# Factual Questions **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=976 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 977 --- ## [Mystery water in basement - I'm stumped](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-water-in-basement-im-stumped/742060)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2016, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-water-in-basement-im-stumped/742060 "2016-01-05T00:32:55Z")
Short version: Water is appearing from underneath a built-in bookshelf/wall in the basement. Could it be coming from, perhaps, a crack in the floor? Director’s Cut: Around 15 years ago I built a wall to sub-divide a bas… --- ## [Are there other species that have 'Midgets' or 'Dwarves' besides humans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-species-that-have-midgets-or-dwarves-besides-humans/741971)
**Author:** [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-other-species-that-have-midgets-or-dwarves-besides-humans/741971 "2016-01-04T22:27:29Z")
I apologize up front, as I realize that those terms aren’t politically correct; it’s the limitations of a thread title. That said, Why don’t you ever see elephants the size of cows or dolphins the size of dogs? --- ## [How hot would Venus be without the greenhouse effect?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hot-would-venus-be-without-the-greenhouse-effect/665497)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hot-would-venus-be-without-the-greenhouse-effect/665497 "2016-01-04T22:02:06Z")
If Venus didn’t have a very thick envelope of carbon dioxide- say it had 1 standard atmosphere of nitrogen- how hot would it be? --- ## [History Question: The 16th Amendment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-question-the-16th-amendment/742171)
**Author:** [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-question-the-16th-amendment/742171 "2016-01-04T21:41:31Z")
The text of the amendment reads as follows: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any cen… --- ## [Safety recalls on baby cribs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-recalls-on-baby-cribs/742123)
**Author:** [@Cold\_Dish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cold_Dish)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safety-recalls-on-baby-cribs/742123 "2016-01-04T18:46:36Z")
I saw a safety recall on a baby crib recently. After decades of safety regulations on baby cribs, how is it possible there is a recall on one? I mean if they haven’t gotten it right by now, they never will. We’re taking… --- ## [CAR](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car/741791)
**Author:** [@recyclecars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/recyclecars)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car/741791 "2016-01-04T16:32:08Z")
Which is the largest selling car in the world? --- ## [Win 7 network problem - can't see NAS in Explorer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-7-network-problem-cant-see-nas-in-explorer/688987)
**Author:** [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/win-7-network-problem-cant-see-nas-in-explorer/688987 "2016-01-04T16:06:29Z")
Computer: Windows 7 Home Premium Router: Asus RT-N66U Network Storage: QNap T212 2-bay NAS NAS Name: HOMENET NAS Local IP: 192.168.1.50, Fixed Problem: When i want to use the NAS from my local computer, i usually j… --- ## [Kentucky horse fences](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-horse-fences/741785)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-horse-fences/741785 "2016-01-04T15:45:37Z")
Just got back from Kentucky and noticed many of the horse ranches have separate fencing for their horse pastures. I’m used to seeing two pastures separated by and sharing one fence; but the norm here seems to be two com… --- ## [What caused the rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-caused-the-rift-between-saudi-arabia-and-iran/742156)
**Author:** [@Richey84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richey84)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-caused-the-rift-between-saudi-arabia-and-iran/742156 "2016-01-04T15:06:21Z")
The cleric was involved in anti-government protests against the Saudi ruling family in 2011. I read an article in the Associated Press that didn’t seem to dispute his guilt in protesting. However, the article stated tha… --- ## [Encoding mp4's to play on android phones](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encoding-mp4s-to-play-on-android-phones/596909)
**Author:** [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 23, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/encoding-mp4s-to-play-on-android-phones/596909 "2011-09-23T15:30:30Z")
Hi, I’m working on a project that needs video to be playable on android phones. I’d rather fix the video format than make the user download other video playing software. Here are videos that work: http://www.archive.o… --- ## [What caused the global population decline between 400 and 200 BC?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-caused-the-global-population-decline-between-400-and-200-bc/742083)
**Author:** [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-caused-the-global-population-decline-between-400-and-200-bc/742083 "2016-01-04T10:37:51Z")
This chart shows the total population of the world over time. (This is from the Wikipedia article History of the world.) We see that from about 4000 BC to 1000 BC the population grew exponentially (it looks linear, but… --- ## [9/11 and the U.S. birth rate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-and-the-u-s-birth-rate/546527)
**Author:** [@Malice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malice)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-and-the-u-s-birth-rate/546527 "2016-01-04T10:29:47Z")
Just curious if anyone knows whether there was a noticeable baby boom or bust in the year after Sept. 11, 2001? Locally, regionally or nationally? --- ## [Mahi-Mahi / Dolphins vs. real Dolphins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mahi-mahi-dolphins-vs-real-dolphins/143954)
**Author:** [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mahi-mahi-dolphins-vs-real-dolphins/143954 "2016-01-04T04:09:00Z")
It has recently come to my attention that there is a fish called a dolphin, and it is also known as mahi-mahi or dorado. Why in the world would they name a fish the same name as a completely different animal? In trying… --- ## [Dell PC Windows 7 switching boot from internal drive to SSD?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dell-pc-windows-7-switching-boot-from-internal-drive-to-ssd/742041)
**Author:** [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dell-pc-windows-7-switching-boot-from-internal-drive-to-ssd/742041 "2016-01-04T03:29:25Z")
I’m not a Windows guy. I work with Linux and Mac. So this seems odd to me, but here is the story. We have a Dell PC running Windows 7 which came with a 1 TB internal drive which contains the Windows OS and a package of … --- ## [Dentists: Question About Brushing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentists-question-about-brushing/742022)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dentists-question-about-brushing/742022 "2016-01-04T01:18:54Z")
When I was a kid there seemed to be an emphasis on brushing your teeth after eating. After every meal, in fact. Now, it seems the rules are “twice a day” and “not too soon after eating” due to the effect of acidic food… --- ## [Where to get help with Facebook React?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-get-help-with-facebook-react/742109)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-get-help-with-facebook-react/742109 "2016-01-03T22:59:13Z")
I am trying to get help with Facebook React, as well as allied technologies, such as Redux, Babel and Webpack. I don’t necessarily have specific questions about why a piece of code doesn’t work, so stackoverflow.com isn… --- ## [Where is the line (mathematically) between a math progression and infinity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-line-mathematically-between-a-math-progression-and-infinity/742026)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-line-mathematically-between-a-math-progression-and-infinity/742026 "2016-01-03T17:39:19Z")
I am not tutored in math well enough to know if this will even make sense. Hopefully people here will get my drift… So, we can have a progression such as: 1+1=2 1+1+1=3 1+1+1+1=4 And so on. But my understanding is… --- ## [Would Solarcane deaden feeling over time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-solarcane-deaden-feeling-over-time/741790)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-solarcane-deaden-feeling-over-time/741790 "2016-01-03T17:30:14Z")
I’d like to make a certain part of my body less sensitive to light touch. Would Solarcane (or some other over the counter topical anesthetic) applied regularly over time eventually render a part of my body less sensitiv… --- ## [US political campaigns before 1900](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-political-campaigns-before-1900/742003)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-political-campaigns-before-1900/742003 "2016-01-03T16:59:37Z")
Since there was no TV or radio, how did people find out about who was running and their views ? (for president, governor, senator, not local offices) I know there were newspapers but how many people read them? I gue… --- ## [Earths temperature without the sun?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-temperature-without-the-sun/742019)
**Author:** [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-temperature-without-the-sun/742019 "2016-01-03T14:37:07Z")
Say that the Earth’s orbit was disrupted for one reason or another and our mudball goes hurling out of the solar system. How long does it take for the magma to cool and reach absolute zero (or whatever the lowest possibl… --- ## [Why does "blue" mean "obscene"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-blue-mean-obscene/476186)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-blue-mean-obscene/476186 "2016-01-03T10:42:54Z")
As in “blue humor,” “blue movies,” etc. (And yet, at the same time, “blue laws” are religious-morality laws and a “bluenose” is a moral reformer.) --- ## [Dam removal outside the US](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dam-removal-outside-the-us/741987)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dam-removal-outside-the-us/741987 "2016-01-03T09:45:20Z")
Wikipedia has an article on Dam removal, but it concentrates on the US. Have there been any largish dams outside the US removed? --- ## [Vincent Price's voice: how and why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vincent-prices-voice-how-and-why/741804)
**Author:** [@HarryTheHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HarryTheHat)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vincent-prices-voice-how-and-why/741804 "2016-01-03T04:00:49Z")
How did Vincent Price’s wonderfully distinctive way of speaking (I hesitate to call it a dialect) come about? Has there ever been anything like it? I know he came from St Louis, Missouri. Did people there speak that way … --- ## [Recovering iTunes from an old Mac](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-itunes-from-an-old-mac/741967)
**Author:** [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-itunes-from-an-old-mac/741967 "2016-01-03T03:16:28Z")
My friend has an old Mac, a Mac G4 that he’s not turned on in years. He wants to recover the iTunes on there that contains purchased stuff from iTunes and CDs he imported to the library. The Mac G4 is running Mac OS 10.4… --- ## [Not blocking the intersection - a question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-blocking-the-intersection-a-question/741597)
**Author:** [@wellanuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wellanuff)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-blocking-the-intersection-a-question/741597 "2016-01-02T23:46:21Z")
I live in Illinois, where it is OK to advance into the intersection while waiting for traffic to clear when making a left turn. If traffic is heavy, you are allowed to occupy the intersection until the light turns red, … --- ## [any good sites to organise work for the general public](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-sites-to-organise-work-for-the-general-public/741952)
**Author:** [@carlowplayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlowplayer)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-sites-to-organise-work-for-the-general-public/741952 "2016-01-02T22:15:42Z")
anyone know any blog sites where i can organize over 50 files of work into folders and sub folders for the general public to view I have alot of work detailing psychology and other materials that i want to post onlline.… --- ## [Are humans getting taller still?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-getting-taller-still/741972)
**Author:** [@Richox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richox)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-humans-getting-taller-still/741972 "2016-01-02T22:11:29Z")
It is a fact that (on average) humans have gotten taller in the last X amount of years. Maybe there are some demographic outliers, but in general humans today are much taller than ancestors of ancient times i.e B.C. and … --- ## [Ejection seats that orient themselves "up" relative to Earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ejection-seats-that-orient-themselves-up-relative-to-earth/741902)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ejection-seats-that-orient-themselves-up-relative-to-earth/741902 "2016-01-02T21:42:42Z")
A friend of mine mentioned that the ejection seats in Russian fighters will attempt to orient themselves for vertical descent with a burst of powered thrust, and that American ones just spit them out “like a watermelon s… --- ## [ancient bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-bones/741969)
**Author:** [@glennwith2ns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glennwith2ns)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ancient-bones/741969 "2016-01-02T17:25:03Z")
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/bone-discovery-suggests-a-mysterious-ancient-species-of-human-lived-alongside-our-ancestors/ar-BBo6PFl?li=BBnb7Kz “An ancient femur found in a Chinese cave is unlike any bone formerly… --- ## [Red/blue ball challenge - Math or probability](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-blue-ball-challenge-math-or-probability/741465)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-blue-ball-challenge-math-or-probability/741465 "2016-01-02T17:13:19Z")
I’m breaking out this query from a thread in MPSIMS in hopes of getting a factual answer. What’s prompting this is the large array of differing answers and logic behind the guesses there. Here’s the question: “You hav… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=975) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/factual-questions/9.md?page=977)