# Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=677 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 678 --- ## [O Tannenbaum](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-tannenbaum/739991)
**Author:** [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-tannenbaum/739991 "2015-12-11T01:20:34Z")
We put up the Christmas tree this week, and my wife said she would decorate it this year. She decked it out in white lights, gold ribbon, and all sorts of gold and silver balls and kind of spiral ornaments. I have to ad… --- ## [Play purty?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-purty/739835)
**Author:** [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-purty/739835 "2015-12-11T00:05:22Z")
I had zero luck trying to find any references to play purty on Yahoo! Search. Haven’t tried Google just yet, but will. Is this a term you’re familiar with – perhaps with another spelling? What’s a good synonym in your… --- ## [Bug Racer: The toy car driven by... bugs.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-racer-the-toy-car-driven-by-bugs/740066)
**Author:** [@teflon\_grut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teflon_grut)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-racer-the-toy-car-driven-by-bugs/740066 "2015-12-10T21:49:51Z")
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST So has anyone else ordered 3 of them? I may have been caught up in a wave of impulse and wonderment. I wonder how long it takes before PETI takes down the whole damned Mattel operation. --- ## [North of England/South of Scotland floods; everyone OK?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-england-south-of-scotland-floods-everyone-ok/739939)
**Author:** [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-england-south-of-scotland-floods-everyone-ok/739939 "2015-12-10T17:18:19Z")
I think we have a few dopers (as well as my family) living in the areas affected by the current flood; everyone OK? I doubt it’s been on the news outside the UK, but some of it’s been looking pretty bad :frowning: --- ## [I just sold the Red Baron.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sold-the-red-baron/740053)
**Author:** [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sold-the-red-baron/740053 "2015-12-10T16:51:10Z")
The Red Baron. A staple of my childhood. A pretty damn good car. 1964 Mercedes owned by my best friend since childhood parents. They got it for their wedding present in late '63, in Germany. Brought it over to the State… --- ## [How the CIA has briefed candidates and Presidents over the years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-cia-has-briefed-candidates-and-presidents-over-the-years/739975)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-the-cia-has-briefed-candidates-and-presidents-over-the-years/739975 "2015-12-10T16:43:21Z")
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/getting-to-know-the-president/pdfs/U-%20Book-Getting%20to%20Know%20the%20President.pdf Some big differences over the… --- ## [Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-over-when-the-germans-bombed-pearl-harbor/739700)
**Author:** [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-over-when-the-germans-bombed-pearl-harbor/739700 "2015-12-10T15:14:13Z")
…So said John Belushi’s famously addled character in Animal House. Today’s CNN front page has a “National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day” photo…of goose-stepping Nazi soldiers. Cecil Adams once wrote “people today have … --- ## [Quantum physics problem proved unsolvable: Godel and Turing enter quantum physics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-physics-problem-proved-unsolvable-godel-and-turing-enter-quantum-physics/739983)
**Author:** [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-physics-problem-proved-unsolvable-godel-and-turing-enter-quantum-physics/739983 "2015-12-10T15:01:02Z")
This is interesting. I don’t know a lot about quantum physics but I do know a little about undecidability from my computer science courses. As far as I know it’s always been a subject of interest in mathematics and co… --- ## [Town for Sale](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-for-sale/739594)
**Author:** [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/town-for-sale/739594 "2015-12-10T14:34:39Z")
Have a spare $250,000 laying around? The entire town of Swett, South Dakota is up for grabs. This will include the tavern, a 3 bedroom house and an unused tire shop. Thrown in for free is a brand spanking new town sig… --- ## [What does "you 28th" me mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-you-28th-me-mean/738659)
**Author:** [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-you-28th-me-mean/738659 "2015-12-10T12:49:23Z")
anyone know? is it derogatory? I googled it and could not find it thanks --- ## [Defensive gun use](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defensive-gun-use/739955)
**Author:** [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defensive-gun-use/739955 "2015-12-10T07:50:56Z")
I just stumbled across this story as I was browsing. It’s several months old, but I hadn’t heard it before. It’s relevant, because it shows how more guns can prevent things like mass killings. http://www.chicagotribu… --- ## [Question: May I post about a non-member here,please](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-may-i-post-about-a-non-member-here-please/738660)
**Author:** [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-may-i-post-about-a-non-member-here-please/738660 "2015-12-10T00:46:44Z")
Her name was Virginia, and she was my daughter. She was 22, was going to be a theater designer, and she loved reading, drawing, spicy food, and a nice boy named Will. If this could go in the Memoriam column, I’d apprecia… --- ## [Your Crowning Moment of Awesome for 2015](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-crowning-moment-of-awesome-for-2015/739365)
**Author:** [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [December 10, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-crowning-moment-of-awesome-for-2015/739365 "2015-12-10T00:40:05Z")
It doesn’t have to be something like saving a life or donating an organ to your relative (albeit those would be awesome). Just something you did that needed doing, that no one else was doing, and in doing so you knew th… --- ## [Longest natural thorns or spines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-natural-thorns-or-spines/739219)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-natural-thorns-or-spines/739219 "2015-12-09T21:39:06Z")
Does anyone know of anything in nature, animal or plant that has an extra long spine or thorn like apendage, need something about twice the density of heavy wood. It would need to be at least 12" long and approx 1/8" in… --- ## [Hey everyone, Steorn just released Orbo for sale!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-everyone-steorn-just-released-orbo-for-sale/739957)
**Author:** [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-everyone-steorn-just-released-orbo-for-sale/739957 "2015-12-09T21:09:21Z")
After not thinking about it for years I randomly googled to see how the paradigm-busting, laws-of-thermodynamics-ignoring Orbo is getting on and discovered to my delight that coincidentally they actually put a product on… --- ## [Funny slang/code names for weed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-slang-code-names-for-weed/739940)
**Author:** [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funny-slang-code-names-for-weed/739940 "2015-12-09T19:28:04Z")
There are thousands of ways of referring to marijuana, typically on the sly…what are the funniest/cleverest ones you have heard or used, in the past, of course\*? Two that I remember: A friend told me that his supplier … --- ## [What legal rights do you have to keep something mistakenly delivered to you?(LONG)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-legal-rights-do-you-have-to-keep-something-mistakenly-delivered-to-you-long/739422)
**Author:** [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-legal-rights-do-you-have-to-keep-something-mistakenly-delivered-to-you-long/739422 "2015-12-09T14:27:51Z")
This was something that happened over a decade ago but always wondered about: While I was an assistant manager at a big box store I oversaw the home delivery team. Our driver and helper had returned from making deliveri… --- ## [Aviation Wonders](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aviation-wonders/739914)
**Author:** [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aviation-wonders/739914 "2015-12-09T07:18:48Z")
I just got back from a wonderful flight, and no TSA, security, or long lines waiting to board as I sat in my living space enjoying the wonderful world of being a bird. Yeppers, I’m a geek who wants to fly. (The followi… --- ## [Invisible Pink Unicorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-pink-unicorn/739792)
**Author:** [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-pink-unicorn/739792 "2015-12-09T04:36:58Z")
2 questions: A. Is there some festival or holiday celebrating the IPU that occurs in December? 2. Is there some traditional display or decoration you can put next to the creche display on the courthouse lawn for this h… --- ## [New Ford safety feature ratted out hit & run driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ford-safety-feature-ratted-out-hit-run-driver/739715)
**Author:** [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ford-safety-feature-ratted-out-hit-run-driver/739715 "2015-12-09T01:29:14Z")
Interesting technology, and in this case everything worked out nicely. But since it relies on the internet, I’m wondering if it might be vulnerable to a variation of SWATing. --- ## [Flat tire on San Mateo Bridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-tire-on-san-mateo-bridge/739764)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 9, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flat-tire-on-san-mateo-bridge/739764 "2015-12-09T00:51:31Z")
This happened to me today, fortunately it was about 1:30 pm so traffic was not too heavy. Right rear tire, which made it even harder to deal with on a freeway. The problem was that, on the bridge, there is no pullout la… --- ## [Venezuela sounds like a horrible place to live](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-sounds-like-a-horrible-place-to-live/733470)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-sounds-like-a-horrible-place-to-live/733470 "2015-12-08T22:37:12Z")
I live in Trinidad&Tobago, tiny island nation off the coast of Venezuela. This isn’t a place I’d call exceptional by any means, but to Venezuelans it is an amazing paradise. Not even going by mainstream media articles ju… --- ## [Damn Windows Sounds!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-windows-sounds/739711)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-windows-sounds/739711 "2015-12-08T20:09:55Z")
I have been worried about my hard drive lately because ever since I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I hear a loud click every time I select a folder on my C drive in Windows Explorer. Weeks later I discover that t… --- ## [A neighbor dies: What would you have done?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-neighbor-dies-what-would-you-have-done/739380)
**Author:** [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-neighbor-dies-what-would-you-have-done/739380 "2015-12-08T17:59:49Z")
I was leaving for work on a recent morning when I heard a strange sound, like crying by a woman or a cat. Just outside my door was a woman in full tears; she had just come out of another apartment in the complex. (This … --- ## [My big vocabulary mistake - "fey" does not equal "fay" & neither means exactly what I intended](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-vocabulary-mistake-fey-does-not-equal-fay-neither-means-exactly-what-i-intended/739457)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-big-vocabulary-mistake-fey-does-not-equal-fay-neither-means-exactly-what-i-intended/739457 "2015-12-08T16:38:17Z")
I used the work “fey” here (post 12) to characterize the latest movie interpretation of Superman villain Lex Luthor. On a whim I looked it up “fey” means otherworldly not prancing foppish behavior. The word “fay” mean’… --- ## [The difference between a tortoise and a turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-tortoise-and-a-turtle/739513)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-difference-between-a-tortoise-and-a-turtle/739513 "2015-12-08T16:20:45Z")
No, “helping” land tortoises to the ocean is not a good idea: --- ## [Who's making all this money?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-making-all-this-money/739600)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-making-all-this-money/739600 "2015-12-08T14:14:24Z")
My wife and I dropped by to check out some new homes in our area of Overland Park Kansas ( a suburb of Kansas City). Homes start at around $450,000 and go up to around $700,000 (EXAMPLE) with a couple at over $1 million.… --- ## [Wiki page for HS Football coach Rush Propst - You could not make this stuff up!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624 "2015-12-08T05:48:41Z")
This news item was in Gawker Which led to this wiki page (a HS coach with his own page!) You have to read it to get the full flavor but if someone told me this guy’s story sans corroboration I would think they were lyi… --- ## [Forearm muscle exercises while lying down](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forearm-muscle-exercises-while-lying-down/739753)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forearm-muscle-exercises-while-lying-down/739753 "2015-12-08T05:20:11Z")
Anyone know of a good forearm weight exercise to do while lying down? (For physical reasons it’s best for me not to lift weights in a standing or sitting position.) --- ## [Massive pirate ship treasure found.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massive-pirate-ship-treasure-found/739765)
**Author:** [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 8, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massive-pirate-ship-treasure-found/739765 "2015-12-08T01:23:32Z")
I’m surprised there isn’t a topic on this yet. Columbia found a huge cache of pirate booty. They haven’t gone down to get any of it yet, as far as I know, but they can see it via cameras and that kind of stuff. They se… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=676) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=678)