# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1681 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1682 --- ## [Backup Battery/Equipment for Aquarium](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backup-battery-equipment-for-aquarium/921337)
**Author:** [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backup-battery-equipment-for-aquarium/921337 "2020-10-16T14:37:16Z")
Winter is coming and I live out in the boonies where we experience frequent power outages. Last year I fretted and stressed and had to jump into action every time the power went out, covering the tank and checking on thi… --- ## [This Biden closing pitch literally gave me goosebumps](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-biden-closing-pitch-literally-gave-me-goosebumps/923034)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-biden-closing-pitch-literally-gave-me-goosebumps/923034 "2020-10-16T14:25:11Z")
Kudos to his ad team for so masterfully channelling what has to be a highly prevalent groundswell of sentiment among American voters exhausted by the shitshow of a presidency we have been enduring. --- ## [Presenting my third novel, sci-fi thriller "Spindown"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presenting-my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822377)
**Author:** [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presenting-my-third-novel-sci-fi-thriller-spindown/822377 "2020-10-16T11:32:17Z")
So I just published my third novel, and I’d like to tell the Dope about it. I posted about my first two here in Cafe Society, so I’m assuming that it’s still okay to do so. It’s available as an ebook right now; if it so… --- ## [Why Is Turkey So Invested In Denying The Armenian Genocide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-turkey-so-invested-in-denying-the-armenian-genocide/922430)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-turkey-so-invested-in-denying-the-armenian-genocide/922430 "2020-10-16T09:47:28Z")
What does Turkey have to gain by going to such extreme measures to deny the Armenian genocide? If they hated the Armenians so much then, and continue to hate them so much now, then from where I sit they should just take … --- ## [Dealing With Those Annoying Slivers of Soap](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealing-with-those-annoying-slivers-of-soap/922855)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dealing-with-those-annoying-slivers-of-soap/922855 "2020-10-16T08:11:14Z")
I brought this up once before. But it has been so long, I don’t even remember when–or where. Anyways, we all have to deal with those annoying slivers of soap, when we’re done showering. Admittedly some of the solutions … --- ## [Starting over, the NEW new form of government thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-over-the-new-new-form-of-government-thread/922154)
**Author:** [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Replies:** 148\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-over-the-new-new-form-of-government-thread/922154 "2020-10-16T08:05:13Z")
The now closed thread in P&E had an interesting premise but was started by someone not really interested in good discussion. So let’s use this one to invent the best kind of representative government we can. In looking … --- ## [Getting my Mac to work with my TV](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-my-mac-to-work-with-my-tv/922811)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-my-mac-to-work-with-my-tv/922811 "2020-10-16T04:42:52Z")
I recently got a new Apple Macbook Pro. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it came with a free year’s subscription to AppleTV+. Cool. My TV is a 2-year-old (approx.?) Samsung Smart TV with all the apps…except Appl… --- ## [POLL: much to you expect to donate politically in 2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-much-to-you-expect-to-donate-politically-in-2020/920196)
**Author:** [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-much-to-you-expect-to-donate-politically-in-2020/920196 "2020-10-16T04:28:03Z")
poll Based on contribution limits laid out here. Your vote is for total contributions to all candidates, campaign committees in 2020. --- ## [Does your city have a flag? What does it look like?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-a-flag-what-does-it-look-like/837318)
**Author:** [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Replies:** 104\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-city-have-a-flag-what-does-it-look-like/837318 "2020-10-16T01:40:34Z")
Inspired by this thread The title says it all. I’ll start: Presenting, Chapel Hill, NC I like it. symbolic, well-designed, good colors, with the silhouettes of some of the more recognizeable (to locals, anyway) struct… --- ## [Slackerinc ban](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slackerinc-ban/923061)
**Author:** [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slackerinc-ban/923061 "2020-10-16T01:04:38Z")
Broad brushed attacks in the pit and throughout the forums are quite common. Are all such attacks of ideology or other subsets of belief systems also going to be interpreted as so-called trolling? --- ## [Is online poker legal in Illinois?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-online-poker-legal-in-illinois/834586)
**Author:** [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-online-poker-legal-in-illinois/834586 "2020-10-16T00:48:56Z")
If I’m reading correctly, according to this siteonline poker is legal in Illinois. I googled “online poker in Illinois” after watching a documentary and it was in the results. I haven’t heard anything on the news or else… --- ## [What’s something you know, but you don’t know how you know it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-something-you-know-but-you-don-t-know-how-you-know-it/922938)
**Author:** [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-something-you-know-but-you-don-t-know-how-you-know-it/922938 "2020-10-16T00:46:50Z")
I have the poem “A Tale of the Thirteenth Floor” by Ogden Nash memorized. It’s an odd poem by an odd person that’s not popular at all and I have no idea when or why I memorized it. There are few websites about it and n… --- ## [What Are the Other 'Superprecedents'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-other-superprecedents/922957)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-other-superprecedents/922957 "2020-10-16T00:41:27Z")
I have to tell you that I was surprised when I heard this. Especially recently and when I thought I already knew a lot about Constitutional law. Apparently even to original intent judges, there’s a set of ‘superpreceden… --- ## [Can't find, in my CP, threads I started](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-in-my-cp-threads-i-started/922651)
**Author:** [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-find-in-my-cp-threads-i-started/922651 "2020-10-16T00:32:52Z")
Looked under “activities” - no go. --- ## [Leak inside my refrigerator-need advice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leak-inside-my-refrigerator-need-advice/922936)
**Author:** [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leak-inside-my-refrigerator-need-advice/922936 "2020-10-16T00:03:22Z")
Any ideas about a leak in (under) my refrigerator? To clarify, the refrigerator itself is not leaking. I buy water in 2.5 gallon containers with a tap so I can use refillable bottles with less plastic waste because my ta… --- ## [SlackerInc banned for trolling](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slackerinc-banned-for-trolling/923053)
**Author:** [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slackerinc-banned-for-trolling/923053 "2020-10-15T23:35:53Z")
Trolling --- ## [Do we have a thread for SlackerInc yet? Maybe we should](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461)
**Author:** [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Replies:** 1122\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-a-thread-for-slackerinc-yet-maybe-we-should/825461 "2020-10-15T23:30:51Z")
I feel like this is a little bit overdue. SlackerInc has always been at least a wee bit of a racist sympathizer, and now we get this: “Why don’t Tom Steyer or George Soros move black Mississippians to Pensacola or Atlan… --- ## [Do you own (and use) a bathrobe?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-and-use-a-bathrobe/922463)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-and-use-a-bathrobe/922463 "2020-10-15T23:20:03Z")
Fairly simple. Do you own a bathrobe (dressing gown)? If you own one, do you use it regularly? I don’t own one as of today. I think I’ll get one with the inevitable gift cards I’ll get for Christmas. I’ve enjoyed using … --- ## [Close Encounters-like sighting. Only not](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-like-sighting-only-not/923011)
**Author:** [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/close-encounters-like-sighting-only-not/923011 "2020-10-15T23:09:24Z")
Yesterday morning, when we went out before sunrise, we saw an eerie thing in the night sky. A regular string of stars moving sort of briskly along in the night sky. There were dozens of them, each following the others … --- ## [...RickJay, moderation, and transgender people](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rickjay-moderation-and-transgender-people/916766)
**Author:** [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rickjay-moderation-and-transgender-people/916766 "2020-10-15T22:57:15Z")
…in this thread RickJay openly and unapologetically misgenders several individuals, links to a website that explicitly propagates anti-transgender propaganda, and argues that nobody in that thread has come up with a coh… --- ## [Some cowardly shitstain fascist stole my Biden sign](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-cowardly-shitstain-fascist-stole-my-biden-sign/922364)
**Author:** [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-cowardly-shitstain-fascist-stole-my-biden-sign/922364 "2020-10-15T22:30:30Z")
Took it from my front yard in the night, like the cowardly coward he\\she\\it is. I knew it was going to happen. My lizard brain tells me to go an steal a Trump sign, but I will not be that guy. Trump supporters are bad … --- ## [Thread about ultra-Orthodox Jews given an inaccurate title change](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-about-ultra-orthodox-jews-given-an-inaccurate-title-change/923009)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-about-ultra-orthodox-jews-given-an-inaccurate-title-change/923009 "2020-10-15T22:28:59Z")
There were two paragraphs in my OP: one about Hasids in Brooklyn and one about ultra-Orthodox in Israel. I was Pitting both—all—of them. To change the title to specifically refer to NY is a misrepresentation of the Pit… --- ## [Smart advice from Claire McCaskill the activist left won’t like](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-advice-from-claire-mccaskill-the-activist-left-won-t-like/922445)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-advice-from-claire-mccaskill-the-activist-left-won-t-like/922445 "2020-10-15T22:23:57Z")
This was on the latest episode of the podcast Hacks on Tap with Mike Murphy and David Axelrod: —We aren’t going to stop Mitch McConnell from ramming through Amy Coney Barrett if he has the votes, but swarming the Capito… --- ## [Regional differences in meaning of "doughnut" (donut)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-meaning-of-doughnut-donut/922718)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-meaning-of-doughnut-donut/922718 "2020-10-15T21:52:01Z")
I have a book that asserts that the word doughnut has different meanings in the United Kingdom and the United States. Norman Moss, What’s the difference?: An American/British-British/American Dictionary (Hutchinson & Co… --- ## [My unexpectedly perfect evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unexpectedly-perfect-evening/923015)
**Author:** [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-unexpectedly-perfect-evening/923015 "2020-10-15T21:46:47Z")
Last week I set some things in motion that culminated in a wonderful evening last night. Last week I watched Baraka for the for the first time in a few years. I was blown away by the beautiful images. When it was over, … --- ## [Questions about the Fake Ballot Boxes in California Claiming to be Official](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-the-fake-ballot-boxes-in-california-claiming-to-be-official/922864)
**Author:** [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-the-fake-ballot-boxes-in-california-claiming-to-be-official/922864 "2020-10-15T21:17:37Z")
First of all, why isn’t this better covered by the media? I have seen a few stories but none of them express the outrage it seems this deserves. Next, isn’t this criminal? To place a box in public and label it “Offici… --- ## [Couple of questions about "LA Confidential"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-of-questions-about-la-confidential/923030)
**Author:** [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/couple-of-questions-about-la-confidential/923030 "2020-10-15T20:17:40Z")
Spoiler . . . . . . . . The bit at the end where the bad guys get White/Exley together at a spot, give them enough time to work out that it’s a set-up, provide them with a good defensible location and only the… --- ## [Tom Bombadil meets ..... Ungoliant](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-bombadil-meets-ungoliant/922882)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-bombadil-meets-ungoliant/922882 "2020-10-15T18:50:06Z")
In both cases the origin stories are not known. Perhaps both emerged from the original music. In any case, they both have a fundamental strength to them that possibly surpasses even Maiar and Valar (Ungoliant had Morgoth… --- ## [The Elvira that Saved Halloween](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elvira-that-saved-halloween/922948)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elvira-that-saved-halloween/922948 "2020-10-15T18:46:56Z")
Elvira is using her considerable influences to promote observing Halloween, even in the Age of COVID https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/entertainment/elvia-halloween-trnd/index.html --- ## [No boom today, boom tomorrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-boom-today-boom-tomorrow/922900)
**Author:** [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-boom-today-boom-tomorrow/922900 "2020-10-15T16:47:18Z")
Well, tomorrow always comes. Big boom today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1680) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1682)