# In My Humble Opinion **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1528 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1529 --- ## [People who made a big splash, then either quit or died.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-made-a-big-splash-then-either-quit-or-died/620108)
**Author:** [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-made-a-big-splash-then-either-quit-or-died/620108 "2012-04-30T04:03:41Z")
Let’s list people who, in any field, made a big impact or had big success, and then either quit or died relatively soon after as a (relatively) young man or woman. How young is young is up to you. People who suddenly bec… --- ## [Shared hotel balconies - common?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shared-hotel-balconies-common/620354)
**Author:** [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shared-hotel-balconies-common/620354 "2012-04-30T02:19:10Z")
Last week I was in a hotel in Dresden, Germany. Walk into the room & look around, there’s a door to the adjoining room, which I confirm is locked. I go out on the balcony to check out the view, which I leave the door t… --- ## [Dude in bunker. SWAT Team got lucky this time. What could they have done?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-in-bunker-swat-team-got-lucky-this-time-what-could-they-have-done/620268)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 30, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-in-bunker-swat-team-got-lucky-this-time-what-could-they-have-done/620268 "2012-04-30T00:50:14Z")
Geez, the SWAT tema got really, really lucky this time. Glad this dude killed himself. I wonder what the heck the SWAT team planned on doing otherwise? How in the hell would you get one of these crazy, end of the world … --- ## [Is it true that native speakers of Western European Languages have advantage over others concerning](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-native-speakers-of-western-european-languages-have-advantage-over-others-concerning/620043)
**Author:** [@Otkakonmiskilic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otkakonmiskilic)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-native-speakers-of-western-european-languages-have-advantage-over-others-concerning/620043 "2012-04-29T22:38:47Z")
Is it true that native speakers of Western European Languages have advantage over others concerning learning English? My observation from tourists, language schools, and conversation with people who work in tourism comp… --- ## [College textbooks - You must pay through the nose and get the latest edition. Must you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-textbooks-you-must-pay-through-the-nose-and-get-the-latest-edition-must-you/620139)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-textbooks-you-must-pay-through-the-nose-and-get-the-latest-edition-must-you/620139 "2012-04-29T21:02:06Z")
It seems to me that publishers of textbooks have quite the scam going, and they’re probably in cahoots with the universities. I’d like to hear about some experiences related to whether the latest and greatest edition of… --- ## [Caesar dressing for caesar salad costs extra?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caesar-dressing-for-caesar-salad-costs-extra/620329)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caesar-dressing-for-caesar-salad-costs-extra/620329 "2012-04-29T19:37:07Z")
New sub-pizza etc. joint in town. I order a grilled chicken caesar salad. Salad is $ 6.99. Total + tax is 50 cents over expected price. Inquiring I am, told all salads are without dressing and all dressing are 50 cents … --- ## [Advice on getting over someone when feelings are mutual?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-getting-over-someone-when-feelings-are-mutual/620109)
**Author:** [@kmshrader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kmshrader)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-getting-over-someone-when-feelings-are-mutual/620109 "2012-04-29T17:50:33Z")
About a month ago I met a man - Tall, Handsome, Intelligent, Suave, Gregarious, Unassuming, YeseverythingI’mlookingfor (THISGUY, for short) - at a shindig hosted by some mutual friends, a married couple - Mr. and Mrs. No… --- ## [Downtown Portland for a few days. Things to see?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downtown-portland-for-a-few-days-things-to-see/620127)
**Author:** [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downtown-portland-for-a-few-days-things-to-see/620127 "2012-04-29T17:43:02Z")
I’ll be there for a week-long conference next week, so I won’t have time to do the touristy thing. But I would like to see a few things and get a taste of town. What’s a quintessential Portland restaurant in the downto… --- ## [How common are non-arbitrary women's clothes sizes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-non-arbitrary-womens-clothes-sizes/617140)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-non-arbitrary-womens-clothes-sizes/617140 "2012-04-29T16:11:13Z")
A lot of clothes are simply described as small, medium and large. For most clothes, that’s good enough. However, when I look at the clothes I have which are supposed to fit well (pants, dress shirts, suits), they all use… --- ## [Tell me about re-inventing yourself professionally.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-re-inventing-yourself-professionally/620121)
**Author:** [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-re-inventing-yourself-professionally/620121 "2012-04-29T15:55:12Z")
Today is my first day of unemployment after leaving a very toxic work environment (manager had been reported to HR multiple times for sexual harassment, hostile work environment, misuse of money and clearly wasn’t going … --- ## [Hooray for US Embassy, Beijing!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hooray-for-us-embassy-beijing/620319)
**Author:** [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hooray-for-us-embassy-beijing/620319 "2012-04-29T15:27:58Z")
So Chen Guangcheng has escaped his extralegal house arrest. He lay in bed for several days to pretend to be weak. One night he climbed the wall local thugs had built around his house. Then he laid low for a day until a c… --- ## [Cutting your own hair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-your-own-hair/619361)
**Author:** [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-your-own-hair/619361 "2012-04-29T15:19:48Z")
Does anyone do this? I usually keep my hair trimmed short, but I haven’t had a haircut in a year and I’m starting to look like a mad scientist. My wife refuses to try, and I’m too cheap to go to the $10 barber. We hav… --- ## [Do you take after your mother's, or father's, side of the family?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-after-your-mothers-or-fathers-side-of-the-family/599938)
**Author:** [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-take-after-your-mothers-or-fathers-side-of-the-family/599938 "2012-04-29T13:50:22Z")
\*If \*either, of course. My mother’s people were hard-headed, self-centered survivors. My father’s were head-in-the-clouds idealists. I definitely fall on my mother’s side; my sister and I occasionally joke about it: “You… --- ## [Academic Survey Needs Movie Memories From Baby Boomers (those born between 1940 and 1970)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-survey-needs-movie-memories-from-baby-boomers-those-born-between-1940-and-1970/620016)
**Author:** [@JimWhalley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimWhalley)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academic-survey-needs-movie-memories-from-baby-boomers-those-born-between-1940-and-1970/620016 "2012-04-29T13:41:58Z")
Hi, My name is Jim Whalley and I’m a college professor in the UK working on a major new research project titled ‘Hollywood and the Baby Boom: A Social History’. The aim of the project is to discover how the Baby Boom g… --- ## [Personal firewall for Windows 7?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-firewall-for-windows-7/620309)
**Author:** [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-firewall-for-windows-7/620309 "2012-04-29T12:57:22Z")
I want a simple firewall that monitors and prompts me about incoming and outgoing traffic. I don’t want any of those bloated “security suites”, just the firewall. Any recommendations? --- ## [Should your highest-ranking elected leader be "brilliant?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-your-highest-ranking-elected-leader-be-brilliant/619918)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-your-highest-ranking-elected-leader-be-brilliant/619918 "2012-04-29T12:30:34Z")
Poll inspired by this baffling quote: \[QUOTE=Fotheringay-Phipps\] (If anything, I think being brilliant might be more of a negative in a president than a positive, FWIW.) \[/QUOTE\] --- ## [How long could a public figure live without aging past 35 before "the government" got involved?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-public-figure-live-without-aging-past-35-before-the-government-got-involved/619666)
**Author:** [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-public-figure-live-without-aging-past-35-before-the-government-got-involved/619666 "2012-04-29T12:10:37Z")
People joked forever about Dick Clark not aging. It made me wonder, if it was real, when do the jokes stop and the serious examinations begin? The hypothetical is that this person is effectively immortal but they don’t… --- ## [Do you have an imaginary friend?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-imaginary-friend/620201)
**Author:** [@SDMBKL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SDMBKL)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-imaginary-friend/620201 "2012-04-29T11:34:29Z")
Do you have an imaginary friend? How often do you communicate with this imaginary friend? What is the imaginary friend’s name? What species is the imaginary friend? Do you used to have an imaginary friend but now somehow… --- ## [Can I wear bike shorts in public places?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-wear-bike-shorts-in-public-places/619945)
**Author:** [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-wear-bike-shorts-in-public-places/619945 "2012-04-29T11:15:02Z")
So, I’m an old man (56), not huge but overweight and I take spin classes at the local rec center. Currently I wear bike shorts (for the padding) but I wear gym shorts over them because I don’t want to scare small childr… --- ## [Would L.A. benefit from a "Big Dig"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-l-a-benefit-from-a-big-dig/620155)
**Author:** [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-l-a-benefit-from-a-big-dig/620155 "2012-04-29T07:30:47Z")
I watched a PBS show about America’s transportation infrastructure, and they mentioned how congested L.A. is, and it made me as a Bostonian wonder,“Would L.A. benfit from a Big Dig type project?” --- ## [Surprise proposal: what do I do now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-proposal-what-do-i-do-now/620151)
**Author:** [@evil\_minion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evil_minion)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-proposal-what-do-i-do-now/620151 "2012-04-29T05:40:11Z")
My boyfriend just proposed to me. I told him I would have to sleep on it. This is a lifestyle change that I assumed might happen someday… …really…far…off…in…the…future. Now that he’s asked, it feels as though I am sleepw… --- ## [Have you gone years without seeing the dentist and returned to find no issues?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gone-years-without-seeing-the-dentist-and-returned-to-find-no-issues/619788)
**Author:** [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-gone-years-without-seeing-the-dentist-and-returned-to-find-no-issues/619788 "2012-04-29T04:50:51Z")
There was another thread where a poster had gone 3 years and was concerned about periodontal disease and bone disease. I had my last visit at age 18 (no cavities) then spent my 20’s sometimes being insured, sometimes no… --- ## [Women: Are you embarrassed to eat out alone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-are-you-embarrassed-to-eat-out-alone/619846)
**Author:** [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-are-you-embarrassed-to-eat-out-alone/619846 "2012-04-29T04:02:33Z")
I didn’t know this was a thing. --- ## [Medical specialization](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-specialization/620255)
**Author:** [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-specialization/620255 "2012-04-29T03:34:08Z")
Which is more likely: 1.An oncology surgeon who does transplants? 2.A transplant surgeon with mostly cancer patients? --- ## [What do you think of these names?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-these-names/607398)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 114\ **Last updated:** [April 29, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-these-names/607398 "2012-04-29T02:14:35Z")
Paul Tristram and Soren Sebastian. (That’s a first and middle name each). I don’t actually care how you like them. :wink: I’m more just wondering if there are any obvious “they’re going to make fun of them for that nam… --- ## [Help me decipher whether this girl is interested in me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decipher-whether-this-girl-is-interested-in-me/619545)
**Author:** [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decipher-whether-this-girl-is-interested-in-me/619545 "2012-04-28T23:08:29Z")
This isn’t going to be too in depth or anything; I just want to get some general input here. You see, there’s this girl in a couple of my uni classes, and I really think that she might be keen on me asking her out. A f… --- ## [How to deal with back acne?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deal-with-back-acne/589288)
**Author:** [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deal-with-back-acne/589288 "2012-04-28T19:44:49Z")
I started taking a new medication several months ago and as soon as I started taking it, I started breaking out. My face has cleared up but I still get breakouts on my back. This has never happened to me before and I’m n… --- ## [The creepiest hypothetical you'll read all day...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creepiest-hypothetical-youll-read-all-day/620166)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creepiest-hypothetical-youll-read-all-day/620166 "2012-04-28T18:01:59Z")
Let’s say you spend the night on the couch at a friend’s house. Your friend has gone to bed. You decide to stay up and watch TV. Nothing is on though so you decide to see if there is anything worth watching on the DVR. … --- ## [Mafia kingpins Living Like Papers-Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-kingpins-living-like-papers-why/620235)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-kingpins-living-like-papers-why/620235 "2012-04-28T16:46:13Z")
I was reading about the NYC Mob…and it seems that Carlo Gambino (head of the NYC family) lived a very low key lifestyle-he ate his meals at home (cooked by his wife). he avoided flashy cars, and had no telephone 9he too… --- ## [Your Favorite Thread Titles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-thread-titles/620238)
**Author:** [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-thread-titles/620238 "2012-04-28T15:19:22Z")
What are your favorite thread titles from over the years? My submission, from CS: Should I see Tron before I see Tron? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1527) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1529)