# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1528 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1529 --- ## [Amazon quietly banning books](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-quietly-banning-books/937264)
**Author:** [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-quietly-banning-books/937264 "2021-03-05T13:13:08Z")
Amazon has a market value bigger than the GDP of Canada, dominant market share, and massive reach. It’s not bad when governments ban books because they are the government, it’s bad because they are powerful. Amazon is … --- ## [What words define a nation’s culture?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-define-a-nation-s-culture/937191)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-define-a-nation-s-culture/937191 "2021-03-05T11:30:04Z")
I’ve been reading a fascinating book on Mexican culture by an ex-intelligence officer. He uses an interesting approach - he picks about a hundred words which gave a very deep, historical, widely understood and nuanced m… --- ## [She's\* not a tomboy, she's a boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-not-a-tomboy-shes-a-boy/933532)
**Author:** [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shes-not-a-tomboy-shes-a-boy/933532 "2021-03-05T10:27:18Z")
My oldest grandson, aged 11, came home from school with some exciting news today. The annual school camp is happening next week, and he’s going to be sharing a cabin with his absolute besties, Aaron and Mary!!! He then … --- ## [Racist names, memes, and depictions in 1960s-70s comics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-memes-and-depictions-in-1960s-70s-comics/934201)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-memes-and-depictions-in-1960s-70s-comics/934201 "2021-03-05T08:05:24Z")
This is inspired by the recent thread I started on the decision to withdraw six Dr. Seuss books from publication. The gist of that was that the books in question – published from 1937 to the 1960s – had depictions of Chi… --- ## [Kamala Harris is a crocheter!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harris-is-a-crocheter/937217)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kamala-harris-is-a-crocheter/937217 "2021-03-05T06:36:40Z")
And her stepdaughter is a designer of knitted goods. Ms. Harris recently paid a visit to a DC-area yarn store. --- ## [Who's getting rich off QAnon? \[Corrected title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-getting-rich-off-qanon-corrected-title/934382)
**Author:** [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-getting-rich-off-qanon-corrected-title/934382 "2021-03-05T05:24:50Z")
I realize that people selling QAnan pamphlets, flags, and t-shirts benefit financially, as do social media companies that sell ad space whenever someone accesses a QAnan post or watch a video, but in the beginning, someb… --- ## [Rainbow colored bread in the 90s?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rainbow-colored-bread-in-the-90s/778185)
**Author:** [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rainbow-colored-bread-in-the-90s/778185 "2021-03-05T05:16:16Z")
And no, its nor LGBTQ bread.:stuck\_out\_tongue: In the late 1990s I was babysat by one of my mom’s coworkers who ran a daycare from her home (my mom worked at a school and the woman was like a library aid or something, d… --- ## [Mystery Chemicals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-chemicals/933378)
**Author:** [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-chemicals/933378 "2021-03-05T05:13:49Z")
So, suppose you are tidying up your laboratory for, let us say organometallic chemistry, and among the other things you encounter a decades-old brown glass bottle of— you have no idea because the label, if there ever was… --- ## [Turn on the subtitles!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-on-the-subtitles/934064)
**Author:** [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-on-the-subtitles/934064 "2021-03-05T04:55:39Z")
Turning on the subtitles while children are watching television can double the chances of a child becoming good at reading† . It’s so brilliantly simple and can help children’s literacy so much that we want to shout it f… --- ## [Couldn't of/couldn't have](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156)
**Author:** [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Replies:** 332\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couldnt-of-couldnt-have/918156 "2021-03-05T03:54:03Z")
The contraction of “could not have” is “couldn’t have.” Not “couldn’t of”. Sorry for a short rant but fuck I hate this. --- ## [SDMB Home Page - TubaDiva Contact](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-home-page-tubadiva-contact/934157)
**Author:** [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-home-page-tubadiva-contact/934157 "2021-03-05T00:48:49Z")
The message board footer still has a link to TubaDiva’s personal email AOL account. Is this out of respect or oversight? In either case, anyone sending an email to that address probably won’t receive a response. --- ## [FedEx vs. USPS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fedex-vs-usps/937136)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fedex-vs-usps/937136 "2021-03-04T23:39:34Z")
I have to send a small package (Priority Mail small box size) from San Francisco to Miami. It was sent to me FedEx and I got it in about three days. There was a problem with the item, I got a full refund, including shipp… --- ## [Login dialog box changed for the worse lately?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/login-dialog-box-changed-for-the-worse-lately/937145)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/login-dialog-box-changed-for-the-worse-lately/937145 "2021-03-04T23:36:36Z")
It seems the Login Dialog box has changed – several times – in just the last few days. Every time I see a login box that looks different than I remember, I wonder if the site has been hijacked and maybe I shouldn’t type… --- ## [MN snowplow names](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mn-snowplow-names/934211)
**Author:** [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mn-snowplow-names/934211 "2021-03-04T23:26:20Z")
There was a contest to name snowplows, of course “Plowy McPlowFace” was in there, but there was some good ones IMHO. My district got " Snowbi Wan Kenobi". Brian --- ## [The No Context repost thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-context-repost-thread/937204)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-no-context-repost-thread/937204 "2021-03-04T22:56:51Z")
Repost all or part of a SDMB post that your find amusing, puzzling or strange. But no links or context! I’ll start… “… faking an emergency to get a 911 ride to Hooters…” --- ## [The We Five-You Were On My Mind. Dark AF](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-we-five-you-were-on-my-mind-dark-af/937135)
**Author:** [@The\_Uppington\_Smythe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Uppington_Smythe)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-we-five-you-were-on-my-mind-dark-af/937135 "2021-03-04T20:19:03Z")
So somehow I went down a rabbit hole and wound up listening to this song - YouTube We’ve all heard it a million times. A happy 60s folk song that you hear on the MUZAK while you’re eating ice cream at Friendly’s. Well f… --- ## [Which parent did you have more hostility or problem with?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-parent-did-you-have-more-hostility-or-problem-with/845421)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-parent-did-you-have-more-hostility-or-problem-with/845421 "2021-03-04T20:14:46Z")
I’ve read that, on average and as a whole, people are likelier to quarrel with their mothers than fathers while growing up (perhaps due to fathers being somewhat more absent due to work) and such was the case in my own a… --- ## [Is “Yakety Sax” inherently funny, or are we just conditioned into considering it funny by Benny Hill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yakety-sax-inherently-funny-or-are-we-just-conditioned-into-considering-it-funny-by-benny-hill/924942 "2021-03-04T19:43:13Z")
Random question that came to mind just now. :slight\_smile: --- ## [What did Giuliani and Powell actually expect to accomplish through all the court cases?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-giuliani-and-powell-actually-expect-to-accomplish-through-all-the-court-cases/934137)
**Author:** [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-giuliani-and-powell-actually-expect-to-accomplish-through-all-the-court-cases/934137 "2021-03-04T18:31:50Z")
Those two and any others not quite as prominent… Say what you will about their current state of mind, but as competent lawyers (at least at one time) surely they knew they’d lose most of these and be legally ridiculed. … --- ## [Quick pronunciation question: "Tuchman"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-pronunciation-question-tuchman/937161)
**Author:** [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-pronunciation-question-tuchman/937161 "2021-03-04T17:59:08Z")
What would be the standard pronunciation of this family name in American English? Is is “Tookh-Man”, with the kh representing the /x/ sound that it has in German, where the name comes from? Or would it be “Took-Man”? And… --- ## [Weird Things Customers Say](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-customers-say/932375)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 166\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-things-customers-say/932375 "2021-03-04T17:41:45Z")
The other day I was rereading the short and memorable book Weird Things Customers Say In Bookstores. Always makes me chuckle. If you’ve never heard of this amusing book, it is about book stores - mostly in Edinburgh an… --- ## [Deaf people and reading logograms (kanji, etc) versus reading text spelled out from spoken words](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-and-reading-logograms-kanji-etc-versus-reading-text-spelled-out-from-spoken-words/932332)
**Author:** [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-and-reading-logograms-kanji-etc-versus-reading-text-spelled-out-from-spoken-words/932332 "2021-03-04T13:49:53Z")
I’ve often wondered if deaf people in countries where logograms are used have an easier time learning to read despite having to learn more individual characters. Logogram systems are often based on a representation of a… --- ## [Any NYC-area musicians and singers out there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nyc-area-musicians-and-singers-out-there/937125)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nyc-area-musicians-and-singers-out-there/937125 "2021-03-04T13:26:44Z")
Hi all! I’ve been using the COVID lockdown to try and get better on electric bass and I’m wondering if anyone is interested in an online jam session or two. There is this software called jamulus and it minimizes audio … --- ## [Puzzle game where you control adventurer with treasure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-game-where-you-control-adventurer-with-treasure/934220)
**Author:** [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzle-game-where-you-control-adventurer-with-treasure/934220 "2021-03-04T13:18:42Z")
Can anybody remember the name of this puzzle game? The basic idea was that the protagonist was a dim but greedy adventurer. He will keep moving onwards unless he comes within a short distance of a bag of treasure, in whi… --- ## [Lost a dental crown. OK to wait for vaccination before seeing dentist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-a-dental-crown-ok-to-wait-for-vaccination-before-seeing-dentist/933911)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-a-dental-crown-ok-to-wait-for-vaccination-before-seeing-dentist/933911 "2021-03-04T10:32:37Z")
I just had a gold crown on my lower second premolar fall off (I saved it and it looks OK). Nothing hurts. Is it OK to wait until I can get vaccinated for covid? I’m pretty afraid of going to a dentist during this pandemi… --- ## [Earliest Examples of Mumblecore Movies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-examples-of-mumblecore-movies/933989)
**Author:** [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-examples-of-mumblecore-movies/933989 "2021-03-04T08:33:39Z")
It’s characterized by naturalistic acting and dialogue (sometimes improvised), low-budget film production, an emphasis on dialogue. John Cassavetes is the first director I thought about, especially “Minnie and Moskowitz… --- ## [Is There a Way to Force Open a Disk Player?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-force-open-a-disk-player/933978)
**Author:** [@Ptolomy57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ptolomy57)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-force-open-a-disk-player/933978 "2021-03-04T07:23:01Z")
Is there a way to force a DVD or CD player to eject? There was a time they had a hole to insert a straight pin to manually eject a disk. Now, they’ve forgotten the needs of the consumer unless they’ve gone to great lengt… --- ## [Illegal - legal activities](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-legal-activities/934068)
**Author:** [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-legal-activities/934068 "2021-03-04T06:51:37Z")
Th original thread is “Removing the DRM Protection …” but it doesn’t really matter. Colibri closed the thread saying, “Although it’s legal to remove DRM on recordings you own for personal use, it’s illegal to do so for … --- ## [Discrimation in the workplace...HELP!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimation-in-the-workplace-help/933783)
**Author:** [@Cerridwyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerridwyn)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discrimation-in-the-workplace-help/933783 "2021-03-04T06:51:20Z")
A neighbor was fired over an race issue at the work place. She is asking advice on what she could do. Can you all take a look & see what would be best to do? --- ## [Help, my flip phone broke](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-flip-phone-broke/933745)
**Author:** [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2021, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-flip-phone-broke/933745 "2021-03-04T06:38:01Z")
I have a simple Tracfone Alcatel onetouch flip phone that I bought five years ago that seems to have died–started turning on/off randomly, strange sounds, get message “activation required”–I’ve had it five years, have ab… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1527) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1529)