# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1750 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1751 --- ## [Thread for banned posters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-for-banned-posters/917090)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [August 18, 2020, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thread-for-banned-posters/917090 "2020-08-18T00:06:52Z")
Did this board used to start a thread to say “so and so has been banned”? Am I imagining that? If y’all are still doing that, I can’t find the location. I’ve noticed a couple of posters with recent activity popping up w… --- ## [What's the third cola where you are?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-third-cola-where-you-are/916660)
**Author:** [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Replies:** 139\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-third-cola-where-you-are/916660 "2020-08-17T23:36:52Z")
Please give your location. If you’re in the US please give a region as I expect it to be more fractious there. If we assume Coke and Pepsi are the top 2 colas in terms of name recognition/sales, (not necessarily your pe… --- ## [As a Canadian, I can't Trump anymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-canadian-i-cant-trump-anymore/918168)
**Author:** [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-canadian-i-cant-trump-anymore/918168 "2020-08-17T23:32:27Z")
I can’t. This post office stuff is just making me want to jump off the cliff. I’ve tried to ignore all of it, but it’s impossible. I’d like to say that I have no dog in this fight, but I do. He’s imposing tarrifs on Can… --- ## [How to do secret ballots on a video call?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-do-secret-ballots-on-a-video-call/917529)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-do-secret-ballots-on-a-video-call/917529 "2020-08-17T23:23:04Z")
My HOA Is going to have a meeting with a vote for a board seat. We are going to do the meeting over Zoom this year. Each home is allowed one vote. I need to have a way to allow people to vote by secret ballot but make su… --- ## [The Plot Against America on HBO (open spoilers as each ep airs)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-plot-against-america-on-hbo-open-spoilers-as-each-ep-airs/849666)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-plot-against-america-on-hbo-open-spoilers-as-each-ep-airs/849666 "2020-08-17T23:20:01Z")
Trailer: The Plot Against America: Official Trailer | HBO - YouTube The show: The Plot Against America (miniseries) - Wikipedia The novel: The Plot Against America - Wikipedia Anyone else watching? Lindbergh takes on… --- ## [A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? (Test poll)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woodchuck-would-chuck-as-much-wood-as-a-woodchuck-could-chuck-if-a-woodchuck-could-chuck-wood-test-poll/918132)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-woodchuck-would-chuck-as-much-wood-as-a-woodchuck-could-chuck-if-a-woodchuck-could-chuck-wood-test-poll/918132 "2020-08-17T23:15:40Z")
poll --- ## [What movie genre would the biopic of your life be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-genre-would-the-biopic-of-your-life-be/918328)
**Author:** [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-genre-would-the-biopic-of-your-life-be/918328 "2020-08-17T23:12:24Z")
If a movie were made of your life, what type of movie do you think it would be? (poll coming, assuming I can figure out how to do that here) --- ## [I've Changed My Avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-changed-my-avatar/918162)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-changed-my-avatar/918162 "2020-08-17T23:12:16Z")
I’ve changed my avatar to Shylock after the trial. Shylock was the villain in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. I watched and read the play about 20 years ago. He was the villain. But that was partly because he was … --- ## [Angie is the weakest song on Goats Head Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angie-is-the-weakest-song-on-goats-head-soup/918095)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angie-is-the-weakest-song-on-goats-head-soup/918095 "2020-08-17T22:45:40Z")
Maybe it’s just fatigue as Angie is one of the Rolling Stones songs that is still on most classic rock playlists. But, I’ve been listening to Goat Heads Soup and I’d forgotten how great the album is except for that dirge… --- ## [Does anyone know what the song in this commercial is?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-the-song-in-this-commercial-is/918349)
**Author:** [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-the-song-in-this-commercial-is/918349 "2020-08-17T22:17:06Z")
Hi Chew commerical. I have looked and searched, can’t find anything on it. Not even at iSpot. Does anyone know? --- ## [Is standing for the national anthem political?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-standing-for-the-national-anthem-political/918025)
**Author:** [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-standing-for-the-national-anthem-political/918025 "2020-08-17T22:11:48Z")
One of the main arguments against kneeling, is fans don’t want to mix politics with sports, and kneeling is political. If kneeling is political, is standing political too? --- ## [Cost to move west in the middle 1800s](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-to-move-west-in-the-middle-1800s/918348)
**Author:** [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-to-move-west-in-the-middle-1800s/918348 "2020-08-17T21:57:05Z")
Say you were a family of four, Husband, wife, two kids 7-9, in St. Louis. You own a suitable wagon and draft animals. You desire to make the overland trek to California. I’m wondering how much cash money you’d need to h… --- ## [Whose autograph did I get around 1990-91 at a basketball camp?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-autograph-did-i-get-around-1990-91-at-a-basketball-camp/918343)
**Author:** [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-autograph-did-i-get-around-1990-91-at-a-basketball-camp/918343 "2020-08-17T21:10:29Z")
Here is the autograph in question. The basketball camp featured three stars. Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and a younger player who was NOT on the Pistons. I met all three of them and got a signed photo of Thomas and Dumars… --- ## [I've thought up a new (I think) clear way to explain the 'Monty Hall Problem"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-thought-up-a-new-i-think-clear-way-to-explain-the-monty-hall-problem/918154)
**Author:** [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-thought-up-a-new-i-think-clear-way-to-explain-the-monty-hall-problem/918154 "2020-08-17T21:01:47Z")
Forgive me if this explanation has been used before and I haven’t seen it. So I understood how the math supports the Monty Hall Problem, but couldn’t wrap my head around WHY it works. Then i thought: Don’t make it 3 d… --- ## [Packaging for ice-cream-truck snow cones?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/packaging-for-ice-cream-truck-snow-cones/917417)
**Author:** [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/packaging-for-ice-cream-truck-snow-cones/917417 "2020-08-17T21:01:19Z")
I need some photo reference of those old snow-cones that you used to get from the ice cream truck. Not a made-by-hand snow cone or shave ice, but the kind that came ready-to serve. I can find endless pics of what they l… --- ## [If you wanted to paint a car yellow,](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-wanted-to-paint-a-car-yellow/918196)
**Author:** [@Hilary\_Algar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilary_Algar)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-wanted-to-paint-a-car-yellow/918196 "2020-08-17T20:38:00Z")
If you were looking to buy a new yellow car for a model that you wanted but, regrettably, that model was not offered in yellow, what color car would you choose with the intention of painting it yellow. I’m thinking that… --- ## [Weird pedo distraction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-pedo-distraction/917591)
**Author:** [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-pedo-distraction/917591 "2020-08-17T19:53:51Z")
I’ve noticed a possible trend on Facebook lately. There seems to be this explicitly conservative push about child molestation and pedophilia, getting parents really riled up about it. Nothing has changed–it’s all just in… --- ## [Massive layoffs at DC Comics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massive-layoffs-at-dc-comics/917893)
**Author:** [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massive-layoffs-at-dc-comics/917893 "2020-08-17T19:45:55Z")
I’ve been a little surprised not to see some discussion about this. It’s been widely reported in the last few days that about 1/3 of DC Comic’s editorial staff has been laid off, including editor-in-chief Bob Harras (mi… --- ## [Does the "ignore" function work on Discourse? SOLVED](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-ignore-function-work-on-discourse-solved/913695)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-ignore-function-work-on-discourse-solved/913695 "2020-08-17T19:35:03Z")
I tried to put someone on ignore and on this board you have to pick a time-frame. No matter what time-frame I chose from the dropdown menu, it didn’t recognize it and kept telling me to pick a time-frame. I was a passio… --- ## [Recommend a book series, but not one story broken up into several books](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-series-but-not-one-story-broken-up-into-several-books/918193)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-series-but-not-one-story-broken-up-into-several-books/918193 "2020-08-17T18:10:01Z")
I’d like to get into a fictional universe told across several books featuring the same group of characters. I’m interested in something written in an episode of the week format as opposed to a long story arc. Something… --- ## [Silly movie trivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-movie-trivia/917730)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-movie-trivia/917730 "2020-08-17T17:38:07Z")
Add your own - here is mine: Bill Murray was in the best movies ever made about both golf and bowling - “Caddyshack” and “Kingpin”. --- ## [A new Drive-In Movie theater is being built in Little Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-drive-in-movie-theater-is-being-built-in-little-rock/918183)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-drive-in-movie-theater-is-being-built-in-little-rock/918183 "2020-08-17T17:36:37Z")
Drive-in theaters were almost a forgotten relic from the past. Social Distancing has created a new demand for Drive-Ins. They can be used for live music events and movies. Little Rock’s last drive-in closed in the late… --- ## [National Shortage of Coins?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-shortage-of-coins/913982)
**Author:** [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Replies:** 191\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-shortage-of-coins/913982 "2020-08-17T16:16:54Z")
On my way home from work I stopped at the liquor store for vodka (somebody drank all my Tito’s). While I was paying, a sign was being put up that read: “Due to the national shortage of coins, all sales debit card, credi… --- ## [Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/denis-johnsons-tree-of-smoke/918320)
**Author:** [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/denis-johnsons-tree-of-smoke/918320 "2020-08-17T14:11:09Z")
I just finished re-reading Tree of Smoke and have this burning (haha) urge to talk about it with others. While I feel like I grasped the novel a little better this time around, I’d love to hear others’ perspectives. (ma… --- ## [Excel numbers and formulas question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-numbers-and-formulas-question/918314)
**Author:** [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-numbers-and-formulas-question/918314 "2020-08-17T14:10:29Z")
I have a matrix of numbers with several rows and several columns. I’ve auto-summed each column to obtain a row of totals at the bottom of the matrix, and each of the totals is the result of the auto-sum function. My ques… --- ## [How do the "gunner positions" in the Millenium Falcon work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-gunner-positions-in-the-millenium-falcon-work/918004)
**Author:** [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-gunner-positions-in-the-millenium-falcon-work/918004 "2020-08-17T13:19:04Z")
In the movies, the climb up and down ladders to get to them, the gunner positions obviously are on the top and bottom sides of the ship. However, when they are in the gunner postiion room, you can clearly see the passag… --- ## [What did they do to Hostess Fruit Pies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181)
**Author:** [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-they-do-to-hostess-fruit-pies/520181 "2020-08-17T12:49:01Z")
Last month, I got a hankering for a lemon hostess fruit pie. I hadn’t had one in probably 15 years, but for some reason I wanted one. My MIL put four Hostess lemon pies in a care package and it came yesterday. First o… --- ## [Math Semantics: Are negative, subtract and minus the same thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-semantics-are-negative-subtract-and-minus-the-same-thing/918137)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-semantics-are-negative-subtract-and-minus-the-same-thing/918137 "2020-08-17T12:38:24Z")
Title says it all. At a physics conference is a physicist saying they get a negative result the same as same that result should be subtracted from something else? Minused? (is that even a word?) --- ## [Interesting pattern on CDC bar graph](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-pattern-on-cdc-bar-graph/918216)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-pattern-on-cdc-bar-graph/918216 "2020-08-17T12:11:06Z")
The graph my local news just showed depicted deaths, and I’ll try and find it, but scroll down to the “New Cases By Day” chart; it exhibited the same pattern that the death chart did. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/201… --- ## [Ever know anyone you thought shouldn't be allowed to vote?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-know-anyone-you-thought-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-vote/918087)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-know-anyone-you-thought-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-vote/918087 "2020-08-17T10:49:20Z")
Not sure I have, really. Well, a part of me has often thought there ought to be a minimal competence test for voting, but I realize the countless problems with that. But I was moved to start this thread by a conversati… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1749) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1751)