# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1555 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1556 --- ## [Presidential statistics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-statistics/931129)
**Author:** [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-statistics/931129 "2021-02-07T10:52:59Z")
Watching the inauguration yesterday, I realized that six former and current U.S. presidents are still alive, which makes for over 13% of the total number of people to ever serve as president. (That’s true whether you co… --- ## [Swapping Tires \*and\* Wheels Between Cars](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swapping-tires-and-wheels-between-cars/720618)
**Author:** [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2015, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swapping-tires-and-wheels-between-cars/720618 "2015-05-24T04:58:23Z")
Yesterday, my 1999 Ford Contour finally went tits-up on me. Fortunately, I was able to replace it the same day, via a gift from somebody at my church. So now I’m driving a 2001 Ford Taurus. The thing is, I just put bran… --- ## [Wild Kingdom ... finds your brother](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-kingdom-finds-your-brother/932086)
**Author:** [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-kingdom-finds-your-brother/932086 "2021-02-07T08:44:35Z")
\[This is a wee bit gruesome for those who don’t need to hear about, or see, nature in the raw\] My brother has a few acres. He’s taken to raising alpacas. A baby alpaca was born a few months ago. A couple of weeks ago… --- ## [Why Veterans Day?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-veterans-day/925338)
**Author:** [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-veterans-day/925338 "2021-02-07T07:58:51Z")
Why is today Veterans Day, and not Veteran’s Day or Veterans’ Day? (I would think Veterans’ Day is actually the best choice.) OK grammarians, enlighten me. --- ## [How many people can fit in a room](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-can-fit-in-a-room/928432)
**Author:** [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-can-fit-in-a-room/928432 "2021-02-07T07:53:51Z")
I read a newspaper article about the police breaking up a party of 20 people in a room of 20 square meters, because they could not keep corona restrictions of a minimum distance of 1 meter between each participant. This… --- ## [Our 30 dollar rescue cat is now worth 100 times more!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-30-dollar-rescue-cat-is-now-worth-100-times-more/931726)
**Author:** [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-30-dollar-rescue-cat-is-now-worth-100-times-more/931726 "2021-02-07T07:16:39Z")
Yes, the vet bills are piling up. He is a young cat , got him at a shelter. So far: lung infection, ear infection(s) and now chipped hip bone which they shaved off and let the ligatures and muscles will keep it together… --- ## [Did I miss anything exciting?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-anything-exciting/932310)
**Author:** [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-miss-anything-exciting/932310 "2021-02-07T07:09:34Z")
I was Bayard for most of my time here, then I changed my name to Defensive Indifference, then I took a break for almost a year. Now I’m back. You missed me, didn’t you? So. What’s been going on? --- ## [Why do football teams have more out-of-state fans than baseball teams?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-football-teams-have-more-out-of-state-fans-than-baseball-teams/932168)
**Author:** [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-football-teams-have-more-out-of-state-fans-than-baseball-teams/932168 "2021-02-07T06:02:59Z")
It seems like baseball teams have more of a local following than football teams, which seem to draw fans from across the nation. Why is that the case? --- ## [Subtle inaccuracies in depictions of your city/region in fiction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508)
**Author:** [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Replies:** 219\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-inaccuracies-in-depictions-of-your-city-region-in-fiction/930508 "2021-02-07T03:58:21Z")
Before my move to Europe a few years ago, I spent more than twenty-five years living in Seattle. It wasn’t a terribly common setting for movies and TV shows, but it popped up every now and then, with a trendy burst betw… --- ## [Spent week in mental hospital ask me anything](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spent-week-in-mental-hospital-ask-me-anything/931327)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spent-week-in-mental-hospital-ask-me-anything/931327 "2021-02-07T03:14:12Z")
I was there for depression and it helped me a lot. Got on zoloft. People were from 18 to 70. I asked to go home after a week and they said yes but my guess is I would have left anyway due to insurance. Quite a f… --- ## [What would happen if I killed my boss?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-killed-my-boss/836112)
**Author:** [@dope1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dope1)\ **Replies:** 80\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-killed-my-boss/836112 "2021-02-07T03:13:45Z")
So in the middle of busy working day I go on to kill my boss by slitting his throat and making sure to the best of my abilities that I have killed him and then I sit on the opposite chair while waiting for the authoritie… --- ## [Looks like the end is near for our old dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-the-end-is-near-for-our-old-dog/931836)
**Author:** [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [February 7, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-the-end-is-near-for-our-old-dog/931836 "2021-02-07T00:17:39Z")
Our heeler/beagle mix Ginger had a mast cell tumor removed during the summer, and it has returned with a vengeance. It has made it hard for her to walk for the last few weeks, and today she stopped eating. She’s restin… --- ## [How common is the “deci” prefix in the metric system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-the-deci-prefix-in-the-metric-system/930706)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-the-deci-prefix-in-the-metric-system/930706 "2021-02-06T22:46:08Z")
It seems like it should be fairly useful but it appears to be the bastard child of the metric system. However, I’m an American so my familiarity with usage of the metric system is decidedly limited. --- ## [SD Logo colors are perfectly complementary](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sd-logo-colors-are-perfectly-complementary/932315)
**Author:** [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sd-logo-colors-are-perfectly-complementary/932315 "2021-02-06T22:41:03Z")
I have an oversized mouse pointer, which changes color according to the background. When I hover on the SD banner, it becomes a negative, the reversal of the navy-and-orange colors. When I hover on a red button, it cha… --- ## [Trying to find a Mozart piece](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-a-mozart-piece/932314)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-a-mozart-piece/932314 "2021-02-06T22:23:28Z")
I used to have a Mozart collection CD and there was one piece on it that I really liked. I think it came from Cosi fan tutti, and it began with “O …” Of course, I’ve lost it and can’t remember the name fo the piece. T… --- ## [Help me identify this movie (set in Victorian England, based on a novel written by a little girl)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-movie-set-in-victorian-england-based-on-a-novel-written-by-a-little-girl/932344)
**Author:** [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-movie-set-in-victorian-england-based-on-a-novel-written-by-a-little-girl/932344 "2021-02-06T22:10:27Z")
Circa 1993, I saw on home video a movie set in late Victorian England that was supposedly based on a novel written by a girl of around 12 years old. (As a framing device, the movie opened and closed with the girl sitting… --- ## [Stephen King's The Institute: A Question \[SPOILER\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-the-institute-a-question-spoiler/932335)
**Author:** [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-kings-the-institute-a-question-spoiler/932335 "2021-02-06T20:49:47Z")
I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Stephen King’s The Institute while doing chores around the apartment and such, and while it’s generally interesting, there’s one bit that just bugs me to no end, so I’m wonderi… --- ## [Is there a way to twist this destroyed umbraco on my bicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-twist-this-destroyed-umbraco-on-my-bicycle/932342)
**Author:** [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-twist-this-destroyed-umbraco-on-my-bicycle/932342 "2021-02-06T19:31:17Z")
(topic withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 876000 hours unless flagged) --- ## [Mail in voting will be made harder in some states](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-in-voting-will-be-made-harder-in-some-states/928104)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mail-in-voting-will-be-made-harder-in-some-states/928104 "2021-02-06T19:29:54Z")
A state where the GOP controls state house,state senate and governor will almost certainly try to cut down on mail in votes. Anyone disagree? --- ## [What are the 'little' things that you love where you live?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-little-things-that-you-love-where-you-live/932039)
**Author:** [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-little-things-that-you-love-where-you-live/932039 "2021-02-06T16:30:21Z")
I now live in tropical Far North Queensland, on the coast that fringes the Great Barrier Reef. The climate is divine (in my humble opinion), the narrow coastal region flanked by rainforest to the west is just sweet to th… --- ## [Christ eating a pickle in restored "Last Supper"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christ-eating-a-pickle-in-restored-last-supper/930746)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christ-eating-a-pickle-in-restored-last-supper/930746 "2021-02-06T16:11:38Z")
A beautiful restoration of a nun’s “Last Supper”. Especially compared to the horrible restorations making the news in the past few years. But my question is what is the big guy eating? In the closeup further down the pag… --- ## [How buggy is LabView these days? Are there less buggy alternatives?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-buggy-is-labview-these-days-are-there-less-buggy-alternatives/932287)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-buggy-is-labview-these-days-are-there-less-buggy-alternatives/932287 "2021-02-06T16:01:56Z")
I used LabView software pretty intensively for interfacing with hardware, about 15 years ago. I gave it up because it was so buggy, and National Instruments was so aggressively pushing out new versions with poor quality … --- ## [My new pandemic skills: pastry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pandemic-skills-pastry/930202)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pandemic-skills-pastry/930202 "2021-02-06T15:42:04Z")
So, trying not to shop too often, we’ve been doing a lot more cooking from scratch. And essentially not restaurant food. And I’ve gotten bored of corn bread and rice. So… I learned to make biscuits. A lot more work than… --- ## [Cars that you used to see everywhere, but now have disappeared from the roads, part II](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-that-you-used-to-see-everywhere-but-now-have-disappeared-from-the-roads-part-ii/920187)
**Author:** [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-that-you-used-to-see-everywhere-but-now-have-disappeared-from-the-roads-part-ii/920187 "2021-02-06T13:17:43Z")
Yesterday, a zombie thread from 2007 got revived: Older cars you still commonly see. That thread referenced another thread: Cars that you used to see everywhere, but now have disappeared from the roads. So I went and… --- ## [Is an 'unzipped arrow" simply one that hasn't been shot?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-unzipped-arrow-simply-one-that-hasnt-been-shot/932184)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-an-unzipped-arrow-simply-one-that-hasnt-been-shot/932184 "2021-02-06T09:52:32Z")
Is an 'unzipped arrow" simply one that hasn’t been shot? I came across the term while watching a program on Ötzi the glacier mummy I suppose Copper Age hunters would have reused their shot arrows. I had hear of an arrow … --- ## [“The Perfect Storm”](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-storm/932312)
**Author:** [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perfect-storm/932312 "2021-02-06T06:29:22Z")
Was the phrase “perfect storm” used much before the book/movie? It’s a hell of a great title. You’d think someone would have thought to use it before 1991. --- ## [First Doggies (i.e., White House doggies) to appear in PSA during the Puppy Bowl](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-doggies-i-e-white-house-doggies-to-appear-in-psa-during-the-puppy-bowl/932281)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-doggies-i-e-white-house-doggies-to-appear-in-psa-during-the-puppy-bowl/932281 "2021-02-06T05:41:24Z")
I’ve never been a football fan, but have loved the Puppy Bowl as an alternative tv opportunity. This year the First Doggies and the First Lady will have a PSA promoting mask-wearing. Dang, it’s so good to have Normal H… --- ## [Warhammer 40K: Is the "machine spirit" a real thing or just something tech priests mumble about?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warhammer-40k-is-the-machine-spirit-a-real-thing-or-just-something-tech-priests-mumble-about/932200)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warhammer-40k-is-the-machine-spirit-a-real-thing-or-just-something-tech-priests-mumble-about/932200 "2021-02-06T05:01:12Z")
In Warhammer 40k the technology is a weird mix of advanced and clunky. Kinda steampunk(ish) but not steampunk. The tech priests (read engineers) really do not have a very good grasp on what they are doing and are mostl… --- ## [Vaccines, transmissibility and herd immunity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccines-transmissibility-and-herd-immunity/932273)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaccines-transmissibility-and-herd-immunity/932273 "2021-02-06T02:43:37Z")
Ok… there’s something that’s been bugging me recently. I keep reading about the rather astounding effectiveness rates of the various COVID vaccines, which are all over 65%, with many over 90%. This is described as effe… --- ## [How much did I make on song royalties?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-i-make-on-song-royalties/932097)
**Author:** [@beefribs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beefribs)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [February 6, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-i-make-on-song-royalties/932097 "2021-02-06T02:37:06Z")
Suppose I’m Elton John and I hear the song Rocket Man on the radio. How much money did I just make? I don’t need an exact amount but is it pennies? dollars? Can you compare amounts for small and large radio stations … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1554) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1556)