# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=179&state=muted [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 180 --- ## [My father died yesterday](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903)
**Author:** [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2025, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-father-died-yesterday/1025903 "2025-12-21T04:55:27Z")
My father died yesterday, at the age of 94. He had a remarkable life. As a child he was in the Budapest ghetto during WWII. He escaped to the west during the 1956 Hungarian revolution and met my mother in a refugee camp… --- ## [Poll: Best Bond (non-Connery edition)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-best-bond-non-connery-edition/1014634)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2025, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-best-bond-non-connery-edition/1014634 "2025-12-21T04:17:13Z")
Continuing the discussion from Amazon MGM takes creative reins of James Bond, ending an era of family control of 007: In honor of (or memoriam for) the Bond franchise now that Prime has taken it over, I’m just curious w… --- ## [A Holiday \[food\] hangover thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-holiday-food-hangover-thread/1025895)
**Author:** [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2025, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-holiday-food-hangover-thread/1025895 "2025-12-21T04:05:40Z")
(I’m sort of channelling my inner Beckdawreck here, whose style I genuinely admire) Oh hearken ye to thine company Holiday party . . . Where the company is pleasant (hopefully for ya) and the food is plentiful. It he… --- ## [Killing, forever, a built in "perk" on my phone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-forever-a-built-in-perk-on-my-phone/1025874)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2025, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killing-forever-a-built-in-perk-on-my-phone/1025874 "2025-12-21T03:36:19Z")
Voicemail. How do I murder without reservation this thang. This is my sooper seekrit (shhh) Motorola burner. No one uses the number to contact me. (Welp, because the number is seekrit too). I get calls from somewhere.… --- ## [Beating (less) dead horses: less or fewer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beating-less-dead-horses-less-or-fewer/1025525)
**Author:** [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2025, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beating-less-dead-horses-less-or-fewer/1025525 "2025-12-21T01:28:58Z")
When to use “less” and when to use “fewer”. Fewer people today care about the issue, resulting in less discussion about the distinctions.\* Style guides counsel writers that “fewer” is used with count nouns, like people, … --- ## [What happened to Kamala Harris?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-kamala-harris/1002883)
**Author:** [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-kamala-harris/1002883 "2025-12-20T23:49:28Z")
You don’t see her mentioned in the left or right wing media. It seems like she disappeared for the last two years. Is Biden thinking of replacing her? --- ## [Vintage Christmas lights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-christmas-lights/1025836)
**Author:** [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vintage-christmas-lights/1025836 "2025-12-20T19:54:52Z")
Like a lot of people, I’ve developed a deep need for classic Christmas lights – I mean indoor ones, for the tree. These are fairly big bulbs, called C7. (C9 is even bigger, and most people hang those outside.) Everybod… --- ## [The Evil Nazi Mystery Collections](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-evil-nazi-mystery-collections/1025812)
**Author:** [@aruvqan\_myers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan_myers)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-evil-nazi-mystery-collections/1025812 "2025-12-20T19:38:25Z")
So, the idiotic AI on youtube has fed me a series of Nazis chasing mystic items … and I have no doubt that they thought about doing it, but what kept them from just invading the monastery that the Ethiopians claim to hav… --- ## [A wild hair or a wild hare?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wild-hair-or-a-wild-hare/91861)
**Author:** [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wild-hair-or-a-wild-hare/91861 "2025-12-20T19:30:52Z")
Around here, (in central Indiana) “a wild hare (or hair)” is an expression that means an impulsive, crazy pursuit, such as driving an hour each way to get a bowl of spicy stew at the Mousetrap or leaving work in the midd… --- ## [Finish this sentence please](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finish-this-sentence-please/1025843)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finish-this-sentence-please/1025843 "2025-12-20T19:08:37Z")
Hour by hour, day by day, month by month, year by year, decade by decade, century by century, millennia by millennia… :slight\_smile: --- ## [Plastic Recycling Breakthrough or scam](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-recycling-breakthrough-or-scam/1025891)
**Author:** [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-recycling-breakthrough-or-scam/1025891 "2025-12-20T18:48:30Z")
I don’t have the background to know if this is real hope or a scam for funding, but it looked interesting. I do know that Toluene is a very real chemical which is used in manufacturing. --- ## [Is "chapping my hide" a SDMB-flavor-of-the-month expression?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chapping-my-hide-a-sdmb-flavor-of-the-month-expression/1025886)
**Author:** [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chapping-my-hide-a-sdmb-flavor-of-the-month-expression/1025886 "2025-12-20T18:21:38Z")
I am an English-as-a-second-language poster, so my exposure to English is way more concentrated than that of many native speakers here. Which has good and not-so-good sides. One good side is that I seem to reckon that t… --- ## [Celebrities and their troubled kids](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-and-their-troubled-kids/1025795)
**Author:** [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-and-their-troubled-kids/1025795 "2025-12-20T17:06:28Z")
The recent tragedy regarding Rob Reiner and his son reminded me of the fate of the sons of some NFL head coaches. Andy Reid had a son who died of a drug overdose, and another who went to prison following a serious car a… --- ## [2020 Kia remote start](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-kia-remote-start/1025764)
**Author:** [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-kia-remote-start/1025764 "2025-12-20T16:38:53Z")
The Google is weak with this one. Kia after 2020 has a remote start function on the key fob, the little (unless you try to put it in your pocket) box that the key folds into, with switches to lock and unlock, sound the h… --- ## [IRobot, the maker of Roomba, has filed for Bankruptcy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irobot-the-maker-of-roomba-has-filed-for-bankruptcy/1025738)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irobot-the-maker-of-roomba-has-filed-for-bankruptcy/1025738 "2025-12-20T02:26:58Z")
Is your Roomba sulking in a corner crying? I remember when Roomba first hit the market. Engineer Joe Jones working in the MIT Computer and AI lab created the early design. It makes me feel so old to see the development… --- ## [A U.S. Marshals scenario and real world consequences \[bulk grain freighters\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-u-s-marshals-scenario-and-real-world-consequences-bulk-grain-freighters/1025646)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-u-s-marshals-scenario-and-real-world-consequences-bulk-grain-freighters/1025646 "2025-12-20T00:57:27Z")
Actually, I’ve seen this scenario numerous times: Two guys are fighting to the death in the vast hold of a ship. They’re in a grain shipment. One of them appears to be done in, then he rises out of the grain, and is shot… --- ## [Phone case problems](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-case-problems/1025800)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-case-problems/1025800 "2025-12-20T00:19:16Z")
I have a mobile phone. It’s an older model; a Samsung Galaxy A12 I bought in 2020. When I bought the phone, I also bought a protective screen and silicon case. The silicon case has torn and I want to replace it. I have … --- ## [Trump in one word](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-in-one-word/1025436)
**Author:** [@hideousidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hideousidiot)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-in-one-word/1025436 "2025-12-19T22:38:28Z")
There are so many, I know. But if you had to choose one to encapsulate him (and would that one could encapsulate him, and hurl that capsule to the deepest trench in the Pacific) which word would you choose? I would cho… --- ## [He made it! (Dick Van Dyke is 100 on 2025-12-13)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-made-it-dick-van-dyke-is-100-on-2025-12-13/1025664)
**Author:** [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-made-it-dick-van-dyke-is-100-on-2025-12-13/1025664 "2025-12-19T22:28:59Z")
Dick Van Dyke was born on 13 December 1925 in West Plains, Missouri. 100 years ago today. Happy birthday, Dick Van Dyke! What Dick Van Dyke thoughts do you have? I remember him from The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966). … --- ## [Other than Duma Key, do any Stephen King novels lack human villains? Open spoilers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-duma-key-do-any-stephen-king-novels-lack-human-villains-open-spoilers/1025728 "2025-12-19T21:48:06Z")
I recently finished listening to the audiobook version of Stephen King’s Duma Key. I really liked it, more so than a lot of his other books. Thinking about why I like it so much, one of the things I noticed was that th… --- ## [Bermuda triangle and conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-and-conspiracy/1025826)
**Author:** [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-and-conspiracy/1025826 "2025-12-19T20:48:10Z")
Random shower thought: how/why did the Bermuda Triangle fall out of favor with the “Conspiracy Loonies”, while other CL-fads (flat-earth, moon landing, and new ones: 11/9, vaccines, covid) seem to be doing well? (just … --- ## [Checks, Public Input, and the Federal Reserve](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/checks-public-input-and-the-federal-reserve/1025626)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/checks-public-input-and-the-federal-reserve/1025626 "2025-12-19T20:19:26Z")
Recently, the Fed began considering doing away with paper checks. I wanted to contact them about this. But their public input page will not accept input. All it does is pulse slowly, & will not permit me to input data… --- ## [Give me some new Christmas music!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-some-new-christmas-music/956331)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-some-new-christmas-music/956331 "2025-12-19T20:08:22Z")
Looking for some fresh blood when it comes to the Christmas tunes. For example, Christopher Lee singing some dark Christmas metal :grinning\_face\_with\_smiling\_eyes: --- ## [Why is this board trying to downplay the Gazan genocide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-trying-to-downplay-the-gazan-genocide/1025856)
**Author:** [@DCTrekkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCTrekkie)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-trying-to-downplay-the-gazan-genocide/1025856 "2025-12-19T19:48:42Z")
Reagrding this mod post Discussion thread for the Hamas Attacks Israel thread, October 2023 - #5681 Why is the word “Genocide” banned in a discussion of Israels actions in Gaza? It’s a perfectly accurate and appropriat… --- ## [Please help me find this short comic strip from ca.1975](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-find-this-short-comic-strip-from-ca-1975/1025765)
**Author:** [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-find-this-short-comic-strip-from-ca-1975/1025765 "2025-12-19T19:19:37Z")
It’s a two-panel Hagar the Horrible in which Hagar says “There are little flecks of gold in my beard. Don’t they make me look distinguished?” His wife replies deadpan “Those are codfish flakes.” I know it was printed … --- ## [The health benefits of certain foods eaten hot v.s. cold](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-health-benefits-of-certain-foods-eaten-hot-v-s-cold/1025753)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-health-benefits-of-certain-foods-eaten-hot-v-s-cold/1025753 "2025-12-19T17:31:38Z")
I’m putting this into F.Q. because I’m hoping for factual dietary and nutritional information. I love making overnight oats. A dash of cinnamon ( regarded as fairly healthy ) and a spoonful of unsugared peanut butter, a… --- ## [A question about Mod notes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mod-notes/1025830)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-mod-notes/1025830 "2025-12-19T15:55:50Z")
I recently was justifiably awarded a Mod note, (no dispute about that here) and the moderator included fine print saying “nothing on your permanent record.” On the other hand, in another thread about another poster, a di… --- ## [Reforming the Inspector General "corps"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reforming-the-inspector-general-corps/1025854)
**Author:** [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reforming-the-inspector-general-corps/1025854 "2025-12-19T14:42:21Z")
I’m listening to a Lawfare podcast about Inspectors General, what they do, how they do it, and what the current administration has done to strip them of a lot of effectiveness. During this first not-even-a-year, the adm… --- ## [Sushi rice recommendations?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-rice-recommendations/1025808)
**Author:** [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-rice-recommendations/1025808 "2025-12-19T05:13:19Z")
DH has recently developed a bit of an addiction to Spam musubi. I’ve been using Nishiki brand medium-grain rice, but have decided I’d prefer something stickier that holds together better. I use an Instant Pot to make ric… --- ## [Why blue eyes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue-eyes/718718)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2025, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blue-eyes/718718 "2025-12-19T04:08:36Z")
Looking at the map of the distribution of blue eyes in Europe made me wonder: why do Europeans have blue eyes? Were they found in other parts of the world before European expansion and inter-marrying? https://unsafehar… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=178&state=muted) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=180&state=muted)