the-western-front-in-wwi/998948)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-africans-from-german-occupied-africa-fighting-alongside-germans-on-the-western-front-in-wwi/998948 "2024-03-17T20:11:23Z")
Did Cameroonians/Tanzanians /Africans from German-occupied Africa fight alongside Germans on the Western Front in WWI? I know Africans fought for Germany in Africa in WWI but I haven’t been able to narrow down any evide… --- ## [After Homo Sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-homo-sapiens/998877)
**Author:** [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 17, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-homo-sapiens/998877 "2024-03-17T15:30:04Z")
How much evolutionary change would our descendants need to go through for them to conclude they weren’t Homo Sapiens anymore but in fact a new species? Assume our species as it is now no longer exists so inability to int… --- ## [Are these high-rise apartment buildings made from prefabricated concrete panels?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-high-rise-apartment-buildings-made-from-prefabricated-concrete-panels/998779)
**Author:** [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-high-rise-apartment-buildings-made-from-prefabricated-concrete-panels/998779 "2024-03-16T22:28:30Z")
A hallmark of post-Communist countries are housing projects filled with ugly, utilitarian apartment blocks made of prefabricated concrete slabs that have been crudely stuck together. Way back in 2003, this was my first c… --- ## [Is there a word for feeling embarrassed for someone else?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-feeling-embarrassed-for-someone-else/998851)
**Author:** [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [March 16, 2024, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-for-feeling-embarrassed-for-someone-else/998851 "2024-03-16T03:37:39Z")
It could be watching a shitty band that are under the delusion they are great. Or having someone at your table torturing everyone with boring stories and stale jokes and being oblivious that everyone’s eyeballs are men… --- ## [Hooking up a router to a modem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hooking-up-a-router-to-a-modem/998760)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hooking-up-a-router-to-a-modem/998760 "2024-03-15T19:04:02Z")
I am switching back to DSL and it is practically impossible to find one that is a combo modem/router that meets IEEE 802.11ax, at least at a decent price. I have a few old OLD OLD DSL modems in the garage. Am I losing … --- ## [Is there a name for this type of logarithmic graph?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-logarithmic-graph/998508)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-logarithmic-graph/998508 "2024-03-15T16:03:21Z")
Let’s say I want to graph a function that I think would look best like this. One axis will be linear. The other would be linear at smaller scales, let’s say from 1 to 100, but from 100 on up would work better as a loga… --- ## [Using Indeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-indeed/998852)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-indeed/998852 "2024-03-15T00:58:38Z")
I need a little help with Indeed. When I visit the website, the screen is split into two columns. The left column says “JOB FEED” where job posts appear. (And, the Bot remembers I’ve been here before.) However, there see… --- ## [Why do tall people look so tall?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801 "2024-03-14T16:37:44Z")
I’m 6’1" tall so a little above average for the American male. My friend is 6’9" and therefore way above average in height. I’d guess he’s in the upper .1% but I’m too lazy to look it up. When I look up to him, it fee… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=96) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=98)