# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1020 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1021 --- ## [Help me pick out a coffee table](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-a-coffee-table/970049)
**Author:** [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-out-a-coffee-table/970049 "2022-08-22T23:26:05Z")
Does anyone have a living room table similar to one of these? Whether or not you do, do you notice interesting/potentially problematic things about them? 1: Amazon.ca 2: Amazon.ca 3: Amazon.ca 4: Amazon.ca 5: Amazon… --- ## [Why Does The Roma/Pavee/Irish Traveler Economy Rely On Scams?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-roma-pavee-irish-traveler-economy-rely-on-scams/970107)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-roma-pavee-irish-traveler-economy-rely-on-scams/970107 "2022-08-22T20:49:46Z")
I’m an administrator of a town gossip/goings-on group in my little corner of Red State America, and recently a guy joined the group and began advertising his duct-cleaning services. However, when members started asking q… --- ## ["The Flash" movie breaks record for a DCEU test screening](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-movie-breaks-record-for-a-dceu-test-screening/970014)
**Author:** [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-movie-breaks-record-for-a-dceu-test-screening/970014 "2022-08-22T20:39:12Z")
According to World of Reel the upcoming Flash movie had the highest score of any test screening of a DCEU movie on 8/11. One reviewer called it "Humorous, thrilling and emotional.” So it looks like Warners has a hit… --- ## [Kaor! I'm from Helium, Barsoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaor-im-from-helium-barsoom/969508)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaor-im-from-helium-barsoom/969508 "2022-08-22T20:24:43Z")
“Kaor! I’m from Helium, Barsoom.” is a comment I made to a Facebook post. Then I got to wondering how well known “kaor” is. I didn’t expect it to be the first result, but kaor as a greeting is nowhere on Google that I co… --- ## [Dirty Dancing's Holy Grail: The origin of the lyrics. . .](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-dancings-holy-grail-the-origin-of-the-lyrics/78944)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-dancings-holy-grail-the-origin-of-the-lyrics/78944 "2022-08-22T18:57:37Z")
To Baby’s annoying sister’s annoying “Hawaiian” song: I think this one is still unsolved. What are the lyrics to that song, and was it written just for the film, or is some ancient Hawaiian song that Ms Brucker deliber… --- ## [Once a university affiliate, always a university affiliate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-a-university-affiliate-always-a-university-affiliate/969847)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-a-university-affiliate-always-a-university-affiliate/969847 "2022-08-22T18:50:53Z")
So, it may seem like an odd question, but it’s become important for some obscure legal reasons (criteria of university affiliation): I participated as a test subject volunteer for some psychological experiments at a uni… --- ## [Is a dating red flag the same as a deal-breaker?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dating-red-flag-the-same-as-a-deal-breaker/969976)
**Author:** [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-dating-red-flag-the-same-as-a-deal-breaker/969976 "2022-08-22T18:45:57Z")
Is a dating red flag the same thing as a deal-breaker? poll I haven’t posted in this thread about home schooling being a red flag for dating, but several posters raised an interesting question that I was also wondering … --- ## [About the "Last Seen" stat in users profiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-last-seen-stat-in-users-profiles/969990)
**Author:** [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-last-seen-stat-in-users-profiles/969990 "2022-08-22T17:07:17Z")
I followed a link to an thread from 2009 which had a lot of former posters in it. In looking at a couple of profiles, I saw that one had a “Last Seen” of August 11, but no posts since 2016. Another had a “Last Seen” of 3… --- ## [What exactly is an oliphaunt?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-an-oliphaunt/969670)
**Author:** [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-an-oliphaunt/969670 "2022-08-22T16:25:30Z")
Every time I’ve read the LOTR trilogy, when Sam and Frodo witness oliphaunts for the first time, I assumed they were elephants and that was just their hick pronunciation. A standard elephant would have been plenty fanta… --- ## [Crypto bro wants divorce settlement reconsidered after his ex-wife's sensible finances hold up better than his crashing coins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crypto-bro-wants-divorce-settlement-reconsidered-after-his-ex-wifes-sensible-finances-hold-up-better-than-his-crashing-coins/970002)
**Author:** [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crypto-bro-wants-divorce-settlement-reconsidered-after-his-ex-wifes-sensible-finances-hold-up-better-than-his-crashing-coins/970002 "2022-08-22T15:55:05Z")
Story is basically in the headline. The guy actually gave his ex-wife his own pension in exchange for holding onto his crypto currency. This comes from a financial advice column here: In case the above is paywalled f… --- ## [Baker's Dozen II (Part 1)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen-ii-part-1/846938)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 9999\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bakers-dozen-ii-part-1/846938 "2022-08-22T15:39:29Z")
Previous thread: Bakers Dozen - Thread Games - Straight Dope Message Board Since the other thread (thanks, Idle Thoughts, for starting it almost ten years ago!) has been loading very slowly for some Dopers, and there’ve… --- ## [Anyone else seeing the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis tonight Aug 17 2022?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-seeing-the-northern-lights-aurora-borealis-tonight-aug-17-2022/969864)
**Author:** [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-seeing-the-northern-lights-aurora-borealis-tonight-aug-17-2022/969864 "2022-08-22T15:16:56Z")
What with encroaching light pollution, it’s been over a decade since I’ve seen them here at my home, at ~43.60 latitude North, still a bit closer to the equator than to the north pole. But my home is on Lake Michigan’s … --- ## [Weird (but not disturbing) things you found funny](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-but-not-disturbing-things-you-found-funny/969967)
**Author:** [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-but-not-disturbing-things-you-found-funny/969967 "2022-08-22T15:12:09Z")
At least once, everybody has come across something seemingly mundane and ordinary that they–and only they–found hilarious for a strange inexplicable reason. In my case, I was once reading a science magazine and came acro… --- ## [Couple Caught Having Sex on a Ferris Wheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-caught-having-sex-on-a-ferris-wheel/969887)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-caught-having-sex-on-a-ferris-wheel/969887 "2022-08-22T14:10:00Z")
--- ## [Instructional Associate Professor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instructional-associate-professor/969664)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instructional-associate-professor/969664 "2022-08-22T13:18:27Z")
So I’ve got a buddy from college who has a PhD and who’s made a career in academia. He used to just be a Lecturer and concentrated on the teaching aspects of his job not the research ones, but he recently switched schoo… --- ## [Quebec road signs: why 230 meters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quebec-road-signs-why-230-meters/968916)
**Author:** [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quebec-road-signs-why-230-meters/968916 "2022-08-22T12:30:30Z")
I recently took a trip to Quebec and one (extremely trivial) thing I noticed was that road signs on the highway often pointed out a potential hazard (e.g. a school bus stop) was coming up in 230 meters. Sometimes it wou… --- ## [RIP, Leon Vitali](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-leon-vitali/970083)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-leon-vitali/970083 "2022-08-22T11:53:39Z")
I see that he has just died. I knew him as Lord Bullingdon in Barry Lyndon and the masked figure in Eyes Wide Shut, but I also remember him as Victor Frankenstein in Terror of Frankenstein, one of the few faithful adapt… --- ## [Jurassic Park: mammalian edition (real life attempt to recreate extinct animals.)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-mammalian-edition-real-life-attempt-to-recreate-extinct-animals/970060)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jurassic-park-mammalian-edition-real-life-attempt-to-recreate-extinct-animals/970060 "2022-08-22T11:21:25Z")
A plan to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction raises questions Tasmanian tiger: The plan to bring 'a dingo with a pouch' back from extinction : NPR Now the “de-extinction” company Colossal Biosciences wants … --- ## [CNN's "Reliable Sources" off the air](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnns-reliable-sources-off-the-air/970040)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnns-reliable-sources-off-the-air/970040 "2022-08-22T10:25:27Z")
Stuff I had no clue of: CNN was recently bought by Warner Bros Discovery. And they had a Sunday show called Reliable Sources that examined and critiqued all news sources for accuracy and honesty, including CNN itself. An… --- ## [Snobby food preferences you had as a kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snobby-food-preferences-you-had-as-a-kid/968647)
**Author:** [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snobby-food-preferences-you-had-as-a-kid/968647 "2022-08-22T07:48:36Z")
A friend was lamenting that her 3-year-old won’t eat the Costco prosciutto any more. She will only eat Serrano ham (which, fortunately, my friend buys at Lidl for not too much). That reminded me that my mother told me I… --- ## [Ignored chores in the MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ignored-chores-in-the-mmp/969680)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 290\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ignored-chores-in-the-mmp/969680 "2022-08-22T06:14:44Z")
I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this - looking around, there are things I know need to be done but I don’t want to do them. Like this pile of papers on my desk to be filed, shredded, or tossed. Or the dusting. Or the wi… --- ## [To Trump or not to Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-trump-or-not-to-trump/969905)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-trump-or-not-to-trump/969905 "2022-08-22T05:53:57Z")
That is, which would be worse at this point: Trump reelected as President in 2024; or a just as authoritarian but shrewder and more competent Republican? --- ## [Do cops not know the law or just don't care?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-not-know-the-law-or-just-dont-care/969276)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-not-know-the-law-or-just-dont-care/969276 "2022-08-22T02:09:36Z")
I figure there is not a FQ answer and this will fall into GD anyways. I see plenty of video where cops will threaten and/or arrest people for legal acts such Not giving ID in a state that does NOT have Stop and ID. “T… --- ## [A question about soon-to-expire milk and no-bake uses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-soon-to-expire-milk-and-no-bake-uses/969989)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-soon-to-expire-milk-and-no-bake-uses/969989 "2022-08-22T01:27:30Z")
For sake of argument, let’s say that the date on a container of milk is actually when it’s going to expire. I know it can be off a few days in either direction, but let’s assume in this case it’s accurate, and you also w… --- ## [Russian version of Starbucks, McDonalds, Renault etc, are the brands operating in bad faith?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-version-of-starbucks-mcdonalds-renault-etc-are-the-brands-operating-in-bad-faith/970029)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-version-of-starbucks-mcdonalds-renault-etc-are-the-brands-operating-in-bad-faith/970029 "2022-08-22T00:46:24Z")
Russia has its own McDonalds (who totally coincidentally operate in the exact same locations) and Starbucks (called Star coffee, as someone said, they had TsarBucks right fucking there). Many of these are interests sold… --- ## [Does Mechanisation and automation actually reduce the number of labourers overall?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mechanisation-and-automation-actually-reduce-the-number-of-labourers-overall/969606)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mechanisation-and-automation-actually-reduce-the-number-of-labourers-overall/969606 "2022-08-22T00:32:44Z")
Sure. At the farm you need less workers now. But the loss of farm workers is surely compensated overtime by the workers needed at the tractor and combine factory, the fertiliser and pesticide plant, and the various shops… --- ## [My Ex-Wife Died. No one told me. A year and ten days ago](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ex-wife-died-no-one-told-me-a-year-and-ten-days-ago/969859)
**Author:** [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 21, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ex-wife-died-no-one-told-me-a-year-and-ten-days-ago/969859 "2022-08-21T23:42:44Z")
I know I’ve not been as present on the 'Dope as I was previously, but, in my mind, there’s no place in the world like the SDMB to air this. My ex-wife died, and although we had no children, and I’m remarried and have ch… --- ## [The Changing Roles of Men and Women in Relationships/Marriage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-changing-roles-of-men-and-women-in-relationships-marriage/970050)
**Author:** [@thescrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thescrr)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 21, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-changing-roles-of-men-and-women-in-relationships-marriage/970050 "2022-08-21T22:24:55Z")
So the typical and traditional model of a male/female relationship/marriage is usually that the man is the provider, the breadwinner, the one who will secure the woman financially and take care of her because he usually … --- ## [What's "stupid"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-stupid/969848)
**Author:** [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [August 21, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-stupid/969848 "2022-08-21T21:24:59Z")
I get a lot of pushback when I call MAGA people “stupid”. If they aren’t “stupid”, then what is “stupid” to you? --- ## [Where Is This Greek Island (With An Impossibly Dangerous Airport Next To Tourists)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-this-greek-island-with-an-impossibly-dangerous-airport-next-to-tourists/969952)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [August 21, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-this-greek-island-with-an-impossibly-dangerous-airport-next-to-tourists/969952 "2022-08-21T20:58:51Z")
Apparently Maho Beach in Aruba is not the only place in the world with an airport so close to publicly-accessible areas that planes fly feet above observers’ heads. According to this video, there’s one in Greece, but the… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1019) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1021)