# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1723 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1724 --- ## [Explain paper equivalency so that an idiot can understand](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-paper-equivalency-so-that-an-idiot-can-understand/920167)
**Author:** [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-paper-equivalency-so-that-an-idiot-can-understand/920167 "2020-09-10T03:49:48Z")
Ok, I’m seeking 60 lb index paper. Before you chime in, I know about those charts that purport to show paper equivalency. Supposedly what I want is equal to 40 lb cover, or 73 lb offset text or 29 bond ledger or 109.11… --- ## [weird almost synesthetic aspect to half-remembered dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-almost-synesthetic-aspect-to-half-remembered-dreams/627073)
**Author:** [@tesseract](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tesseract)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-almost-synesthetic-aspect-to-half-remembered-dreams/627073 "2020-09-10T03:25:14Z")
I can hardly describe this because it sounds so weird. I sometimes have weird physical/emotional flashbacks to my dreams. But I generally can’t remember the dream very well if this happens. The flashback consists of a… --- ## [What would you do if you were the mayor of Portland,Oregon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019)
**Author:** [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-the-mayor-of-portland-oregon/920019 "2020-09-10T03:11:07Z")
This might not be the place for this, but it has to do with the 100 plus days of protests and/or unlawful assemblies in Portland, Oregon. Mayor Wheeler has been forces to move, businesses have been shuttered, there has b… --- ## ["Black" professor says she is really white](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-professor-says-she-is-really-white/919751)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-professor-says-she-is-really-white/919751 "2020-09-10T02:18:57Z")
Used a fake name too --- ## [eBay buyer asking questions after he won the bid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-buyer-asking-questions-after-he-won-the-bid/917646)
**Author:** [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-buyer-asking-questions-after-he-won-the-bid/917646 "2020-09-10T02:07:55Z")
I’m selling a used iPad on eBay. The listing included a full description, photos, etc. The auction lasted a week, and after it ended the winning bidder asked for more photos and the serial number. The feels scammy to me… --- ## [Is anyone seriously preparing for the end of America right now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 217\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-seriously-preparing-for-the-end-of-america-right-now/918051 "2020-09-10T00:17:42Z")
As I mentioned in another thread, an acquaintance of mine is seriously making major life choices and changes based on the fear of a violent civil war breaking out after the election. This got me thinking: there’s a lot … --- ## [NFL - OFFSEASON of Mist and mellow fruitfulness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-offseason-of-mist-and-mellow-fruitfulness/847586)
**Author:** [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Replies:** 126\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-offseason-of-mist-and-mellow-fruitfulness/847586 "2020-09-09T22:13:03Z")
Gotta get my Keats on. Well, the Kansas City Chiefs are the Super Bowl Champs and damn, they look good. Congrats to Andy Reid, he’s been so good for so long, it’s nice to see him finally win the big game. I hope he’s as… --- ## [What can I do with Bluetooth on my PC?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-bluetooth-on-my-pc/919952)
**Author:** [@LivingGhost371](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingGhost371)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-do-with-bluetooth-on-my-pc/919952 "2020-09-09T21:36:42Z")
I haven’t used Bluetooth before because I don’t see the point in having headphones and whatnot with batteries to wear down when you can just use a cord, but my new desktop PC came with it, so I have it. So far I paired i… --- ## [Hypothetical Speed of Light Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-speed-of-light-question/920150)
**Author:** [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-speed-of-light-question/920150 "2020-09-09T21:19:08Z")
Hi. The question is: How many Astronomical Units could you travel in 1 minute at 5000 times the speed of light? Is this math correct? 186,000 miles x 60 seconds = 11,160,000 miles per minute. 1 AU = 93,000,000 miles. … --- ## [In which sport do the MOST athletes earn the HIGHEST NET INCOME?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-do-the-most-athletes-earn-the-highest-net-income/920110)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-sport-do-the-most-athletes-earn-the-highest-net-income/920110 "2020-09-09T21:01:01Z")
I was thinking about this yesterday after Dustin Johnson won a cool $15 million - to add to the $5.8 million he’d already won this year. So I was daydreaming about what sort of lifestyle that would support, but I realiz… --- ## [Campaign sign vandalism (NSFW)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/campaign-sign-vandalism-nsfw/920130)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/campaign-sign-vandalism-nsfw/920130 "2020-09-09T20:09:11Z")
Can’t say you weren’t warned. Blue painter’s tape might also work, if you don’t want to deal with spray paint. --- ## [Would you want to have your SS tax deferred for the last 4 months of 2020?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-have-your-ss-tax-deferred-for-the-last-4-months-of-2020/919626)
**Author:** [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-have-your-ss-tax-deferred-for-the-last-4-months-of-2020/919626 "2020-09-09T19:16:50Z")
Under executive order, companies in the US have the option of not withholding the 6.2% of social security tax the employee is responsible for. It is only available to employees that make less than $4,000 every two weeks… --- ## [Why do hornets have so much hair?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hornets-have-so-much-hair/920190)
**Author:** [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hornets-have-so-much-hair/920190 "2020-09-09T18:55:39Z")
I found a dead hornet on my deck today. Was looking at it under a magnifying glass. It is covered in hair on all three body parts, even its legs. Why? Seems like the hair would just be a drag. Considering it has an … --- ## [Celebrities you were surprised to learn were dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-were-dead/920107)
**Author:** [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-were-dead/920107 "2020-09-09T17:37:57Z")
Kind of inspired by the current thread about the “Abe Vigodas.” Anyway, I was watching a documentary last night about Siegfried and Roy, and was surprised to learn that Roy Horn is no longer with us. Apparently he contr… --- ## [AI-written Guardian Op-Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-written-guardian-op-ed/920139)
**Author:** [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-written-guardian-op-ed/920139 "2020-09-09T17:37:33Z")
The British news outlet The Guardian has published an op-ed written (in some manner of speaking) entirely by OpenAI’s text generator AI GPT-3: The article is, overall, surprisingly coherent, and puts forward some perti… --- ## [Is that thread just spam bait?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-thread-just-spam-bait/920036)
**Author:** [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-thread-just-spam-bait/920036 "2020-09-09T17:25:07Z")
What’s the deal with this thread? It’s a stickied thread that starts out with an outdated post on cleaning your comp of malware from '09, and is followed by 300 posts of banned spammers. --- ## [Bad veins - any phlebotomists out there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-veins-any-phlebotomists-out-there/63987)
**Author:** [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-veins-any-phlebotomists-out-there/63987 "2020-09-09T17:18:01Z")
I have bad veins - the kind that disappear as soon as someone tries to get blood, where the tech tries the right arm, then the left arm, then goes back to the right arm, then starts on the hands. OK, you get the picture. … --- ## [Clarification in QZ mandated vaccination thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-in-qz-mandated-vaccination-thread/920155)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarification-in-qz-mandated-vaccination-thread/920155 "2020-09-09T16:26:28Z")
Two related mod directions, both identifying parts of the discussion as something to be pulled back from. Thing is though that a thread discussing mandating vaccines potential reactions to it really has to include a dis… --- ## [The Census keeps contacting me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-census-keeps-contacting-me/919973)
**Author:** [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-census-keeps-contacting-me/919973 "2020-09-09T15:23:17Z")
So, I’ve filled out the census form online. A few weeks later, I got someone at the door from the census, and I told them the information again. Another few weeks later (today), I got another questionnaire in the mail. … --- ## [Men, is Sitting on Your Own Nuts a Thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-is-sitting-on-your-own-nuts-a-thing/917672)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-is-sitting-on-your-own-nuts-a-thing/917672 "2020-09-09T15:19:29Z")
I’ve recently discovered Ticked Off Nic videos on YouTube. In one of them, Nic describes accidentally sitting on his own testicles as being like “lightning shooting out of my ass.” Now, being of the distaff half of the… --- ## [The Smithsonian has a COVID exhibit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian-has-a-covid-exhibit/919770)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smithsonian-has-a-covid-exhibit/919770 "2020-09-09T13:11:48Z")
And specifically, the National Museum of American History. Like I’ve told my nieces, and other kids, we are always living in future history. --- ## [What song is Bob Dylan's 'I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You' very similar to?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-is-bob-dylans-ive-made-up-my-mind-to-give-myself-to-you-very-similar-to/920124)
**Author:** [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-is-bob-dylans-ive-made-up-my-mind-to-give-myself-to-you-very-similar-to/920124 "2020-09-09T13:10:50Z")
That’s the song (from his latest album “Rough And Rowdy Ways”: This is driving me crazy. I’ve listened to the album a few times since it came out a few months ago, but only now I recognized a familiar melo… --- ## [My life is falling apart and a reverse mortgage is looking good](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-life-is-falling-apart-and-a-reverse-mortgage-is-looking-good/919909)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-life-is-falling-apart-and-a-reverse-mortgage-is-looking-good/919909 "2020-09-09T12:02:42Z")
Should I get one? No JOB, NO pension, yadda yadda,yyaddda. ., Lived frugally, but. --- ## [Trump limericks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-limericks/919600)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-limericks/919600 "2020-09-09T05:32:14Z")
A few months back there was a COVID limericks thread which I thought had promise, but unfortunately didn’t get much response. I’ve been thinking a thread about trump limericks might have more richly surreal (or plain bat… --- ## [A question about smallpox inspired by the TV show Outlander](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-smallpox-inspired-by-the-tv-show-outlander/920123)
**Author:** [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-smallpox-inspired-by-the-tv-show-outlander/920123 "2020-09-09T03:45:43Z")
For those that don’t know, Outlander is a TV series on Starz. The show features a UK combat nurse from 1945 who is transported back in time to the Scottish Highlands in 1743, a few years before the pivotal Battle of Cul… --- ## [Galaxy S10+ Possible Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/galaxy-s10-possible-repair/920082)
**Author:** [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/galaxy-s10-possible-repair/920082 "2020-09-09T03:33:44Z")
OK, I’ve had the above phone for a while, maybe a year or so, don’t remember for sure but I’ll check tomorrow. Today it fell and now there’s a star shaped damaged area in the lower right side at the edge with a crack ru… --- ## [1980 Democratic Primary (Kennedy v Carter)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980-democratic-primary-kennedy-v-carter/920086)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1980-democratic-primary-kennedy-v-carter/920086 "2020-09-09T03:07:18Z")
Assume you’re a Democrat or want to vote in the 1980 Democratic primary which features Senator Ted Kennedy challenging President Jimmy Carter. Who would you vote for? I’ve been reading a lot about this race and watching… --- ## [Is it unusual to form a Transition Team this far ahead of the election?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unusual-to-form-a-transition-team-this-far-ahead-of-the-election/919980)
**Author:** [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unusual-to-form-a-transition-team-this-far-ahead-of-the-election/919980 "2020-09-09T01:25:41Z")
…or at least to talk about it publicly? Maybe I’m just more tuned in to this election cycle than usual, but I seem to recall hearing about Transition Teams only after a new president has been elected. At this stage, do… --- ## [Looking for a reference to American bank loans on a 14-day basis to Weimar Germany](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-reference-to-american-bank-loans-on-a-14-day-basis-to-weimar-germany/920084)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-reference-to-american-bank-loans-on-a-14-day-basis-to-weimar-germany/920084 "2020-09-09T00:49:34Z")
I hope someone can help me find a reference to American bank loans to Weimar Germany on a 14-day basis. I had heard this in an online video recently but couldn’t find any reference to. --- ## [The Intergenerational Racial Politics of the Proposed Payroll Tax Moratorium](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-intergenerational-racial-politics-of-the-proposed-payroll-tax-moratorium/919939)
**Author:** [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-intergenerational-racial-politics-of-the-proposed-payroll-tax-moratorium/919939 "2020-09-09T00:45:49Z")
We’re all aware that Trump has permitted stopping collecting the employee part of the Social Security tax = “the payroll tax” from now to the end of the year. Which amounts to a ~6% take-home pay bump for most wage earn… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1722) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1724)