# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1170 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1171 --- ## [What public "formalities" do you favor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-public-formalities-do-you-favor/960920)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 137\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-public-formalities-do-you-favor/960920 "2022-03-15T02:46:26Z")
Inspired by the MPSIMS thread about the fired Asst Principal, and a previous one about men taking their hats off at the table. When I was younger, it seemed there were a lot more “rules” regarding public conduct/interac… --- ## [Are "Vladimir" and "Volodymyr" variants of the same name?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-vladimir-and-volodymyr-variants-of-the-same-name/960955)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-vladimir-and-volodymyr-variants-of-the-same-name/960955 "2022-03-15T01:42:17Z")
As in the title of the thread. Do Putin and Zelenskyy have the same given name? --- ## [What would happen if every single defendant insisted on going to trial rather than plead guilty?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-every-single-defendant-insisted-on-going-to-trial-rather-than-plead-guilty/961006)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-every-single-defendant-insisted-on-going-to-trial-rather-than-plead-guilty/961006 "2022-03-15T01:12:59Z")
The right to trial is guaranteed by the Constitution, however, over 90% of cases end in a guilty plea in order to get the defendant a lighter sentence and save the prosecution the time and expense of going to trial. Now… --- ## [Happy "PI Day" everyone!!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-pi-day-everyone/849498)
**Author:** [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-pi-day-everyone/849498 "2022-03-15T00:42:44Z")
Yes here it is March 14th once again, and everyone around the world is frantically celebrating “π Day”. Happy “Pi Day” to everyone at the Straight Dope Message Board. --- ## [Tried watching a nuclear war movie every night for a week](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tried-watching-a-nuclear-war-movie-every-night-for-a-week/960946)
**Author:** [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tried-watching-a-nuclear-war-movie-every-night-for-a-week/960946 "2022-03-15T00:06:34Z")
With the world events being what they are these days, my wife and I (she, half-heartedly) decided to watch a different movie every night with the theme of nuclear war. I researched different lists of “Best of” nuclear wa… --- ## [Russia's future](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-future/960670)
**Author:** [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 15, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-future/960670 "2022-03-15T00:01:40Z")
These are decisive days for 44 million Ukrainians. They might also be decisive for 144 million Russians. Facing severe international sanctions, Putin appears to be taking Russia toward economic isolation and even harsh… --- ## [How does one become a continuity person?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-become-a-continuity-person/961042)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-become-a-continuity-person/961042 "2022-03-14T23:39:56Z")
In the credits of any major feature film there will usually be one or more people listed under “continuity”. As I understand it, continuity people report to the script supervisor, and are responsible for keeping track o… --- ## [The too tough to die MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-too-tough-to-die-mmp/960604)
**Author:** [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Replies:** 338\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-too-tough-to-die-mmp/960604 "2022-03-14T23:18:09Z")
I’m up and decided to name it in honor of the aforementioned cat of mine … who trying her damnedest to ignore what is wrong with her as much as she can … So here we go! --- ## [Assuming no WMD are used, how long will this impact the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-no-wmd-are-used-how-long-will-this-impact-the-world/960945)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-no-wmd-are-used-how-long-will-this-impact-the-world/960945 "2022-03-14T22:39:36Z")
So let’s say that the whole Russia-Ukraine war is over in a year or two and, at best, Russia magically completely withdraws its forces and leaves Ukraine as an independent but bombed to smithereens country. Vast amounts… --- ## [Actors/actresses that you consistently fail to recognize](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-that-you-consistently-fail-to-recognize/843211)
**Author:** [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-that-you-consistently-fail-to-recognize/843211 "2022-03-14T22:00:38Z")
There have been lots of ads out for the Stephen King movie “Doctor Sleep”. And every time I see one, I think that the guy in the trailer looks really familiar but I can’t quite place him. So I finally looked the movie up… --- ## [\*Impeachment\* on hulu](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-on-hulu/961055)
**Author:** [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeachment-on-hulu/961055 "2022-03-14T21:55:24Z")
Did Impeachment just disappear from hulu? All but ep01? Or is it somehow just me? --- ## [Do you remember Flying Toasters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-flying-toasters/960989)
**Author:** [@Midnight\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Midnight_Shadow)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remember-flying-toasters/960989 "2022-03-14T21:45:24Z")
In the mid-1990s, I got a corporate office job. And the computer at my desk had an option for screen savers. These were animated images that appeared on a screen when the computer was not being actively used. Supposed… --- ## [What if Sicily and Tasmania swapped places?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-sicily-and-tasmania-swapped-places/960972)
**Author:** [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-sicily-and-tasmania-swapped-places/960972 "2022-03-14T21:19:38Z")
Okay, as I was typing that topic heading, Discourse insisted on popping up one of its desperate little pleas for attention: “Your topic is similar to… Simulated typewriter typeface in Microsoft Word?” which it is not i… --- ## [Another post about high medical costs - gallstone removal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-post-about-high-medical-costs-gallstone-removal/960906)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-post-about-high-medical-costs-gallstone-removal/960906 "2022-03-14T20:24:32Z")
I supposed I should be used to this but this time it really puzzles me. I had two gallstones removed. No actual surgery. They inserted an endoscope to view the bile duct and pulled the stones out with a catheter with an … --- ## [Bill Gates & Covid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-covid/959962)
**Author:** [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-covid/959962 "2022-03-14T20:18:52Z")
For some reason, his name comes up a lot in media reporting and discussion of the pandemic. Some of it is from conspiracy theorists with various theories of what his sinister role is, but much of it is from the MSM, and … --- ## [South Korea is having a very mysterious Covid outbreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korea-is-having-a-very-mysterious-covid-outbreak/961003)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/south-korea-is-having-a-very-mysterious-covid-outbreak/961003 "2022-03-14T20:08:33Z")
At 86% vaccinated, South Korea is one of the most-vaxxed nations in the world, yet it’s experiencing a ferocious 300,000-new-cases-per-day outbreak at the moment - an insane rate for a nation whose population is but 50 m… --- ## [What happened to war?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-war/961027)
**Author:** [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-war/961027 "2022-03-14T19:47:56Z")
Putting this in General Questions as I am looking for a …cold…analysis. Yes, war is bad. Yes, people get hurt. That is not what I am looking for. I have a casual interest in history, particularly military. It seems … --- ## [Getting an FBI background check done again, can they use old fingerprints?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-fbi-background-check-done-again-can-they-use-old-fingerprints/960862)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-an-fbi-background-check-done-again-can-they-use-old-fingerprints/960862 "2022-03-14T19:14:54Z")
This could go into either Factual Questions or MPSIMS, it is rather mundane indeed: Four years ago in 2018, I had a fingerprint background check done with the FBI for job purposes. This year, I need to get a fresh new b… --- ## [Increased negativity towards more recent movies/TV shows](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-negativity-towards-more-recent-movies-tv-shows/960907)
**Author:** [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increased-negativity-towards-more-recent-movies-tv-shows/960907 "2022-03-14T18:03:23Z")
I’ve noticed something when it comes to certain nerd-type genres (I used the term lovingly as I am one) and the increased negativity in reviews and reactions to new and more recent shows/movies. I’m talking about the sup… --- ## [Happy "Pi Day"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-pi-day/961016)
**Author:** [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-pi-day/961016 "2022-03-14T17:25:48Z")
Happy “Pi Day” Everyone As we all know “pi” equals 3.14159265… which can be rounded down to 3.14 If we consider those 3 digits, then it could also be interpreted as March 14th. Incidentally, March 14th is Albert Einst… --- ## [The Poetry of Donald J. Trump -- NPR Interview Edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poetry-of-donald-j-trump-npr-interview-edition/957655)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poetry-of-donald-j-trump-npr-interview-edition/957655 "2022-03-14T16:44:32Z")
We’ve been deprived of examples of Mr. Trump’s free verse because they no longer issues transcripts of his statements, and he’s been banned from Social media. You really can’t count the written communiques – they don’t e… --- ## [Do game stores remove original Xbox clock capacitors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-game-stores-remove-original-xbox-clock-capacitors/961000)
**Author:** [@CastletonSnob1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob1)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-game-stores-remove-original-xbox-clock-capacitors/961000 "2022-03-14T16:42:45Z")
I got an original Xbox back in December, and I’ve been told that if I get an original Xbox, I need to get the clock capacitor removed. Well, it’s been 3 months and I still haven’t done so, partially because the weather h… --- ## [ID this arcade game](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-arcade-game/960922)
**Author:** [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-arcade-game/960922 "2022-03-14T15:38:10Z")
You were a gladiator, and you kept moving to the side, gradually losing pieces of armor. The joystick lets you move your shield up and down. It was pretty detailed, from what I recall. --- ## [Zorro must be pissed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zorro-must-be-pissed/960892)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zorro-must-be-pissed/960892 "2022-03-14T15:21:13Z")
The letter “Z” is cropping up on a lot of things lately, evidently as a pro-Ukraine Invasion thing in Russia. I’ve seen two articles about it so far, reporting on its showing up everywhere (including an Olympic gymnast’s… --- ## [Heavy Metal (1981)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-1981/960871)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-1981/960871 "2022-03-14T14:42:00Z")
I’m watching Heavy Metal (1981). I read Heavy Metal in the '80s and '90s, so I have a fondness for the film. Also it has a great soundtrack. Admittedly, the Grimaldi story that is supposed to tie everything together … --- ## [A Question About Thunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-thunder/960962)
**Author:** [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-thunder/960962 "2022-03-14T13:18:49Z")
How much does the surrounding landscape affect how thunder sounds to us? If located on a flat plain, will the boom have a less resonate sound than thunder heard in a valley? What about someplace with a decent covering … --- ## [If the US were to wage war against Canada and Mexico, what would the world do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-were-to-wage-war-against-canada-and-mexico-what-would-the-world-do/960933)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-us-were-to-wage-war-against-canada-and-mexico-what-would-the-world-do/960933 "2022-03-14T10:48:11Z")
It’s 2034, and a couple of years ago the US somehow decided to go with the Manifest Destiny candidate, now president Shora Expande. President Expande has never been shy about their desire to deliver to the US the one thi… --- ## [I Pit Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aspidistra/960847)
**Author:** [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Replies:** 132\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-aspidistra/960847 "2022-03-14T10:34:11Z")
I just tried to open an ATMB thread to discuss a question I had about a recent post of Aspidistra’s, which I was specifically encouraged to do by a mod, puzzlegal, when I approached her with my question. But now another … --- ## [Logical design that is also garbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/logical-design-that-is-also-garbage/960941)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/logical-design-that-is-also-garbage/960941 "2022-03-14T06:46:33Z")
The Kia “infotainment” system’s radio looks like this: You can use the buttons on the steering wheel to change radio stations. Pressing :arrow\_down: moves you down the list. Pressing… --- ## [Russian attack of nuclear power plant could have caused major catastrophe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-attack-of-nuclear-power-plant-could-have-caused-major-catastrophe/960911)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 14, 2022, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-attack-of-nuclear-power-plant-could-have-caused-major-catastrophe/960911 "2022-03-14T06:24:16Z")
Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster Video footage of the attack shows that Russians shelled the main power plant, not just outlying buildings, and turned away Ukrainia… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1169) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1171)