# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1136 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1137 --- ## [Surround sound perspective](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surround-sound-perspective/962983)
**Author:** [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2022, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surround-sound-perspective/962983 "2022-04-18T09:30:39Z")
Was watching a movie. The actor was sleeping. Close up of her face. There was a distinct sound from my left surround speaker. Representing someone was in the house and it woke her. There was no obvious hint as to what di… --- ## [Transfer of territory from one country to another](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transfer-of-territory-from-one-country-to-another/960848)
**Author:** [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2022, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transfer-of-territory-from-one-country-to-another/960848 "2022-04-18T06:39:54Z")
What are some recent examples (post-WWII) of territory being transferred from one country to another? I’m interested in examples that meet the following criteria: Before the transfer, the territory was recognised by b… --- ## [Anyone speak Mandarin? Weird daily voicemail](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-speak-mandarin-weird-daily-voicemail/962972)
**Author:** [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2022, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-speak-mandarin-weird-daily-voicemail/962972 "2022-04-18T04:59:16Z")
I get a 6 second voicemail from a caller in southern California every day for a couple of weeks now. If I pick up I get the same thing. Anyone know what they’re trying to tell me? Dropbox link to the audio: Dropbox - Fi… --- ## [How do the remaining KMarts stay in business?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-remaining-kmarts-stay-in-business/962739)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-remaining-kmarts-stay-in-business/962739 "2022-04-18T02:53:51Z")
There’s a news item that one of the last remaining KMart stores will be closing this week. When it does, there will be only three KMarts still open. My question is how does this handful of stores stay open? They’re depa… --- ## [A Tiny Victory](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tiny-victory/962812)
**Author:** [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tiny-victory/962812 "2022-04-18T00:53:08Z")
Got lazy and took the dogs out in the Dodge, instead of the Jeep. Dodge stereo is low, right down by the stick-shift. Went to let the Crew out, and they all jumped out the driver door as soon as I got out. Didn’t want th… --- ## [Mulch for a wildflower garden](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mulch-for-a-wildflower-garden/962950)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mulch-for-a-wildflower-garden/962950 "2022-04-18T00:52:48Z")
Zone 5B if that matters I have a wildflower garden that is 1 year old. It is a mixture of bulbs, perennials and annuals (that I hope reseed). I plan on adding more seed in the next week, especially in the bare spots a… --- ## [Adjustable beds: If you have one, I have questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adjustable-beds-if-you-have-one-i-have-questions/962900)
**Author:** [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adjustable-beds-if-you-have-one-i-have-questions/962900 "2022-04-17T22:39:56Z")
I have back problems, as well as asthma and allergies. All together, they’ve got me thinking about an adjustable bed. I’ve seen a range of them from cheap to outrageously expensive so I want to know your experiences: 1.… --- ## [If Russia withdraws from Ukraine, what then?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-russia-withdraws-from-ukraine-what-then/961946)
**Author:** [@Smudge777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smudge777)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-russia-withdraws-from-ukraine-what-then/961946 "2022-04-17T21:43:30Z")
I’ve been contemplating what might be the most favourable exit scenario for Putin. Imagine this. Russia announces, today, that it will be withdrawing its military from the majority of Ukraine, and will hold onto only t… --- ## [Chocolate Easter Eggs - please tell me you do](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chocolate-easter-eggs-please-tell-me-you-do/962819)
**Author:** [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chocolate-easter-eggs-please-tell-me-you-do/962819 "2022-04-17T20:21:53Z")
So I’ve just read something in the twittersphere about Americans not eating chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday. This can’t be so, can it? --- ## [Which DC animated feature was this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dc-animated-feature-was-this/962962)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dc-animated-feature-was-this/962962 "2022-04-17T20:05:34Z")
I believe it was a Justice League movie. It had a scene where the Martian Manhunter was watching tv, and morphing into every face that came on. Thanks! --- ## [Shooting in Pittsburgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-in-pittsburgh/962960)
**Author:** [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-in-pittsburgh/962960 "2022-04-17T19:10:06Z")
Don’t yet know much about it, but an old school friend just marked herself as safe. Here’s the first article I found. I went local to get more info. --- ## [Rock song lyrics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-song-lyrics/962892)
**Author:** [@stosh1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh1)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-song-lyrics/962892 "2022-04-17T19:10:06Z")
Hi guys, I’m trying to think of who does a song. It starts with," Rocking the night. Walking on air. Gonna fine me some ( not sure what is said here). ’ Gonna grab me my share. The other lines I remember are," Take me… --- ## [Electric potential vs. current](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electric-potential-vs-current/962715)
**Author:** [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electric-potential-vs-current/962715 "2022-04-17T18:23:02Z")
I’m not sure if I already know the answer, but sometimes I keep wondering how electrons are involved in this. Maybe I forgot. If you don’t know the difference between potential (volts) and current (ampers) you can amuse… --- ## [Missouri vs. Missoura](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-vs-missoura/180155)
**Author:** [@Bradjam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bradjam)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-vs-missoura/180155 "2022-04-17T16:58:19Z")
Why is it that some folks (mostly senior citizens, it seems like) pronounce Missouri “Missoura” and Hawaii “Awaia”? Is there some sort of basis or reason for this? --- ## [Why aren't squatters considered to be trespassing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-squatters-considered-to-be-trespassing/962911)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-squatters-considered-to-be-trespassing/962911 "2022-04-17T16:51:59Z")
A recent article detailed a house sold near Washington D.C. that came with a squatter in the basement. Indeed, the seller was clear that there was a squatter in the basement and it would be up to the buyer to deal with … --- ## [Buying a house where a murder occurred](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-where-a-murder-occurred/962917)
**Author:** [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-where-a-murder-occurred/962917 "2022-04-17T16:12:32Z")
Just watched a movie where a foreign couple got fooled into buying a house that was the scene of several murders. What are your feelings on the subject? Would you buy a house where a murder occurred? --- ## [What are nesting birds thinking?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-nesting-birds-thinking/962837)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-nesting-birds-thinking/962837 "2022-04-17T15:53:41Z")
A bluebird is carrying moss to our birdhouse, beak by beak, and building a nest. And I got to thinking: what’s he thinking? Animal cognition is, of course, a spectrum. A mating hamster is almost certainly not thinking a… --- ## [Recommend a haggadah for me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-haggadah-for-me/962898)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-haggadah-for-me/962898 "2022-04-17T15:51:30Z")
I have mixed feelings about getting new haggadahs, as my dad was really proud of these. But I’ve never liked them. They are huge. They are full of interpretive readings we never read. They have aggressively ugly art. The… --- ## [Are there "real" cameras that create the Portrait Mode effects of iPhones?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-real-cameras-that-create-the-portrait-mode-effects-of-iphones/962919)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-real-cameras-that-create-the-portrait-mode-effects-of-iphones/962919 "2022-04-17T14:03:10Z")
The later iPhones have a camera mode they call “Portrait” that uses distance data from the phone’s LIDAR sensor (which gives a map of distances over its field of view). Portrait mode identifies a subject distance (typica… --- ## [Advice on displaying a graph visually](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-displaying-a-graph-visually/962277)
**Author:** [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-displaying-a-graph-visually/962277 "2022-04-17T13:55:44Z")
This is a follow-on from my post about the Tower of London test. Using the advice received there I have modeled the problem space as a graph. What I’m looking for now is advice on any existing algorithms for drawing the… --- ## [Fantastic beasts 3](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-beasts-3/956015)
**Author:** [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantastic-beasts-3/956015 "2022-04-17T12:25:14Z")
The new teaser is out and looks good! --- ## [Useless math concepts you were forced to learn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-math-concepts-you-were-forced-to-learn/962578)
**Author:** [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/useless-math-concepts-you-were-forced-to-learn/962578 "2022-04-17T12:15:32Z")
Over in this thread a lot of people seemed to gravitate toward math they were forced to learn. I loved math and learned things that seemed pretty useful—the Pythagorean theorem, for instance. When people say, “Why s… --- ## [Tresspass? What would you have done?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tresspass-what-would-you-have-done/962890)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tresspass-what-would-you-have-done/962890 "2022-04-17T11:48:51Z")
I just dealt with an event at the Grrr household. I’m sitting in my recliner when I noticed my dog acting weird in the back yard. He keeps running up to the patio door looking anxious, then bolts running in circles bark… --- ## [Your greatest sports stories thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-greatest-sports-stories-thread/961168)
**Author:** [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-greatest-sports-stories-thread/961168 "2022-04-17T05:43:18Z")
Sports can reveal character, can tell fabulous stories, and can tell powerfully negative stories (and positive ones too). What are the greatest sports stories to you? Rules and suggestions Rule — Only one story per po… --- ## [Recipe with sour cream and Mandarin oranges](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-with-sour-cream-and-mandarin-oranges/962930)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recipe-with-sour-cream-and-mandarin-oranges/962930 "2022-04-17T04:52:35Z")
I can’t seem to find a recipe online and it’s been over 30 years since I made this, but does anybody recall a recipe with sour cream Mandarin oranges marshmallows walnuts and vanilla, I am not sure what else but those se… --- ## [If Time Doesn't Exist, What Of Time Dilation? And Hyperspheres?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-time-doesnt-exist-what-of-time-dilation-and-hyperspheres/962891)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-time-doesnt-exist-what-of-time-dilation-and-hyperspheres/962891 "2022-04-17T03:05:49Z")
I guess I can tell you why I am posting this question. I am a little perplexed by this article. It proposes that time may not exist. You know, my fellow board members, I am constantly impressed by your intelligence. I’m… --- ## [Chris Rock Low-brow humor and Will Smith's Violent Reaction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chris-rock-low-brow-humor-and-will-smiths-violent-reaction/961960)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 166\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chris-rock-low-brow-humor-and-will-smiths-violent-reaction/961960 "2022-04-17T00:45:09Z")
I’ve always felt that American low-brow humor (“breaking balls”) is truly insulting in so many respects. I don’t know where the need comes from to humiliate people in social situations and then(if the target doesn’t get … --- ## ["Oh beautiful FOR spacious skies..".......why "for"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-for-spacious-skies-why-for/388101)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-beautiful-for-spacious-skies-why-for/388101 "2022-04-16T23:18:44Z")
for the linguists out there: what does the word “for” mean in this poem? A whole list of things which are not just beautiful, they are beautiful “for” something. For spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for pilg… --- ## [USMC uniform question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usmc-uniform-question/962645)
**Author:** [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usmc-uniform-question/962645 "2022-04-16T22:33:43Z")
Yesterday, my wife and I were watching Blue Bloods, season 12 episode 18 (Long Lost). Very soon into the episode, one of the characters is a United States Marine captain in uniform visiting Commissioner Reagan in the com… --- ## [Can basic desert and retributivism be justified under Compatibilism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-basic-desert-and-retributivism-be-justified-under-compatibilism/962933)
**Author:** [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-basic-desert-and-retributivism-be-justified-under-compatibilism/962933 "2022-04-16T22:32:21Z")
From my research into the topic of free will I can support Compatibilism and the idea that the kind of free will worth wanting is where you’re free to act on your desires. Despite this I’m having difficulty understanding… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1135) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1137)