# In My Humble Opinion **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=556 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 557 --- ## [A Lord in the house of commons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lord-in-the-house-of-commons/800547)
**Author:** [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-lord-in-the-house-of-commons/800547 "2017-11-03T11:07:46Z")
Since being the heir apparent to a title doesn’t make you a peer can the heir of say an earl be an mp in the house of commons? If so let’s say for example, Mathew Crawly is a Manchester solicitor who decides to run for … --- ## [Are there any places to buy cheap used books now that half.com is gone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2017, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-places-to-buy-cheap-used-books-now-that-half-com-is-gone/800448 "2017-11-03T05:31:55Z")
I liked half.com. Books were usually $0.75 with about $3 in shipping, but if you bought multiple books from the same seller each additional book was only about $1.89 in shipping. So each book beyond the first only cost … --- ## [Election tampering by Russia: is it karma?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-tampering-by-russia-is-it-karma/800362)
**Author:** [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/election-tampering-by-russia-is-it-karma/800362 "2017-11-03T03:00:00Z")
My knowledge of recent\* history is spotty, at best, but I’m pretty sure the US has tampered with the internal politics of other countries a few times (usually by supporting revolutionary groups). During the Cold War, tha… --- ## [Quick: what's the first evenly unisex name that pops to mind?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141)
**Author:** [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [November 3, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141 "2017-11-03T01:49:21Z")
I’m curious what name(s) are likely to seem non-gender to most folks. By “evenly” unisex I mean names that are perceived to be given for either gender in roughly the same proportion, as opposed to names traditionally giv… --- ## [Why do (smart) people use big words?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862)
**Author:** [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Replies:** 120\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862 "2017-11-02T21:13:17Z")
Is it innate with higher intelligence to use a wider set of language or is it mostly pretentiousness? Are people who use big words actually smarter than the rest of us? --- ## [Biopsy Done...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopsy-done/800525)
**Author:** [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biopsy-done/800525 "2017-11-02T20:19:23Z")
… on my arm and will be tested for Lyme Disease. We will know something w/i 2 weeks. We have a friend of a friend in CDC who works with/on tghe disease who’s been suspecting it. Learning all about “spirochetes” and treat… --- ## [Trump is begging for help.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-begging-for-help/799125)
**Author:** [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-begging-for-help/799125 "2017-11-02T20:01:27Z")
My opinion, hunh? I think Trump is begging for help. He creates impasses, bizarre tweets and deadlines; yet somewhere deep in his reptilian brain he senses that he’s in Way Over his Head. For whatever reason, he has s… --- ## [Why do some people try to "get in the head" of others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-try-to-get-in-the-head-of-others/668935)
**Author:** [@One\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_Love)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-try-to-get-in-the-head-of-others/668935 "2017-11-02T19:46:18Z")
I personally never had that motivation, so I’m wondering what drives people to “get in the head” of other people. Can someone explain this to me? --- ## [Viability of lawsuit against former doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viability-of-lawsuit-against-former-doctor/800259)
**Author:** [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viability-of-lawsuit-against-former-doctor/800259 "2017-11-02T19:28:25Z")
I have been under the care of my psyiatrist for more than 10 years. In addition to prescribing me tramadol for chronic pain due to rotator cuff damage, he prescribes me the antidepressant I have been on for more than 15… --- ## [Would you have children if.....](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-have-children-if/800391)
**Author:** [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-have-children-if/800391 "2017-11-02T18:09:35Z")
If you had some medical condition that you knew was very likely (say 60% or better chance) you would pass on to your children, would you have children? I’m sure a lot of the responses are going to be “it depends”. If t… --- ## [Suppose we could travel at near light-speed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-we-could-travel-at-near-light-speed/800337)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-we-could-travel-at-near-light-speed/800337 "2017-11-02T17:58:37Z")
Suppose we were to find a way of travelling sufficiently fast that time dilation has a very significant effect. Let’s say we send a probe to Proxima Centauri and back, and while the round trip takes a decade, the probe’s… --- ## [Looking at Sexy People, and Being Looked At](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-sexy-people-and-being-looked-at/800222)
**Author:** [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-sexy-people-and-being-looked-at/800222 "2017-11-02T16:50:18Z")
This is a repurposed blog post. AHunter3 blogs weekly on the subject of being genderqueer, gender politics issues in general, and his ongoing attempts to get his book published. These blog posts tend to be anywhere fro… --- ## [Tell me your kid (or you) turned out okay after this kind of atrocious behavior](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-kid-or-you-turned-out-okay-after-this-kind-of-atrocious-behavior/718683)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 234\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-kid-or-you-turned-out-okay-after-this-kind-of-atrocious-behavior/718683 "2017-11-02T16:26:02Z")
It sounds really horrible for me to say the following, but I’ma say it. I have a kid who I don’t actually like very much. I don’t like how she behaves, and I’m not very impressed by anything she does. This isn’t about… --- ## [9^9^9.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-9-9/800163)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-9-9/800163 "2017-11-02T16:24:53Z")
Interesting thing that I read a child, in a children’s book, naturally. The largest 3-digit number isn’t 999. It’s 9^9^9. Or, nine taken to the ninth power taken to the ninth power. This number is apparently gargantuan… --- ## ["It's had the biscuit" - regionalism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-had-the-biscuit-regionalism/383442)
**Author:** [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Replies:** 104\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-had-the-biscuit-regionalism/383442 "2017-11-02T16:20:37Z")
I pulled my cord pants from the dryer last night, and upon inspecting them closely, discovered that patches of the corduroy had worn thin. “Well,” I say, showing them to my husband. “These pants have pretty much had the … --- ## [Exploding head syndrome?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-head-syndrome/800435)
**Author:** [@scratchmarc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratchmarc)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-head-syndrome/800435 "2017-11-02T14:45:02Z")
Have you ever experienced this, seems like one of those strange but true things that can happen. --- ## [Am I an asshole? (Re: Food in the office)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-an-asshole-re-food-in-the-office/800386)
**Author:** [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-an-asshole-re-food-in-the-office/800386 "2017-11-02T14:30:03Z")
If you have to ask, right? I work in an extremely small office. At most, there are only seven of us in at one time. Because of this we have a very comfortable and casual workplace and we all know each other pretty well… --- ## [Tell me about starting your own sm biz](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-starting-your-own-sm-biz/800109)
**Author:** [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-starting-your-own-sm-biz/800109 "2017-11-02T14:01:49Z")
I’ve done some research already of course, but I wanted the smartest & most opinionated people I know to lay it on me - advice, warnings, checklists, anecdotes and opinions are all welcome. I can go into details as need… --- ## [test](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test/800485)
**Author:** [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test/800485 "2017-11-02T13:48:05Z")
EDIT: Shoot, I did not actually mean to post a thread, I thought I could get to the “add a poll” page without doing so. Please close/delete this. --- ## [When should a PLB or EPIRB (emergency beacons) be triggered?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-a-plb-or-epirb-emergency-beacons-be-triggered/800473)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-should-a-plb-or-epirb-emergency-beacons-be-triggered/800473 "2017-11-02T13:12:30Z")
I backpack and my wife bought me a PLB. It says on the web site that it’s a last resort measure. Getting lost for a night isn’t an excuse to trigger a PLB. It’s for life threatening emergencies. The Cavalry will come cha… --- ## [Is Amazon suddenly a lot more likely to start charging for returns?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-suddenly-a-lot-more-likely-to-start-charging-for-returns/800296)
**Author:** [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-amazon-suddenly-a-lot-more-likely-to-start-charging-for-returns/800296 "2017-11-02T04:52:46Z")
Okay, I KNOW that Amazon has supposedly always had a policy of charging for some returns, but I am telling you-- I’ve been a Prime customer for a very long time, almost from the very start, and it has never ever ever hap… --- ## [What are some \*subtle\* differences among various dialects of English?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 226\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-subtle-differences-among-various-dialects-of-english/796145 "2017-11-02T03:54:59Z")
Today I happened to think of a story I heard a few years back, in which some little British girl and her family were flying somewhere, and she wrote this funny note to the pilot. It made the rounds and everybody thought… --- ## [Is sex with a hooker "essentially masturbation"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-with-a-hooker-essentially-masturbation/728117)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-with-a-hooker-essentially-masturbation/728117 "2017-11-02T01:48:34Z")
In a thread I’m too lazy to link to, a Doper whose name I have forgotten in a middle-aged-haze has asserted that sex with a hooker is “essentially masturbation” – meaning, I presume, that the lack of emotional connection… --- ## [Eating without any negative consequences](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-any-negative-consequences/799985)
**Author:** [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [November 2, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-any-negative-consequences/799985 "2017-11-02T01:38:15Z")
If you could eat whatever you wanted whenever you wanted for a 30 day period without any negative physical or social consequences, what would you eat/order? how many would be having triple chocolate fudge sundaes topped … --- ## [How Many Moon Rocks Have You Seen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-moon-rocks-have-you-seen/799959)
**Author:** [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-moon-rocks-have-you-seen/799959 "2017-11-01T23:43:23Z")
I don’t know why, but I started thinking about moon rocks tonight, seguing into how many I’d seen. Three, I think. One, a small one, was in a museum in Kathmandu. More like a pebble, as I recall. Another small one was … --- ## [where to buy a 1900 style teddy bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-a-1900-style-teddy-bear/800415)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-a-1900-style-teddy-bear/800415 "2017-11-01T22:55:44Z")
Friend of mine has a kid named Ted. Any idea on where I can purchase a teddy bear of the original style from the 1900-1910’s --- ## [Is it okay to send cookies to someone in a nursing home?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-send-cookies-to-someone-in-a-nursing-home/800125)
**Author:** [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-send-cookies-to-someone-in-a-nursing-home/800125 "2017-11-01T22:28:38Z")
A friend of mine had a stroke last year. He’s only in his early fifties, so he’s still mentally acute, but physically, not so much. As such, he’s been in and out of nursing homes\* since then; currently in. Since he won’t… --- ## [Pain or no pain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-or-no-pain/800287)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pain-or-no-pain/800287 "2017-11-01T22:13:19Z")
Sorry if this has been polled before - I’m sure it has, but can’t find it in the Dope archives: Simple poll: You have the option of feeling pain (as you do now, a normal body and nervous system,) or never feeling pain i… --- ## [Do you believe in anything that's paranormal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-in-anything-thats-paranormal/800288)
**Author:** [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-believe-in-anything-thats-paranormal/800288 "2017-11-01T21:38:20Z")
Sea Monsters? Ghosts? ESP? Aliens visiting the Earth? Big Foot? Real world Magic? Anything at all. What do you believe is real? --- ## [What the hell is wrong with my car? (Don't need answer fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-my-car-dont-need-answer-fast/800355)
**Author:** [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 1, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-my-car-dont-need-answer-fast/800355 "2017-11-01T16:28:20Z")
Today I was happily driving down a highway at around 60 mph when my car (automatic transmission, Hyundai) suddenly downshifted. I tried to accelerate but the car didn’t respond, just continued slowing down. The oil and b… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=555) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=557)