# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1638 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1639 --- ## [How do you learn how your tech works?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-learn-how-your-tech-works/835007)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-learn-how-your-tech-works/835007 "2019-06-07T22:05:58Z")
Way back when, technology used to be simpler, and came with owner’s manuals. I sense that a lot of modern technology (such as phones and computers) is intended to be intuitive - but it doesn’t seem to be intuitive to us… --- ## [Why aren't state houses switching parties anymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-state-houses-switching-parties-anymore/926166)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-state-houses-switching-parties-anymore/926166 "2020-11-24T05:11:58Z")
I don’t think there was a lot of realignment in state house control in 2020, Historically state houses have changed quite a bit, at least in the last 20 years. Under Bush the democrats steadily gained control of state h… --- ## [Want to participate in a clinical trial?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-participate-in-a-clinical-trial/915877)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-participate-in-a-clinical-trial/915877 "2020-11-24T04:02:44Z")
Here’s a link where you can sign up. I got the information from Dr. Zorba Paster, so it’s not a crackpot site. --- ## [What are US non-voters thinking?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-us-non-voters-thinking/926276)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-us-non-voters-thinking/926276 "2020-11-24T04:00:47Z")
A lot was said to be at stake in the recent US election. A record (for recent years) 67% of Americans turned out to vote. Too much has already been written about polarized politics, news bubbles and affiliation as a so… --- ## [Embarrassingly bad videos of 1980s heavy metal bands](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassingly-bad-videos-of-1980s-heavy-metal-bands/925934)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embarrassingly-bad-videos-of-1980s-heavy-metal-bands/925934 "2020-11-24T03:44:42Z")
Here’s a 1986 video of an obscure heavy metal band from Montréal, Quebec called Trop Féross. The name of the song is Richard Coeur de Fer. I love how the guitarist comes out of nowhere at 1:21 to play a solo. … --- ## [Longtime Doper txobbin Diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) RIP (updated)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longtime-doper-txobbin-diagnosed-with-als-lou-gehrigs-disease-rip-updated/847204)
**Author:** [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longtime-doper-txobbin-diagnosed-with-als-lou-gehrigs-disease-rip-updated/847204 "2020-11-24T03:16:54Z")
Because the discussion is in a thread titled: Advice on making a GoFundMe successful please? http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=888968 I feel that many people here may have missed it: --- ## [Small hostess gift ideas?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-hostess-gift-ideas/926224)
**Author:** [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-hostess-gift-ideas/926224 "2020-11-24T02:15:31Z")
A nice woman I work with invited me over for Thanksgiving. It’s just her and her two kids (plus me, I guess) so a very informal thing. But, I’d like to bring something and because \[reasons\] I was looking for ideas other … --- ## [Trump - best literate descriptors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-best-literate-descriptors/926193)
**Author:** [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-best-literate-descriptors/926193 "2020-11-24T01:47:09Z")
This one came to my inbox again. I think it originally came out in the Spring. Maybe we can create a centralized repository for the people who took very deep breaths, had a few swigs of whatever gets the juices flowing… --- ## [New Series in my Urban Fantasy Universe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-in-my-urban-fantasy-universe/847682)
**Author:** [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-series-in-my-urban-fantasy-universe/847682 "2020-11-24T01:36:53Z")
I’ve posted updates for a while now about my Alastair Stone Chronicles urban fantasy series, which is ongoing and up to book 20. I’m starting a new series set in the same universe, called “Happenstance and Bron.” It’s s… --- ## [NFL Games during COVID](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-during-covid/920473)
**Author:** [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-games-during-covid/920473 "2020-11-24T01:27:30Z")
Has this been addressed already here? I saw photos from Thursday night NFL game, pre-game BLM gesture in which numerous players were lined up shoulder to shoulder without masks or helmets. (I didn’t see the game.) Wh… --- ## [Store clerk doesn't understand cash.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/store-clerk-doesnt-understand-cash/855077)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/store-clerk-doesnt-understand-cash/855077 "2020-11-24T00:09:28Z")
I had a slightly unsettling experience today. I went in to a local hardware store to buy a bag of potting soil. The price came to $3.15 and I gave the clerk, a young kid, a $20 and got back in change, a ten, 2 fives an… --- ## [Do most people retain spoken or read information better?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-most-people-retain-spoken-or-read-information-better/926000)
**Author:** [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-most-people-retain-spoken-or-read-information-better/926000 "2020-11-24T00:03:02Z")
Google is being unhelpful over this question, because every time I ask it if comprehension is better for read or heard information, I get back a bunch of links about helping people with reading comprehension problems. I… --- ## [Fallout 3](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-3/469960)
**Author:** [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Replies:** 1305\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-3/469960 "2020-11-23T23:11:29Z")
Got it at midnight, and four hours in I feel pretty confident calling it the Game of the Year by quite a bit. Every element of it is outstanding so far. Yes, it’s Oblivion with guns, but with everything streamlined and i… --- ## [What do you think about the simulation theory?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-the-simulation-theory/924042)
**Author:** [@JBlackstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBlackstone)\ **Replies:** 263\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-the-simulation-theory/924042 "2020-11-23T23:09:22Z")
The simulation theory is the idea that we’re living in a simulation like a computer game. The argument goes like this One day scientists will invent a computer that’s so powerful that it’ll be able to build a perfect … --- ## [Music CDs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-cds/595)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 1999, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-cds/595 "1999-06-03T18:48:00Z")
While pondering the scratches on a favorite CD that are vexing track #1, I noticed that track #6 is the longest on the CD, but carefully looking on the laser-read side of the disk, I see that track #7 is longest. Do… --- ## [How to spoiler something](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spoiler-something/926192)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spoiler-something/926192 "2020-11-23T21:58:36Z")
Just testing to see how spoilers work: --- ## [Dryer Sheets For Pet Hair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dryer-sheets-for-pet-hair/926297)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dryer-sheets-for-pet-hair/926297 "2020-11-23T20:41:55Z")
Having a dog has many perks. It also means pet hair magically gets into clothing and every other nook and cranny in the house. This does not bother me much. Still, interesting to see Bounce dryer sheets specifically f… --- ## [I am so used to high octain weed that it doesn't work anymore. How long to detox until its fun again?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-used-to-high-octain-weed-that-it-doesnt-work-anymore-how-long-to-detox-until-its-fun-again/926104)
**Author:** [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-used-to-high-octain-weed-that-it-doesnt-work-anymore-how-long-to-detox-until-its-fun-again/926104 "2020-11-23T20:28:58Z")
I got my MMJ card a year ago and have been smoking the high powered stuff ever since. I don’t get stoned anymore (I do get relaxed, but I like the buzz) This has happened in the past with the cheap stuff and usually suff… --- ## [Was it possible/plausible for a freedom loving American to vote for President Trump in 2020?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-possible-plausible-for-a-freedom-loving-american-to-vote-for-president-trump-in-2020/926103)
**Author:** [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-possible-plausible-for-a-freedom-loving-american-to-vote-for-president-trump-in-2020/926103 "2020-11-23T20:02:13Z")
Related to, but slightly different from the other topic. Was it possible/plausible for a freedom-loving American to vote for President Trump in 2020? “freedom-loving American” in your judgement, not theirs. I take the … --- ## [What was Ingrid Pitt's mother tongue?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ingrid-pitts-mother-tongue/926247)
**Author:** [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-ingrid-pitts-mother-tongue/926247 "2020-11-23T19:34:04Z")
According to Wikipedia, the famous horror actress was born in Warsaw in 1937 to “a father of German Jewish descent and a Polish Jewish mother”. But given what a cultural melting pot Warsaw was at the time, this isn’t en… --- ## [Will Pence attend Harris' inauguration?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-pence-attend-harris-inauguration/925193)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-pence-attend-harris-inauguration/925193 "2020-11-23T19:31:37Z")
I just saw the presidential inauguration thread, and wonder what Dopers may think about this. My vote is that he will, but reluctantly. --- ## [Issue with not being told about potential obit costs by funeral home](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issue-with-not-being-told-about-potential-obit-costs-by-funeral-home/926149)
**Author:** [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/issue-with-not-being-told-about-potential-obit-costs-by-funeral-home/926149 "2020-11-23T19:27:24Z")
Hi all, My father just died a few weeks ago, and the funeral director said if we gave her the obituary, she would submit it. While I see now that the contract does say TBD on the line item for obit, i just glanced at i… --- ## [States changing their borders](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/states-changing-their-borders/925977)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/states-changing-their-borders/925977 "2020-11-23T18:50:27Z")
I see parts of Oregon are talking about leaving Oregon and attaching themselves to Utah. What does it actually take from both states to do this? Is Congress, etc involved at all or is this just a state decision? I know t… --- ## [Can a young girl have a "zit" on their vagina?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-young-girl-have-a-zit-on-their-vagina/926197)
**Author:** [@CoconutPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoconutPete)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-young-girl-have-a-zit-on-their-vagina/926197 "2020-11-23T17:51:22Z")
I’m divorced and only get my children on the weekends. My daughter is seven and frequently has rashes down there, and redness. Today she asked me to look at something on her vagina, it looks like a tiny zit with a whiteh… --- ## [Tech Support Q: Cannot access and manage Google Fi dashboard due to inaccessible email address](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tech-support-q-cannot-access-and-manage-google-fi-dashboard-due-to-inaccessible-email-address/925259)
**Author:** [@AgentFoxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AgentFoxtrot)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tech-support-q-cannot-access-and-manage-google-fi-dashboard-due-to-inaccessible-email-address/925259 "2020-11-23T17:34:50Z")
Hi all, It’s been a good while since I’ve been to the SDMB and man, things sure have changed! It’s good to see some familiar faces here still. I have had a nasty bit of trouble with Google lately, and all attempts to r… --- ## [Jonathan Pollard is Free to Go (to Israel)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonathan-pollard-is-free-to-go-to-israel/926258)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jonathan-pollard-is-free-to-go-to-israel/926258 "2020-11-23T17:34:20Z")
He served thirty years in jail, and five years of probation. Now he is free to go. -=Linky=- I really have a factual question, Will the Israelis hand him a big pot of money when he gets there? What is the etiquette for… --- ## [Explain these Mittens!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-mittens/926273)
**Author:** [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-mittens/926273 "2020-11-23T17:31:35Z")
I have two pairs of mittens. They are different brands. They are a nice soft polar fleece on the outsideand the linings in both are some kind of soft material. Both pairs of mittens have “finger chambers”. It’s like a gl… --- ## [Male music lovers...how much of your playlist is female artists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-music-lovers-how-much-of-your-playlist-is-female-artists/926011)
**Author:** [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-music-lovers-how-much-of-your-playlist-is-female-artists/926011 "2020-11-23T16:56:52Z")
I love listening to women sing. Probably 50% of the music I listen to is female singers/musicians. A few people in my real life have noticed this and questioned why I have so many women artists in my playlist. Am I an o… --- ## [It's A Shiny New MMP!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shiny-new-mmp/925698)
**Author:** [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Replies:** 270\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-shiny-new-mmp/925698 "2020-11-23T16:19:49Z")
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 49 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 70 and N.O.S. for the day. A for real Autumn day in south Jawja! The big item on today’s agenda is to spiff da cave. A… --- ## [Help me identify a short story, please](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-short-story-please/924098)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-short-story-please/924098 "2020-11-23T16:10:55Z")
I believe I first read it in 1968-1969. It was published in a textbook I used in seventh grade. The story opens with the narrator, as a grown man, perhaps middle-aged or older, reading a newspaper item about a military … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1637) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1639)