# Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=454 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 455 --- ## [Another thread of Made-Up Things That Kinda Sound True, But Aren't.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-thread-of-made-up-things-that-kinda-sound-true-but-arent/818230)
**Author:** [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-thread-of-made-up-things-that-kinda-sound-true-but-arent/818230 "2018-07-19T21:36:16Z")
In the spirit of this thread, let’s have another thread of Made-Up Things That Kinda Sound True, But Aren’t. I’ll start. Until recently, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, in the US at least, were legally required to sound l… --- ## [I have cancer, \[RIP, Updated Title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-cancer-rip-updated-title/785643)
**Author:** [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Replies:** 144\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-cancer-rip-updated-title/785643 "2018-07-19T15:19:44Z")
Two and a half weeks ago I was diagnosed with GBM and and might be screwed. This is just a short post to say what’s up. I’ve always been a reader and less of a poster because the amount of info I can garner from reading … --- ## [Weird Recurring Dreams.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-recurring-dreams/817901)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2018, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-recurring-dreams/817901 "2018-07-19T12:28:21Z")
I keep having the same dreams, almost every night. One common theme, is that my education has not been completed. I dream I am taking a course in college. But I am not keeping up with it like I should. And there is a t… --- ## [What set of items could you buy that would make the cashier the most uncomfortable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-set-of-items-could-you-buy-that-would-make-the-cashier-the-most-uncomfortable/817885)
**Author:** [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Replies:** 80\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-set-of-items-could-you-buy-that-would-make-the-cashier-the-most-uncomfortable/817885 "2018-07-18T19:44:44Z")
I’m thinking condoms and cucumbers; or knives, a shovel, bleach, and large amounts of plastic sheeting. --- ## [One reason I'm not a fan of Unions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-reason-im-not-a-fan-of-unions/817665)
**Author:** [@PackerMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PackerMan)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-reason-im-not-a-fan-of-unions/817665 "2018-07-18T18:08:02Z")
I am in management at a company that has a large union labor force. Overall, we have an excellent relationship with the union. We’ve never had a work stoppage or even really come close to one. I have never been a real… --- ## [My surname tells you almost nothing about my ancestry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-surname-tells-you-almost-nothing-about-my-ancestry/817986)
**Author:** [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-surname-tells-you-almost-nothing-about-my-ancestry/817986 "2018-07-18T14:10:56Z")
My surname starts with Mc, and so every few months someone will remark on me being Scottish, or ask whether my name is Irish or Scottish. But my forebear with that surname arrived in America in the late 1680s—from Barba… --- ## [Streaming Public television will now cost you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streaming-public-television-will-now-cost-you/818113)
**Author:** [@davey77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davey77)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streaming-public-television-will-now-cost-you/818113 "2018-07-18T11:39:55Z")
So, I logged into the PBS app on my streaming device and was surprised to see that the vast majority of content is now behind a paywall. Viewing most episodes of Nature, Nova, and the like requires a “donation” of at le… --- ## [I never thought I'd enjoy getting a flower](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-thought-id-enjoy-getting-a-flower/817990)
**Author:** [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-thought-id-enjoy-getting-a-flower/817990 "2018-07-18T06:02:17Z")
I just finished participating in a community theatre production of 12 Angry Men. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and I got to know a bunch of great guys, with whom I hope to keep in touch, and do more theatre ag… --- ## [Elevators with no floor buttons.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevators-with-no-floor-buttons/817747)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elevators-with-no-floor-buttons/817747 "2018-07-18T04:27:19Z")
I was in a professional building last week and came across an elevator system I had not seen before. There were 5 elevators in the hallway. You used a touch screen display to find and select the department you want to vi… --- ## [Things you do backwards.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-backwards/817872)
**Author:** [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-do-backwards/817872 "2018-07-17T21:27:46Z")
It just hit me, while replying to a thread in CS, that my tastes in steak have gone backwards from the accepted wisdom. The usual line is that people like their meat more well done the older they get. I am just the oppos… --- ## [Obama on picking the right partner for marriage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-picking-the-right-partner-for-marriage/818013)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-picking-the-right-partner-for-marriage/818013 "2018-07-17T14:10:20Z")
The Independent has a nice little fluff piece here wherein Dan Pfeiffer reveals the three questions Barack Obama says you should ask yourself about your prospective partner. There’s nothing exactly earth-shattering the… --- ## [”Thank you” does not mean ”I was afraid you were going to hurt me”](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-does-not-mean-i-was-afraid-you-were-going-to-hurt-me/818016)
**Author:** [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-does-not-mean-i-was-afraid-you-were-going-to-hurt-me/818016 "2018-07-17T03:58:29Z")
I think this has been discussed before, but here are my reflections because I felt a need to express them. In Sweden, the most common reply to ”thank you” (’tack’) these days seems to be literally ”no danger” (’ingen far… --- ## [So they were playing Quidditch in the park the other day…](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-they-were-playing-quidditch-in-the-park-the-other-day/817820)
**Author:** [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-they-were-playing-quidditch-in-the-park-the-other-day/817820 "2018-07-16T19:06:28Z")
I think this belongs here, but I could be wrong. Quidditch. The Harry Potter game they play on magic broomsticks in the movie. I saw them once last year. It’s an organized league with at least eight teams in different co… --- ## [Happy St Swithun's Day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-st-swithuns-day/817978)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-st-swithuns-day/817978 "2018-07-16T15:55:43Z")
Or maybe it should be Swithin, whatever. St Swithun’s Day is sort of a British Groundhog Day, only without the animal cruelty. Which means it doesn’t get near the press coverage. Supposedly, if it rains on July 15, the… --- ## [Poopy shoes in the MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poopy-shoes-in-the-mmp/817561)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 210\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poopy-shoes-in-the-mmp/817561 "2018-07-16T14:55:13Z")
Yes, I started my day by stepping in dog poop. Higgs was barking at the neighbor’s dog at 5:30 and I went out to bring her in. Somewhere along the way, I stepped in it, but I didn’t realize till I got in the car to lea… --- ## [Off the cuff joke](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-the-cuff-joke/817919)
**Author:** [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-the-cuff-joke/817919 "2018-07-16T00:09:14Z")
How do you eat Matrix chili? With a fork of course. Why? There is no spoon. Hard to believe my 16 years old didn’t catch it for several minutes, he did eventually, five to be exact. The groaning went on a while too. … --- ## [Common Merganser with 50 babies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-merganser-with-50-babies/817927)
**Author:** [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-merganser-with-50-babies/817927 "2018-07-15T17:33:54Z")
This is just the cutest thing ever and thought I’d share. Great article with an amazing photo of the adopted family: Actually I think there are more than 50. It’s hard to know what’s a head or a bum but I think there’… --- ## [Should this really count as an island?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501 "2018-07-15T14:23:34Z")
After all, we don’t call someplace a peninsula if the beach just slightly corves back away from the overall coastline. --- ## [Death pursues helmentless motorcyclists.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-pursues-helmentless-motorcyclists/817788)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 15, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-pursues-helmentless-motorcyclists/817788 "2018-07-15T13:42:04Z")
In India, tired of motorcycle drivers not obeying traffic rules, the Hindu God of Death has begun actively chasing them around. I wonder how long it would take in the US for the deity of psychopomp of choice to have his… --- ## [RIP Net Neutrality, 1969-2018](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-net-neutrality-1969-2018/815893)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-net-neutrality-1969-2018/815893 "2018-07-14T22:50:30Z")
Rest In Peace; I’m glad I knew you. Other death announcements: Curiously, I didn’t see a single story posted today or yesterday about how great this is; remind me who exactly wanted this? --- ## [My friend had an accident. What would you say?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-had-an-accident-what-would-you-say/817866)
**Author:** [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-had-an-accident-what-would-you-say/817866 "2018-07-14T22:18:32Z")
A very good friend of mine just had an accident. He was driving down a country road and struck a pedestrian. That’s not in question. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. That’s also not in question. More… --- ## [What makes you so sure your parents are your biological forebearers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-so-sure-your-parents-are-your-biological-forebearers/817630)
**Author:** [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-so-sure-your-parents-are-your-biological-forebearers/817630 "2018-07-14T05:55:40Z")
At a certain time in my life, I looked so much like my father that when he was in drag for a play, people thought it was me. We both look like his father, grandfather, and uncles. Also, Dad and I share a rare blood genot… --- ## [Lions 3, Poachers 0](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lions-3-poachers-0/817343)
**Author:** [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lions-3-poachers-0/817343 "2018-07-14T01:43:28Z")
Three poachers hunting rhinos broke into a South African game preserve. They seemed to run into a pride of lions. burp Three pairs of shoes and three pairs of gloves left, plus some rifles and a few bones. Story here. … --- ## [New Neolithic site found in Ireland](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-neolithic-site-found-in-ireland/817868)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-neolithic-site-found-in-ireland/817868 "2018-07-14T01:41:27Z")
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-44801939 How cool! And interesting the way it was discovered. --- ## [I saw a nude man, woman, and child on a Canadian highway sign](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nude-man-woman-and-child-on-a-canadian-highway-sign/817764)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-a-nude-man-woman-and-child-on-a-canadian-highway-sign/817764 "2018-07-13T21:17:33Z")
Not exactly what you’d call graphic, but it still made me laugh, and it was a definite WTF moment for this American: --- ## [The Return of the Giant Hogweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-the-giant-hogweed/817860)
**Author:** [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-return-of-the-giant-hogweed/817860 "2018-07-13T21:17:02Z")
It is happening. A Virginia Teen Suffered Third Degree Burns After Encountering a Giant Hogweed Plant --- ## [Kill the rabbit! Or not](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-the-rabbit-or-not/817760)
**Author:** [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-the-rabbit-or-not/817760 "2018-07-13T18:32:09Z")
Something has been breaking into our (well, mostly my wife’s) garden. It ate what was going to be the first tomato of the season. Assumption is a rabbit, since \[LIST=A\] \[li\]There are a lot of them around\[/li\]\[li\]the fe… --- ## [Hidden Valley Ranch has a new ad campaign](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-valley-ranch-has-a-new-ad-campaign/817841)
**Author:** [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hidden-valley-ranch-has-a-new-ad-campaign/817841 "2018-07-13T18:28:03Z")
wherein they refer to themselves as HVR yesterday this commercial came immediately after a commercial for the HPV vaccine yikes! --- ## [I am officially an old fart](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-officially-an-old-fart/815605)
**Author:** [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-officially-an-old-fart/815605 "2018-07-13T16:13:41Z")
Yesterday I took a vacation day at work to kid-sit my granddaughter. We were out running some errands and on the way home I realized I had been driving the last few miles with my left blinker on. :smack: At least I wasn… --- ## [Make Toilets Great Again!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-toilets-great-again/817815)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-toilets-great-again/817815 "2018-07-13T14:09:42Z")
I saw this Trump toilet brush on Facebook, and no, I’m not the one who makes them and sells them on Etsy. SFW. LOL! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=453) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=455)