# Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=511 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 512 --- ## [Can these 3 things explain most major differences between the U.S. and the rest of the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-these-3-things-explain-most-major-differences-between-the-u-s-and-the-rest-of-the-world/798688)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-these-3-things-explain-most-major-differences-between-the-u-s-and-the-rest-of-the-world/798688 "2017-10-13T20:32:57Z")
I’m talking about the ones that get Canadians and Europeans shaking their heads and asking why. The origins of the country, including westward expansion. The size of the country (which includes the rural/urban divide). … --- ## [The slowest car in the World](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slowest-car-in-the-world/798313)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slowest-car-in-the-world/798313 "2017-10-13T20:11:27Z")
In my collection of reference books are the 1967 and 1969 World Car Catalogues. Wondrous books, nearly 700 pages, one car model per page, covering the entire output of the world’s auto manufacturers. Each model has photo… --- ## [Amazing Useful Thing My Cat Tippy Does for Me (Warning: TMI)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-useful-thing-my-cat-tippy-does-for-me-warning-tmi/798678)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-useful-thing-my-cat-tippy-does-for-me-warning-tmi/798678 "2017-10-13T17:50:28Z")
This has happened twice in the last two days. It’s an icky story, but amazing, at least to me. I am a caretaker for my ninety-one year old mother, and among my duties is helping her on and off a commode that is in her … --- ## [The old man the boat.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-man-the-boat/798071)
**Author:** [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-man-the-boat/798071 "2017-10-13T17:32:41Z")
…and other garden path sentences. So I’m on a garden path sentence kick. I love language and words and spelling and English in general, anything to do with those areas. And I just learned about garden path sentences the… --- ## [Happy Friday the 13th, Everyone!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-friday-the-13th-everyone/798718)
**Author:** [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-friday-the-13th-everyone/798718 "2017-10-13T16:56:57Z")
May your day, and weekend, be a happy one! Got any plans? Today, I’m just working. But tomorrow my wife and I are taking our niece (Li’l E) up to San Francisco for a “Hipster Day”. Li’l E, she’s 12, likes the 1960s hipp… --- ## [I'm noticing age-appropriate women.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-noticing-age-appropriate-women/797686)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 119\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-noticing-age-appropriate-women/797686 "2017-10-13T10:35:32Z")
While married my tastes were otherwise stunted, mostly noticing women in their teens and twenties, like when I was shopping in the '70s. Today I realized how fricking gorgeous a woman in her 40s, 50s, or 60s can be. An… --- ## [Who rides in front when an elderly relative is a passenger?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rides-in-front-when-an-elderly-relative-is-a-passenger/798412)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-rides-in-front-when-an-elderly-relative-is-a-passenger/798412 "2017-10-13T03:54:58Z")
I’m talking about when a nuclear family of two spouses (husband and wife, wife and wife, husband and husband) and their kids add a grandparent or great-grandparent to the mix. Assume they are fairly spry, and the vehicl… --- ## [Posts you're proud of](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-youre-proud-of/798437)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-youre-proud-of/798437 "2017-10-13T03:45:25Z")
I try to make posts that are thoughtful and bring something to the discussion that hasn’t already been done to death. As some others have mentioned about themselves in another thread, a hefty percentage of my proto-posts… --- ## [Somewhat new member](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somewhat-new-member/797594)
**Author:** [@laurieb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laurieb)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somewhat-new-member/797594 "2017-10-13T03:12:57Z")
Hi, my name is Laurie. I live in Chicago, and have been on here for the past month or so. Thought it would be a great time to introduce myself. --- ## [I shaved my balls for this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shaved-my-balls-for-this/798076)
**Author:** [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-shaved-my-balls-for-this/798076 "2017-10-12T20:16:26Z")
On a recent hike in a National Park I came across a group of young men all wearing identical T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan that is the title of this thread. I tried to ask them about the story behind the slogan, b… --- ## [Famous Quotes...From an Alternate Universe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-quotes-from-an-alternate-universe/798394)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-quotes-from-an-alternate-universe/798394 "2017-10-12T17:49:49Z")
This is where you post things famous people might have said…but never got around to actually saying. Try to make it as much in the style of the person you are “quoting” as is possible. “Everything I know I learned from… --- ## [Found out 5 people I knew well are now dead just last weekend](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-out-5-people-i-knew-well-are-now-dead-just-last-weekend/798568)
**Author:** [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-out-5-people-i-knew-well-are-now-dead-just-last-weekend/798568 "2017-10-12T17:35:53Z")
I’m 56 and will be changing jobs soon so I signed up for a month of Been Verified last week to do a background check on myself and soon discovered that I had a month to check backgrounds on anybody I wanted, so I checke… --- ## [Help Me, Dope Hive Mind, You're My Only Hope!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-dope-hive-mind-youre-my-only-hope/798398)
**Author:** [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-dope-hive-mind-youre-my-only-hope/798398 "2017-10-12T17:18:31Z")
Cat food. I had my little beggars used to Halo’s grain-free dry kibble, which they happily ate for five years. Very little kitty barfing, and no GI problems. Of course Halo has changed the formula, and the new version… --- ## [When name and talent align](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436)
**Author:** [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436 "2017-10-12T15:32:09Z")
I think it’s safe to say Stephen King is the most well-known writer of his genre, which makes him the king of horror. Usain Bolt, fastest man alive. Weird. What are some other examples of coincidental alignment with s… --- ## [Getting scammed on a dinner - what to do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-scammed-on-a-dinner-what-to-do/798561)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-scammed-on-a-dinner-what-to-do/798561 "2017-10-12T12:08:04Z")
This story came out that a woman went out on a date with a man to an expensive restaurant where he proceeded to order over $100 of food and drinks. Then he excused himself to go check his phone and split, leaving her wit… --- ## [Amazon is tricking people into Trial Prime Memberships](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-is-tricking-people-into-trial-prime-memberships/798406)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-is-tricking-people-into-trial-prime-memberships/798406 "2017-10-12T06:37:18Z")
I’m a bit pissed. I’ve put up with Amazon’s nag screen, Trial Prime Membership, for years. Their wonderful passive aggressive box, “No I don’t want to save $xxxx” that you have to accept. Then by default they charge sh… --- ## [What is this picture doing on a Walmart product page?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-picture-doing-on-a-walmart-product-page/798536)
**Author:** [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-picture-doing-on-a-walmart-product-page/798536 "2017-10-12T03:10:52Z")
I was looking for this poster I had seen before of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, and this product page at Walmart.com has it. There is a second thumbnail on the page below the picture of the actual poster. WTF??? Check… --- ## [Interesting "one and done" posters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-one-and-done-posters/798407)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-one-and-done-posters/798407 "2017-10-12T01:49:02Z")
So every once in a while someone signs up for the Dope, makes a single post, and is never heard from again. Sometimes it is to start a new thread that leads to hundreds of replies, sometimes it is to bump a thread from y… --- ## [A ton of bricks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-ton-of-bricks/798263)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-ton-of-bricks/798263 "2017-10-12T01:04:34Z")
Mrs. L.A. informed me that I will, today, rain or shine, move the stacked remnants of the Mystery Chimney we had demolished a couple of years ago, so that she can have some work done on the yard. So I moved them and sta… --- ## [My Household Budget and Thank You Toni Preckwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-household-budget-and-thank-you-toni-preckwinkle/797438)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [October 11, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-household-budget-and-thank-you-toni-preckwinkle/797438 "2017-10-11T21:11:28Z")
This morning I finished my tracking/evaluation of my household budget for the last six months. While it is not up to the rigorous standards of, say, a CPA it’s a reasonable accounting of income and outgo. The good news… --- ## [Grief Burnout](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grief-burnout/798489)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [October 11, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grief-burnout/798489 "2017-10-11T17:21:28Z")
On Wednesday morning a good friend of mine, Vic, never woke up(massive heart failure). On Thursday another good friend, Lorne, found out that he had metastatic cancer and was put on chemo immediately. I’m both very ten… --- ## [In the future, when I fly to the capital of Ohio, will it be to "Indiginous People's City"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-future-when-i-fly-to-the-capital-of-ohio-will-it-be-to-indiginous-peoples-city/798190)
**Author:** [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [October 11, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-future-when-i-fly-to-the-capital-of-ohio-will-it-be-to-indiginous-peoples-city/798190 "2017-10-11T00:30:19Z")
Just asking. --- ## [Sayings you didn't realize were obscene](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-you-didnt-realize-were-obscene/797507)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [October 10, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sayings-you-didnt-realize-were-obscene/797507 "2017-10-10T11:34:42Z")
…or at had obscene origins. The classic example, as I only learned in college, was that SNAFU didn’t stand for Situation Normal, All Fouled Up (as the homeside newspapers translated the WWII-era phrase for the folks bac… --- ## [Let's create Urban Legends!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-create-urban-legends/797628)
**Author:** [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [October 10, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-create-urban-legends/797628 "2017-10-10T02:38:14Z")
September 4, 1978, Sears Roebuck Tower, Northeast Philadelphia. A clear sky with mild 5mph wind blowing NNE. A bright streak of light shoots down from the sky and impacts the wide c… --- ## [Child organ trafficking in Europe?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-organ-trafficking-in-europe/798417)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 10, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-organ-trafficking-in-europe/798417 "2017-10-10T00:14:45Z")
Short intro since it’s not a popular topic, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, international criminal groups were involved in human trafficking in north Albania and Kosovo, not just any type of trafficking, but organ tra… --- ## [Can you identify who this person is?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-identify-who-this-person-is/798299)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-identify-who-this-person-is/798299 "2017-10-09T20:44:52Z")
A friend of mine on FB was vacationing in Triers, Germany a couple months ago when she accidently fell and hit her head. A Good Samaritan came to her aid. He and his wife did their best to care for her while the ambulanc… --- ## [Tell me about being "written up"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-written-up/796966)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-being-written-up/796966 "2017-10-09T18:06:02Z")
I’m a regular reader of Not Always Rightand its various categories. I’ve never worked retail or food service, so I’m not personally familiar with the practice of being written up. I assume it has to do with an entry go… --- ## [Dopers living outside the Pacific Northwest, how common are drive-through espresso stands?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551)
**Author:** [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551 "2017-10-09T13:21:48Z")
I believe rather than cool wet weather, big trees, or state borders, the real sign you’re in the Pacific Northwest is the common sight of drive-through roadside stands selling hot caffeinated beverages. However, my assu… --- ## [Fall into a MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-into-a-mmp/797799)
**Author:** [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Replies:** 171\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-into-a-mmp/797799 "2017-10-09T03:23:14Z")
First?:stuck\_out\_tongue: And it’s October, and slightly chilly so it feels fall like. Talk amongst yourselves --- ## [Gormless Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gormless-twit/797846)
**Author:** [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gormless-twit/797846 "2017-10-08T22:00:30Z")
Nattering nabobs of negativity.\* More hair than wit. Just a few of the insults I’ve seen and savored. What are your favorites? Clean enough for MPSIMS, of course! :smiley: \*Yes, I know. It’s still a good one. Saf… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=510) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=512)