# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1208 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1209 --- ## [How would you outfit a private rail car?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-outfit-a-private-rail-car/948454)
**Author:** [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-outfit-a-private-rail-car/948454 "2022-02-04T14:57:39Z")
I was thinking about a luxurious, relaxing and fun way to travel the U.S.A and a private rail car came to mind. My private car would have a kitchen, living room, video theater, upper deck with easy chairs and observing … --- ## [What happened to the Chinese economy since 2008?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-chinese-economy-since-2008/958874)
**Author:** [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-chinese-economy-since-2008/958874 "2022-02-04T14:26:11Z")
I am writing a report about trade on a particular high-value wildlife commodity from Canada to China in the years 2007-2021. Trade boomed from 2008-2013, peaking in 2012-2013 at approximately 300 items per year, then sud… --- ## [Are any of your vehicle lights burned out?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-your-vehicle-lights-burned-out/958795)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-your-vehicle-lights-burned-out/958795 "2022-02-04T14:05:46Z")
Last night, for the 3rd time in the 10 years I’ve owned my car, I was stopped by a State Trooper. Once it was for a tail light out, once for a brake light out, and last night, it was for one of the lights over the licens… --- ## [Sink the Bismarck Song an Oddity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sink-the-bismarck-song-an-oddity/958765)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sink-the-bismarck-song-an-oddity/958765 "2022-02-04T10:31:02Z")
Here’s the Johnny Horton song, Sink the Bismarck. It’s an American country-western song, but it’s extolling a British victory in WWII. Are there other songs that praise another country’s military wins, or another count… --- ## [If you're on the fence about upgrading your pillow, go for it](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054 "2022-02-04T08:25:49Z")
I was going back and forth about springing for a semi-expensive pillow. I have ongoing bilateral shoulder pain and occasional back issues. Last night was my first night with Zoey, and I slept like an inebriated log. 100… --- ## [APR on a home mortgage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apr-on-a-home-mortgage/958580)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [January 31, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apr-on-a-home-mortgage/958580 "2022-01-31T23:00:01Z")
Note: this is for teaching older teens, not a technical accounting class. APR is (total interest and fees) ÷ (principal x time). No problem there. The problem comes from making a down payment on a mortgage. No matter… --- ## [Mammoth Cave worth visiting?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mammoth-cave-worth-visiting/958813)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mammoth-cave-worth-visiting/958813 "2022-02-04T03:48:39Z")
It is the world’s longest cave system. I live about 8 hours away so it’s not a short trip. I would probably spend time in Nashville on the way there or back. Also will probably do a rafting trip in the NC/TN mountai… --- ## [Where does your or my success come from?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-or-my-success-come-from/957946)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-your-or-my-success-come-from/957946 "2022-02-04T03:46:27Z")
It’d be great to hear that there’s a name for this concept. I’d like to learn more about what others have figured out. The question: what’s the reason each of us is as successful as we are, whether very or not very? Ac… --- ## [I'm old, obese, with lungs that are charted as "a mess." Now I have COVID. Why does it take an hour to page a nurse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old-obese-with-lungs-that-are-charted-as-a-mess-now-i-have-covid-why-does-it-take-an-hour-to-page-a-nurse/958461)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old-obese-with-lungs-that-are-charted-as-a-mess-now-i-have-covid-why-does-it-take-an-hour-to-page-a-nurse/958461 "2022-02-04T03:36:58Z")
This afternoon my lungs were clogged up and I could not breathe. I pressed the call button and nothing happened. I pressed it repeatedly for fifty minutes, each breath only partial and labored. I Facebooked my medical… --- ## [Diplomacy Without Diplomats?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-without-diplomats/958755)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-without-diplomats/958755 "2022-02-04T03:03:15Z")
An article in this week’s Economist claims the US is missing more than one third of its ambassadors. There is no American ambassador in Berlin, London, Rome, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, India, Thailand, South Korea or… --- ## [Highway weigh stations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-weigh-stations/958793)
**Author:** [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-weigh-stations/958793 "2022-02-04T02:46:20Z")
I’ve been browsing through a few years/decades old posts about highway weigh stations (why so few are ever open, etc.), but I have some unanswered questions. Suppose your truck is overloaded (detected either at a supe… --- ## [California Residents: is the Golden State stimulus taxable by the Fed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-residents-is-the-golden-state-stimulus-taxable-by-the-fed/958837)
**Author:** [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-residents-is-the-golden-state-stimulus-taxable-by-the-fed/958837 "2022-02-04T02:17:20Z")
I received a California stimulus check last year. I’ve looked online, but can only find confirmation that it isn’t taxable by the state. Does anyone know if I have to report it to the IRS? --- ## [University professor to students: "You cocksuckers are vectors of disease to me"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-professor-to-students-you-cocksuckers-are-vectors-of-disease-to-me/957767)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-professor-to-students-you-cocksuckers-are-vectors-of-disease-to-me/957767 "2022-02-04T01:26:20Z")
A history professor at Ferris State University in Michigan is on administrative leave after posting a profanity-filled introductory course to his students in which he refers to them as “cocksuckers” and says they’re vect… --- ## [A realistic look at the future in a COVID world -- 2020, 2021, and beyond](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-realistic-look-at-the-future-in-a-covid-world-2020-2021-and-beyond/920340)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 169\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-realistic-look-at-the-future-in-a-covid-world-2020-2021-and-beyond/920340 "2022-02-04T01:23:46Z")
COVID is not just going away – poof! :woman\_mage:t4: That’s a given. If and when an effective vaccine is developed (and that’s by no means an absolute certainty) there’s still manufacturing it, distributing it, gettin… --- ## [Good Men's razor and shave cream?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-mens-razor-and-shave-cream/958760)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-mens-razor-and-shave-cream/958760 "2022-02-04T01:09:45Z")
Now use Gillette for both but I am looking for alternatives. Nothing too pricey. I work at home so I don’t shave every day. Maybe 2x per week depending on where I am going . --- ## [Piss drinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-drinking/958667)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piss-drinking/958667 "2022-02-03T21:28:15Z")
The joke around here is that anti-vaxxers will drink their own urine for a cure. And now… https://www.yahoo.com/news/anti-vaxxer-tells-supporters-covid-195908571.html Didn’t the urine-drinking thing start as a joke? --- ## [Quirky and possibly quaint things you do so you don't forget stuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quirky-and-possibly-quaint-things-you-do-so-you-dont-forget-stuff/958630)
**Author:** [@PozhanPop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PozhanPop)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quirky-and-possibly-quaint-things-you-do-so-you-dont-forget-stuff/958630 "2022-02-03T21:25:51Z")
My long term memory might rival that of an elephant. My short term memory is shot and I always forget things. Like taking something home from work and vice versa. Appointments : ( I have been stuck in -30 weather in … --- ## [Do gangsters and thugs etc. commonly take target practice?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684)
**Author:** [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-gangsters-and-thugs-etc-commonly-take-target-practice/958684 "2022-02-03T21:06:56Z")
I’m thinking of some made member of the Gambinos, mostly doing this or that mob business but ocasionally the Big Boss tells him you gotta take out so-and-so. Or perhaps a member of the Crips, running the drug business bu… --- ## [What's the biggest secret you've ever kept...from a pet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636)
**Author:** [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636 "2022-02-03T18:35:24Z")
These two cats are a year and a half old. They’ve lived in this house since they were 2.5 and 3 months old. Neither of them has any idea that the house has a full unfinished walkout b… --- ## [What food preference differences are there between you and your significant other?would be](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-preference-differences-are-there-between-you-and-your-significant-other-would-be/958703)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-preference-differences-are-there-between-you-and-your-significant-other-would-be/958703 "2022-02-03T18:32:13Z")
I consider myself a pretty adventurous eater, and I feel lucky that my wife is as well. Well, not really lucky, it’s probably one of the many reasons I married her. When I was single I actually had more than one first da… --- ## [My car's windows open without my knowledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-windows-open-without-my-knowledge/958824)
**Author:** [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-windows-open-without-my-knowledge/958824 "2022-02-03T17:46:22Z")
This morning, I noticed that all four windows on my Accord were open by 50mm (two inches). Luckily, the car was in my garage because it rained last night. Many google responses say that if one holds “unlock” on the key… --- ## [January 6 Commission and Subpoenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-6-commission-and-subpoenas/958049)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-6-commission-and-subpoenas/958049 "2022-02-03T17:18:39Z")
I’ve been loosely following the January 6 commission investigating the insurrection. From time to time, they issue subpoenas – I think they just issued one for Giuliani. Others off the top of my head are Steve Bannon a… --- ## [My daughter's homework question (math/trigonometry)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughters-homework-question-math-trigonometry/958756)
**Author:** [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-daughters-homework-question-math-trigonometry/958756 "2022-02-03T16:48:49Z")
I was assisting my daughter with some homework; and on entering the answers online (they use some form of online homework app) it said that her answer was incorrect. I’m really not sure how my answer was marked as inco… --- ## [What would lead you to be tested?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-lead-you-to-be-tested/956417)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-lead-you-to-be-tested/956417 "2022-02-03T16:43:04Z")
Basically what the OP asks. I have not yet had a covid test. I’ve greatly limited my social contacts, haven’t travelled, am not aware of any contacts to transmissible folk, and have never ad symptoms beyond an occasion… --- ## [What is the difference between Native Americans and First Nation Peoples?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-native-americans-and-first-nation-peoples/957673)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-native-americans-and-first-nation-peoples/957673 "2022-02-03T16:34:03Z")
I’m reading an article about a middle school in Alaska that held a Moose hunt. An activity almost all of the kids participated in. Not sure what the proper formatting is here on the new Boards, but this is from a New Yor… --- ## [Are you part of the top 1% \[Poll\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-part-of-the-top-1-poll/958701)
**Author:** [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-part-of-the-top-1-poll/958701 "2022-02-03T15:03:52Z")
Let’s see if the demographics of the Dope reflect that of society…at least based upon income and/or net worth. Are you part of the 1%, meaning is your annual household income more than $750,000 or alternatively is your … --- ## [Northeast Blizzard, Jan 2022](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northeast-blizzard-jan-2022/958641)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northeast-blizzard-jan-2022/958641 "2022-02-03T14:43:34Z")
I’m surprised there’s not already a thread on this, but I can’t find one, so here it is. We are getting a LOT of snow. We’ve done a “first draft” of shoveling the driveway and the front walk, and moved about 8 inches of… --- ## [I pit Capital One](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-capital-one/958715)
**Author:** [@SoToasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoToasty)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-capital-one/958715 "2022-02-03T14:03:48Z")
What’s in your wallet? Hopefully not Capital One. I am currently on hold, waiting on them to get a CSR at my bank. So far we are at 35 minutes total time. Why? Fraudulent charges? Nope. A fraudulent payment… From … --- ## [Does playing in their home stadium give the Rams home field advantage in the Super Bowl?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-playing-in-their-home-stadium-give-the-rams-home-field-advantage-in-the-super-bowl/958805)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-playing-in-their-home-stadium-give-the-rams-home-field-advantage-in-the-super-bowl/958805 "2022-02-03T13:29:03Z")
Usually the advantage to playing at home, other than a nebulous psychological boost, is the effect of the home fans making noise so the visiting team can’t hear their own play-calling, or trying to distract kickers into … --- ## [Do Russians like "The Great"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-russians-like-the-great/958770)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 3, 2022, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-russians-like-the-great/958770 "2022-02-03T06:01:47Z")
We’re happily in the middle of the second season of The Great, a show I idly started watching as something to do while folding laundry and have become completely enchanted by. For those unfamiliar, it’s a blood-and-sex-s… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1207) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1209)