# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=103&state=tracking [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 104 --- ## [My Weird Commercial crushes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-weird-commercial-crushes/1029439)
**Author:** [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-weird-commercial-crushes/1029439 "2026-04-25T20:22:21Z")
Over the years I have developed weird crushes on actresses in commercials. At one point I was devoted to Flo from Progressive (Stephanie Courtney), which has waned a bit as she has matured, but I am delighted that she s… --- ## [Name that television cartoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-television-cartoon/1029549)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-television-cartoon/1029549 "2026-04-25T18:51:43Z")
I was watching Otherworlds TV on Roku this morning and this blast from the past occurred. The cartoons were about 3 1/2 minutes long and in color, and there were about 100 of them in total. A single story consisted of … --- ## [What is this shower for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-shower-for/1029472)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 120\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-shower-for/1029472 "2026-04-25T18:50:56Z")
I like to browse through real estate listings and look at the pictures of houses that are for sale. I just saw this one. This appears to be an open shower stall next to a… --- ## [Posts that aged poorly](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-that-aged-poorly/1029503)
**Author:** [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-that-aged-poorly/1029503 "2026-04-25T18:33:23Z")
Here’s a thread for SDMB posts proven wrong by history. I’ll start with one of mine that I noticed today when I was looking for something else Oops… --- ## [University of Maryland scientists have created a fart-tracking device. Any volunteers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485)
**Author:** [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-of-maryland-scientists-have-created-a-fart-tracking-device-any-volunteers/1029485 "2026-04-25T17:22:30Z")
The title pretty well says it all. Researchers at U of M have created a 3-D printed device that fits in your underwear and counts the number of farts you release over a period of time. Smart Underwear is able to track… --- ## [Rick Nelson trivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474 "2026-04-25T16:36:43Z")
Today I found out that actor Mark Harmon’s sister was married to Rick Nelson. --- ## [Bad, bad, bad: Exit stage...left!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-exit-stage-left/1029523)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-exit-stage-left/1029523 "2026-04-25T07:46:20Z")
Sitting on the deck this morning I heard Son-of-a-wrek squeal like a teenager. Not really alarmed. He often expresses himself, thus. Mid-dau stepped out and said: “Wut!?” I just shook my head. He comes running up the… --- ## [Looking for the last Stephen Colbert shirt](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-the-last-stephen-colbert-shirt/1029542)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-the-last-stephen-colbert-shirt/1029542 "2026-04-25T04:15:41Z")
The are 8 billion and 3 companies selling the “official” The Last Show With Stephen Colbert shirt, and I would like to know which one is legit. --- ## [How would we look differently (evolution for 2025 tasks)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-we-look-differently-evolution-for-2025-tasks/1029394)
**Author:** [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-we-look-differently-evolution-for-2025-tasks/1029394 "2026-04-25T02:35:08Z")
Hi there, spin-off from the bi-pedal robotics thread here: there is (at least some) agreement that it does not make sense “copying” the human body (HB) in robotics, as the HB did evolve over 1000s of generation and so… --- ## [Russian Doll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529)
**Author:** [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529 "2026-04-25T00:24:45Z")
Russian Doll is a series on Netflix with two seasons. The first one was great writing. The second season was a hot mess in my opinion, but the final episode was absolutely beautiful. Can anyone think of a similar serie… --- ## [On the End of Wars (But not War)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-end-of-wars-but-not-war/1029524)
**Author:** [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-end-of-wars-but-not-war/1029524 "2026-04-24T23:58:30Z")
Continuing the discussion from Legal authority of US government in post-WW2 Japan: Here, people can feel free to discuss all manners of wars which may or may not have ended depending on how technical or pedantic you wan… --- ## [My son's experience with ChatGPT](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sons-experience-with-chatgpt/1029538)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-sons-experience-with-chatgpt/1029538 "2026-04-24T23:44:36Z")
My son once published a book on debugging. It contained 50 programs, 10 each in 5 different programming languages, each supposed to contain exactly one bug that student/reader was expected to find. There was a lot of t… --- ## [Mini PC - evolution in form, or fried components waiting to happen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-pc-evolution-in-form-or-fried-components-waiting-to-happen/1029509)
**Author:** [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-pc-evolution-in-form-or-fried-components-waiting-to-happen/1029509 "2026-04-24T21:56:43Z")
I’ve always been a desktop PC guy, but I notice that the lower priced segment of the market are increasingly given over to the book-size mini units. Many of them tout “silent running,” which indicates they don’t have a f… --- ## [Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas has died at 81](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conductor-michael-tilson-thomas-has-died-at-81/1029522)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conductor-michael-tilson-thomas-has-died-at-81/1029522 "2026-04-24T20:18:40Z")
Okay, maybe this won’t be a big deal to all that many people on this board or elsewhere… but I followed Thomas’s whole career because he was only four years older than me. I was like watching that kid in the class ahea… --- ## [IPOs and lock-up period, how to reduce risk?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipos-and-lock-up-period-how-to-reduce-risk/1029527)
**Author:** [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ipos-and-lock-up-period-how-to-reduce-risk/1029527 "2026-04-24T17:56:28Z")
Say one has some SpaceX stock, subject to an x day lockout period, but they believe that the share price will be less than the initial IPO price after x days. Or even if it’s not, they’d prefer to lose any gains over tak… --- ## [Why did they drop "Junior High" in favor of "Middle School"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-drop-junior-high-in-favor-of-middle-school/808636)
**Author:** [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Replies:** 102\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-drop-junior-high-in-favor-of-middle-school/808636 "2026-04-24T17:03:19Z")
A long time ago elementary school was K-8 and high school was 9-12. Then junior high appeared for 7-8 or 6-8 or 7-9 depending on school district. Now it’s middle school for nominally 6-8. YDMV. When did this change ta… --- ## [Browser Pickiness as a Factor in Driving Folks Away](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browser-pickiness-as-a-factor-in-driving-folks-away/1029356)
**Author:** [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browser-pickiness-as-a-factor-in-driving-folks-away/1029356 "2026-04-24T16:14:18Z")
Speaking strictly for myself, my everyday web browser is no longer compatible with the requirements of this board. There’s not a single website I also go to that rejects my standard web browser. Presumably, the people … --- ## [What is Cow Chow ice cream supposed to be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cow-chow-ice-cream-supposed-to-be/1029067)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cow-chow-ice-cream-supposed-to-be/1029067 "2026-04-24T15:37:41Z")
Because I’ve never shied away from dealing with the big issues. Hood has a flavor of ice cream they have named Cow Chow. They describe the flavor as “corn cereal”. Obviously Hood didn’t want to pay for licensing rights… --- ## [2025 college football season thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2025-college-football-season-thread/1022628)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 418\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2025-college-football-season-thread/1022628 "2026-04-24T15:11:26Z")
Not sure if there was already a thread for this. After all that hype, the Longhorns laid an egg and lost to the Buckeyes, 14-7. Arch Manning had a bad debut. No. 8 Alabama was also stunned on the road at Florida State.… --- ## [Vagrancy laws– cash requirement to avoid?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vagrancy-laws-cash-requirement-to-avoid/1029431)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vagrancy-laws-cash-requirement-to-avoid/1029431 "2026-04-23T22:44:52Z")
At one point especially in the post-Civil War South there were vagrancy laws, for example the one in Virginia passed in 1866. I thought that at least some of these laws specified a dollar amount of cash one could be in p… --- ## [Tell me what the appeal is about the Libertarian Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-the-appeal-is-about-the-libertarian-party/1028769)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 90\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-the-appeal-is-about-the-libertarian-party/1028769 "2026-04-23T21:32:24Z")
Oftimes it is said that people should vote for the Libertarian Party because the other two major parties are pretty much the same…or even that the Republicans are actually “liberal”. Without talking about what is suppos… --- ## [Explain these Family Guy jokes to me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-family-guy-jokes-to-me/1029476)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-family-guy-jokes-to-me/1029476 "2026-04-23T19:28:41Z")
I never got these two jokes on Family Guy: Referring to Rick Astley as a gay guy and Doug Henning hoping he doesn’t get AIDS. What exactly are the jokes supposed to be? --- ## [Fire Alarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-alarms/1029451)
**Author:** [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-alarms/1029451 "2026-04-23T18:11:21Z")
We had a visit from our local Fire and Rescue Service yesterday. They checked our fire alarms and found them wanting, so they replaced them with new ones with batteries that will last ten years. The CO alarm in the kitch… --- ## [At 1:45pm (Eastern Daylight Time) I dropped my tax returns into an official US mail box](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-1-45pm-eastern-daylight-time-i-dropped-my-tax-returns-into-an-official-us-mail-box/1029247)
**Author:** [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-1-45pm-eastern-daylight-time-i-dropped-my-tax-returns-into-an-official-us-mail-box/1029247 "2026-04-23T17:36:29Z")
IOW, almost 60 hours before the deadline! Wahoo! (Any remaining slackers out there I can justly look down upon and sneer?) --- ## [Looking for an SF story](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-sf-story/1029501)
**Author:** [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-an-sf-story/1029501 "2026-04-23T16:18:09Z")
Short story, I think. Probably between 1955 and 1970? People have two separate personalities: an ‘uber’ and an ‘alter’ (probably not the actual terms in the story?) which alternate. Maybe daily or weekly? The two are… --- ## [Pride & Prejudice - why not Mary and Mr. Collins?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pride-prejudice-why-not-mary-and-mr-collins/458018)
**Author:** [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pride-prejudice-why-not-mary-and-mr-collins/458018 "2026-04-23T12:53:12Z")
It’s obvious that Lizzie and Mr. Collins would never have made a match. But why didn’t Mrs. Bennet steer him towards Mary? Yes, she’s a younger daughter, but it would keep the estate in the family and the two of them cou… --- ## [In Beetle Bailey what was up with the weird officer's helmets?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-beetle-bailey-what-was-up-with-the-weird-officers-helmets/1029368)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-beetle-bailey-what-was-up-with-the-weird-officers-helmets/1029368 "2026-04-23T11:32:46Z")
First they didn’t look like helmets but rather just globes on people’s heads, but I chalk that up to artistic style. But they were red on top white on bottom with a giant officers rank symbol in the dead center of it, t… --- ## [Know any smaller bands you think need more recognition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-any-smaller-bands-you-think-need-more-recognition/1028900)
**Author:** [@Hajis\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hajis_Kitchen)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-any-smaller-bands-you-think-need-more-recognition/1028900 "2026-04-23T11:19:29Z")
Got to go to a small music show with a couple of awesome bands, i really liked Filth and 9 Dead, but i wanna also get some music recommendations from any bands that also might be under the radar. --- ## [Could home (whiskey) distilling cause low blood pressure and a heart attack?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-home-whiskey-distilling-cause-low-blood-pressure-and-a-heart-attack/1029209)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-home-whiskey-distilling-cause-low-blood-pressure-and-a-heart-attack/1029209 "2026-04-23T10:36:30Z")
A late, former coworker died a couple of years ago. I think he was 62 or 63. He was taken to the ER and was found to have low blood pressure. He was admitted, and died of a heart attack a couple/few days later. He ha… --- ## [Sticking your neck out: hard to beat this guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-neck-out-hard-to-beat-this-guy/1029155)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2026, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-neck-out-hard-to-beat-this-guy/1029155 "2026-04-23T08:34:39Z")
From the introduction to a 2004 book “It may be too late. Economic malaise in the Arab world is so advanced and Arab regimes so inept and corrupt that some kind of revolution could be inevitable – perhaps even desirable… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=102&state=tracking) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=104&state=tracking)