# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1241 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1242 --- ## [How does this person-sending-us-a-check scam work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-person-sending-us-a-check-scam-work/956451)
**Author:** [@Dadtheinhaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dadtheinhaler)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2022, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-person-sending-us-a-check-scam-work/956451 "2022-01-02T01:38:14Z")
Earlier this month my son answered a job ad for a personal assistant. Recently he started receiving texts from Dr. X, provided our address, and a check for $1950 was sent by his “financial officer” from another state. … --- ## [Should people be forced to work by the government?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-forced-to-work-by-the-government/956325)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 213\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-people-be-forced-to-work-by-the-government/956325 "2022-01-02T00:46:15Z")
AP story here: Can the government force people to work? Should the government force people to work? Are flesh & blood citizens merely servants to the non-corporeal persons who exist amongst us, via state control? W… --- ## [What's your New Year's resolution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-new-years-resolution/956955)
**Author:** [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-new-years-resolution/956955 "2022-01-02T00:36:34Z")
I’ve been noodling this for the past couple of weeks. My “original” resolutions were to lose weight and get serious about writing my book, which has been stagnating pretty much forever (I write bits here and there, get d… --- ## [A tasteless thread (Covid symptom)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tasteless-thread-covid-symptom/956081)
**Author:** [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tasteless-thread-covid-symptom/956081 "2022-01-02T00:21:47Z")
Other than death the one thing I feared most about getting Covid was losing my sense of taste and smell. Well it happened. Not the death part. I can sort of taste extremes of spicy and sweet but nothing more subtle. Also… --- ## [What was so bad about living in The Matrix?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-so-bad-about-living-in-the-matrix/957037)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [January 2, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-so-bad-about-living-in-the-matrix/957037 "2022-01-02T00:16:37Z")
I’m sure this has been discussed before. I am only thinking about it because I plan to watch the new movie on HBOMax one if these days. Everyone in The Matrix thought they were living a normal life with modern convenanc… --- ## [What else to sous vide? and other and tips and tricks. Also, lemme see your SV creations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-else-to-sous-vide-and-other-and-tips-and-tricks-also-lemme-see-your-sv-creations/956819)
**Author:** [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-else-to-sous-vide-and-other-and-tips-and-tricks-also-lemme-see-your-sv-creations/956819 "2022-01-01T22:50:31Z")
My son got a sous vide set up about a year ago and I am now a convert and regularly make meals my husband brands “restaurant quality”. Wow, that sounds conceited. It’s not me though, it’s this cooking method. Even after … --- ## [The Names of the Chess Pieces in Spanish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-names-of-the-chess-pieces-in-spanish/956547)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-names-of-the-chess-pieces-in-spanish/956547 "2022-01-01T22:24:54Z")
In this video, from Spain, the participants refer to the Queen as “La Dama” and the Bishop as “El Alfil.” “La Dama” (“the Lady”) I get, but I’m lost on “El Alfil,” which was an actual chess piece at one time or another t… --- ## [The KIC 8462852 alien megastructure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kic-8462852-alien-megastructure/933862)
**Author:** [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kic-8462852-alien-megastructure/933862 "2022-01-01T22:23:28Z")
I think it’s interesting that the alien-megastructure hypothesis has been ruled out because an alien megastructure would dim all EM wavelengths equally, so it must be dust (to explain the lower IR absorption). Like how w… --- ## [Back to the Future question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-to-the-future-question/957021)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-to-the-future-question/957021 "2022-01-01T21:57:46Z")
Marty wakes up at the end and finds his parents cool, and his mother asks him about his big date. He says he can’t go, and says something about the car being wrecked. Much reaction from the family, and the door is opened… --- ## [The ethics of imposing immortality upon a dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-imposing-immortality-upon-a-dog/953513)
**Author:** [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ethics-of-imposing-immortality-upon-a-dog/953513 "2022-01-01T21:54:59Z")
I had a weird dream last night, in which I was escaping on foot and via improvised vehicles built from junk, from terrorists, or maybe an invading army, who may or may not have been zombies, through a ruined city that al… --- ## [It's January 1st - what streaming licenses have expired?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-january-1st-what-streaming-licenses-have-expired/957042)
**Author:** [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-january-1st-what-streaming-licenses-have-expired/957042 "2022-01-01T21:37:32Z")
Any TV shows or movies that you wanted to watch or hadn’t finished watching, and now you can’t, because the streaming license expired at midnight? Every other Friday night, my wife and I have our two youngest grandkids … --- ## [Holiday Odditay](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holiday-odditay/956987)
**Author:** [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holiday-odditay/956987 "2022-01-01T21:02:58Z")
The company I work for observes six paid holidays\* every year - usually (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day). If a holiday with a fixed date falls on a weekend day,… --- ## [Why does the COVID vaccine cause such harsh side effects?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-covid-vaccine-cause-such-harsh-side-effects/956105)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-covid-vaccine-cause-such-harsh-side-effects/956105 "2022-01-01T20:23:24Z")
I received my two doses of the Pfizer vaccine back in April/May. The first shot made my arm just a little sore, but the second shot laid me low for a day: dizziness, a kind of “full head” feeling, mental fog, serious le… --- ## [New Year, in the Central Time Zone!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-year-in-the-central-time-zone/957026)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-year-in-the-central-time-zone/957026 "2022-01-01T19:11:29Z")
Whoo hoo! Happy New Year y’all. --- ## [Do you have have stickers on your laptop?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-have-stickers-on-your-laptop/957020)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-have-stickers-on-your-laptop/957020 "2022-01-01T18:40:59Z")
I got a new MacBook Air this year and it’s been sticker free even though my previous Windows laptop was heavily stickered. Haven’t decided if I want to put stickers on the MacBook yet, but I’m leaning towards it. --- ## [Hotel room pranks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-pranks/954936)
**Author:** [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-pranks/954936 "2022-01-01T17:39:09Z")
Have any of you done any (or other pranks which don’t cause damage) of these in a hotel (just before checkout), and what results? I have had the first two done to me, and they can work just as well in a friend’s room if … --- ## [Cold ambient temps: computer performance, battery performance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-ambient-temps-computer-performance-battery-performance/956886)
**Author:** [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-ambient-temps-computer-performance-battery-performance/956886 "2022-01-01T17:07:00Z")
If the ambient air temperature is below freezing, like in the single digits F, will a typical, say, Dell laptop doing typical laptoppy stuff drain its battery (a) more quickly; (b) more slowly; (c) about the same; or (… --- ## [Computer Problem - No Sound](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-problem-no-sound/956852)
**Author:** [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-problem-no-sound/956852 "2022-01-01T11:46:50Z")
The sound on my computer no longer works - speakers are okay and I think the amplifier is fine. When I attempt to play music, NO sound goes through the speakers and the sound goes through that tinny internal computer sp… --- ## [Music that gets you in the feels just](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-gets-you-in-the-feels-just/956629)
**Author:** [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-that-gets-you-in-the-feels-just/956629 "2022-01-01T11:15:38Z")
… from the first few notes?? Parsifal: Band of Brothers theme: --- ## [Can someone explain the history of Roe v. Wade?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-history-of-roe-v-wade/273615)
**Author:** [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-history-of-roe-v-wade/273615 "2022-01-01T09:55:03Z")
Yes, this is an abortion thread. But I am asking a factual question. DO NOT DEBATE!! All responses will PLEASE just be a factual historical answer. Thank you for your cooperation. I’m sorry for my ignorance, but pre… --- ## [Is the crime of "Attempted Murder" restricted only to people who the criminal actively tried to kill or to anyone the criminal wanted to kill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-crime-of-attempted-murder-restricted-only-to-people-who-the-criminal-actively-tried-to-kill-or-to-anyone-the-criminal-wanted-to-kill/955893)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-crime-of-attempted-murder-restricted-only-to-people-who-the-criminal-actively-tried-to-kill-or-to-anyone-the-criminal-wanted-to-kill/955893 "2022-01-01T09:50:48Z")
Title kinda says it all. If I walked into a public space and started shooting with an intent to kill as many people as I could can I be charged with the attempted murder of hundreds who were there or only the (relativel… --- ## [Beckdawrek has gotten funnier](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beckdawrek-has-gotten-funnier/956430)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beckdawrek-has-gotten-funnier/956430 "2022-01-01T05:54:45Z")
I have followed her adventures for a couple years and she has always been funny in a bizarre way, but as she adds to her cast of misfits she just gets funnier. Clarence the possum was funny on his own, but now that he’s… --- ## [Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 3412\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428 "2022-01-01T05:04:05Z")
Rather than simply continue the other thread until it breaks, I’ve started a new thread for this new year. When I update tonight I’ll use the stats I posted in the old thread but here are the stats as I found them at 12… --- ## [What do Christians celebrate on the second days of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-christians-celebrate-on-the-second-days-of-christmas-easter-and-pentecost/956676)
**Author:** [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-christians-celebrate-on-the-second-days-of-christmas-easter-and-pentecost/956676 "2022-01-01T04:58:39Z")
Just a random thought on boxing day: on Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, Easter his resurrection, and Pentecost the coming of the holy spirit upon the apostles. But what do Christians celebrate on the respecti… --- ## [What did a small-town professional artist do in the fifties?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-a-small-town-professional-artist-do-in-the-fifties/956969)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-a-small-town-professional-artist-do-in-the-fifties/956969 "2022-01-01T03:50:41Z")
I was watching an old episode of The Twilight Zone (the first episode; “Where is Everybody?” - the 4:35 mark if you’re watching along). The story is about a man who finds himself stranded all alone in a typical small Ame… --- ## [Ugh! Do cockroaches have ANY positive, useful purposes at all?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-cockroaches-have-any-positive-useful-purposes-at-all/955905)
**Author:** [@Beelzebubbly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubbly)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-do-cockroaches-have-any-positive-useful-purposes-at-all/955905 "2022-01-01T03:01:26Z")
Is there ANYTHING about cockroaches which could be consider positive? Anything at all? Are they a source of compounds that can help develop new disease fighting drugs? Is there any industrial use for them at all? Can the… --- ## [What are these bare spots up in these mountains?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-bare-spots-up-in-these-mountains/956970)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-bare-spots-up-in-these-mountains/956970 "2022-01-01T02:46:50Z")
What are these bare spots up in these mountains? I and some friends noted a bunch of mostly-bare spots in the mountains one day while flying from the San Francisco Bay Area to South Lake Tahoe for the proverbial “$100 h… --- ## [Why does my Acer Chromebook not work any more with Wikipedia editing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-acer-chromebook-not-work-any-more-with-wikipedia-editing/956888)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-acer-chromebook-not-work-any-more-with-wikipedia-editing/956888 "2022-01-01T00:26:38Z")
I’ve been using my Acer Chromebook for a couple of years to edit Wikipedia with no troubles, but I’ve been having a problem recently. The keyboard entry is terribly slow. If I click to move the cursor from one spot to … --- ## [Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - December 2021 edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2021-edition/955243)
**Author:** [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Replies:** 112\ **Last updated:** [January 1, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2021-edition/955243 "2022-01-01T00:16:43Z")
Can you believe it’s already December. I have a “I must have blinked and missed summer” feeling even though it was record heat here. On the up side, due to concerns about supply chains and availability of goods, most of … --- ## [Manitoba: party leadership result challenged in court; new premier sworn in](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manitoba-party-leadership-result-challenged-in-court-new-premier-sworn-in/953958)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 31, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manitoba-party-leadership-result-challenged-in-court-new-premier-sworn-in/953958 "2021-12-31T23:52:19Z")
Manitoba had a party leadership contest last week, where the governing Progressive Conservatives voted to elect a new leader, to replace outgoing Premier Brian Pallister. Since the PCs have a majority in the House, the … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1240) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1242)