# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1185 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1186 --- ## [How would Russia be a military threat against Sweden if it joined NATO?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-russia-be-a-military-threat-against-sweden-if-it-joined-nato/960211)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-russia-be-a-military-threat-against-sweden-if-it-joined-nato/960211 "2022-02-28T07:35:32Z")
According to this recent news story Russian spokespersons have said ““It’s obvious that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, which is first of all a military organization, it will entail serious military-political consequenc… --- ## [How do you compare standards of living across generations?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-compare-standards-of-living-across-generations/958367)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-compare-standards-of-living-across-generations/958367 "2022-02-28T05:23:51Z")
This morning I was reading a letter from my uncle, describing his youth in a smallish city in Iowa in the 1930s-40s. Compared to today, it reads like something from “Little House on the Prairie” - or at least “A Christm… --- ## [The days are getting longer in the MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-days-are-getting-longer-in-the-mmp/959869)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 271\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-days-are-getting-longer-in-the-mmp/959869 "2022-02-28T05:20:53Z")
Still a month till the Vernal Equinox, but I am enjoying the later sunset time hereabouts. For one thing, night driving is an issue for me, so I’m getting a little more time to go places later in the day if I have to. An… --- ## [Florida Man charged with stealing Speaker's podium](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 166\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157 "2022-02-28T04:24:11Z")
Thought it might be useful to have a thread to track the steady grinding of the wheels of the law following the insurrection at the Capitol: And then there’s Desk Man, who has got the US Postal Police on his tail, for… --- ## [The Omicron Variant](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134)
**Author:** [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Replies:** 539\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134 "2022-02-28T04:22:17Z")
So, 8 countries in Southern Africa are now on the restricted travel list because of a new and significantly mutated variant called, Omicron. Will it be as troublesome as Delta or more or less so? I’m hoping we can get … --- ## [Thinking about ears - yours and mine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-ears-yours-and-mine/959801)
**Author:** [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-ears-yours-and-mine/959801 "2022-02-28T03:25:28Z")
If this forum is good for anything, it must be good for this. What is your opinion of ears? Do you like them as they are, or given the power would you redesign them for the species? Yes, they are very useful for hearing … --- ## [Have You Experienced Culture Shock Moving Within Your Own Country?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-experienced-culture-shock-moving-within-your-own-country/947268)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 115\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-experienced-culture-shock-moving-within-your-own-country/947268 "2022-02-28T01:28:45Z")
I have. And I just moved one state over! I think, though, that the difference is more urban vs. rural than Illinois vs. Missouri (I lived in a city of 130,000 vs. a town of 800). Anyway, time is meaningless here. Someon… --- ## [Does Vatican City Have Dual Citizenship?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-vatican-city-have-dual-citizenship/960193)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2022, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-vatican-city-have-dual-citizenship/960193 "2022-02-28T00:43:13Z")
Obviously not. But I’m joking to bring up a point. Vatican City is a sovereign country. I think Mussolini (ironically) signed the treaty. But it is also properly part of the city of Rome, which is Italy. How can it be … --- ## [Ugly, ridiculous, impractical buildings that you still think are awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877)
**Author:** [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877 "2022-02-27T23:30:37Z")
The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang gets a lot of well-deserved criticism. NK doesn’t have the money for it, Pyongyang probably doesn’t really need 3000 hotel rooms, it’s never going to be finished, it’s basically a glorifi… --- ## [Could Victorian workhouses sell off orphan children?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-victorian-workhouses-sell-off-orphan-children/959990)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-victorian-workhouses-sell-off-orphan-children/959990 "2022-02-27T23:24:44Z")
In Victorian England, a workhouse was an institution where the indigent, including orphan children, were set to work in exchange for being housed and fed. In the 1968 film Oliver!, the title character is a child inmate … --- ## [Dream universes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dream-universes/960166)
**Author:** [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dream-universes/960166 "2022-02-27T23:10:52Z")
Does anyone else have dream universes? My dreams are highly narrative, and usually pretty coherent. A lot of them are not so much recurring (although there are many recurring motifs) as sequential. There are a handful o… --- ## [Do people "raise" bees or "keep" bees?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-raise-bees-or-keep-bees/959828)
**Author:** [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-raise-bees-or-keep-bees/959828 "2022-02-27T22:00:38Z")
I’m writing an article and I’m just not sure which is correct to use. They have the hives in their backyard and harvest the honey-My money is on “keep” as in “beekeeper.” --- ## [Florida Movie Theater Shooting Leaves One Dead In Altercation Over Texting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-movie-theater-shooting-leaves-one-dead-in-altercation-over-texting/678717)
**Author:** [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Replies:** 337\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-movie-theater-shooting-leaves-one-dead-in-altercation-over-texting/678717 "2022-02-27T20:32:21Z")
According to the following news story: Two couples were seated in a movie theatre watching the movie “Lone Survivor”. One of the couples was seated behind the other. One of the couple in front was texting and apparen… --- ## [Military spending versus humanity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-spending-versus-humanity/960192)
**Author:** [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-spending-versus-humanity/960192 "2022-02-27T20:31:16Z")
I’m always impressed and educated by Dopers who have extensive historical and contemporary knowledge about weapons, from atlatls to space lasers. Does anyone care to speculate on what the planet would look like if all th… --- ## ['How goes the war?' - Phrase origin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-goes-the-war-phrase-origin/960187)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-goes-the-war-phrase-origin/960187 "2022-02-27T18:22:27Z")
Several times in my life, though not at all recently, I’ve heard ‘How goes the war?’ used as a secondary greeting; as in: ‘Good morning, Bob. How goes the war?’ Where does the phrase originate? ‘How goes the night?’ i… --- ## [Traits, structures, or behaviors unique to a single species](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-structures-or-behaviors-unique-to-a-single-species/960028)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-structures-or-behaviors-unique-to-a-single-species/960028 "2022-02-27T17:56:00Z")
There are quite a few traits and behaviors that are unique to humans - writing comes to mind. It seems to me that this is different from human language, which is arguably (or not!) different from other animal acoustic co… --- ## [Help needed: Laptop display problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-laptop-display-problem/960120)
**Author:** [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-laptop-display-problem/960120 "2022-02-27T15:52:15Z")
I’m in a bit of a pickle, and I need some help. Here’s the situation: I have a new job. It’s work-from-home so I’ve been given a laptop. To do my job properly I need to have a dozen different programs open at once. The … --- ## [New Twist on Pentago](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-twist-on-pentago/960180)
**Author:** [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-twist-on-pentago/960180 "2022-02-27T05:39:04Z")
This morning I was browsing one of China’s online shopping sites (because I was bored, I guess) and ran across one of my favorite games, Pentago–or so I thought at first glance. I looked more closely and it turns out to … --- ## [How quickly will dietary changes show up in bloodwork?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-will-dietary-changes-show-up-in-bloodwork/960110)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quickly-will-dietary-changes-show-up-in-bloodwork/960110 "2022-02-27T11:54:54Z")
I’ve tried googling this, but maybe I don’t use the right terms. But consider two cases: 1 - You generally have a healthy diet, but you just got back from vacation - 2 weeks of rich foods and lots of sweets. Will your… --- ## [Question about 2/26/22's "SNL" opener](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-2-26-22s-snl-opener/960181)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-2-26-22s-snl-opener/960181 "2022-02-27T09:48:30Z")
Did that choir sing the Ukrainian national anthem? I’m assuming they did. It was a beautiful job they did, whatever it was. --- ## [RIP Sally Kellerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sally-kellerman/960078)
**Author:** [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sally-kellerman/960078 "2022-02-27T09:32:30Z")
Best known for playing Hot Lips Houlihan in the movie version of MAS\*H. She was 84. --- ## [Ukraine - UN Art 51 (collective self-defense)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-un-art-51-collective-self-defense/960167)
**Author:** [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ukraine-un-art-51-collective-self-defense/960167 "2022-02-27T08:24:50Z")
I haven’t seen this, not just here, but anywhere. Maybe I’m not looking all that well. I’m just seeing NATO stuff, but nothing re: United Nations. Two questions, one factual, one debatable. (1) Can a country come to … --- ## [Why does graphite have high emissivity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-graphite-have-high-emissivity/959956)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-graphite-have-high-emissivity/959956 "2022-02-27T08:10:56Z")
Why does graphite have high emissivity? Infrared spectroscopy studies molecular structure by detecting resonances of atoms or atomic groups that swing back and forth, or twist, or go in and out, along their atomic bond … --- ## [Warming ovens?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warming-ovens/960103)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warming-ovens/960103 "2022-02-27T05:05:10Z")
Every oven I have dealt with in my memory has a lowest temperature setting of 170 F. But temperatures like 110 or 120 would be perfect for rising bread or making yogurt. If there is an stove with a low temperature, you… --- ## [Teeth whiteners (home versions) - Anyone have success with them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teeth-whiteners-home-versions-anyone-have-success-with-them/959774)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teeth-whiteners-home-versions-anyone-have-success-with-them/959774 "2022-02-27T01:01:17Z")
I used a home teeth whitener a while back and I was hard pressed to notice much of a difference. What improvement I did see (which may well have been in my imagination) seemed to go away pretty quickly once I stopped usi… --- ## [Why won't my Gmail display?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gmail-display/960168)
**Author:** [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wont-my-gmail-display/960168 "2022-02-27T00:15:41Z")
It shows my mail in my various tabs, but when an individual email is clicked, this is what I get: clicking on View Messages doesn’t get it to display. Rebooting didn’t either. anyo… --- ## [Good veggie hot dogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-veggie-hot-dogs/960077)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-veggie-hot-dogs/960077 "2022-02-26T23:49:50Z")
Morningstar Farms used to have a very good vegetarian hot dog, you could cook them on a grill or the microwave and they both tasted good. Morningstar Farms has a bad habit of discontinuing all the products I like and ke… --- ## [Okay, what THE HELL is this object on Mars?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-what-the-hell-is-this-object-on-mars/960128)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-what-the-hell-is-this-object-on-mars/960128 "2022-02-26T21:16:23Z")
--- ## [The death of exes and former lovers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-exes-and-former-lovers/958861)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-exes-and-former-lovers/958861 "2022-02-26T21:09:42Z")
Yesterday I heard from the daughter of a former boyfriend (2002-2008) that he had died peacefully in his sleep. He was 71 (I’m 73). That relationship was fraught on its best day, and I can’t explain why I stayed in it as… --- ## [Who would you really want on your side in a pinch?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-really-want-on-your-side-in-a-pinch/959833)
**Author:** [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-really-want-on-your-side-in-a-pinch/959833 "2022-02-26T20:51:41Z")
If it’s a physical violence threat situation, probably Jack Reacher or Travis McGee (though of course they are smart too). If it’s more of a physics threat, McAndrew (from the Charles Sheffield books), or Bruno de Tawag… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1184) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1186)