# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=244&state=tracking [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 245 --- ## [Why did I see red triangles? Visual hallucination?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-see-red-triangles-visual-hallucination/919374)
**Author:** [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-i-see-red-triangles-visual-hallucination/919374 "2025-09-09T12:54:35Z")
I had a fascinating experience last night in which I saw vivid, clear red triangles instead of singular red lights on the highway, on buildings, everywhere I looked. I had been to a nice dinner that included multiple co… --- ## [Anyone else see/hear about 44 - the (Obama) Musical?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-hear-about-44-the-obama-musical/1022859)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2025, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-hear-about-44-the-obama-musical/1022859 "2025-09-09T11:36:43Z")
We saw this over the weekend. It is in Chicago for previews before heading to NY. I believe it had had a prior stint in Chicago and then a stretch in LA. Anyone else see it? Or hear about it and care to express opini… --- ## [How is a trust maintenance fee calculated in this scenario?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-trust-maintenance-fee-calculated-in-this-scenario/1022877)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2025, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-trust-maintenance-fee-calculated-in-this-scenario/1022877 "2025-09-09T09:08:49Z")
If a treasury bond is placed in a trust, and the trust charges a maintenance fee based on a percentage of assets, which asset is the fee based on? The value of the bond? The earned interest after taxes? The earned inter… --- ## [So did Nebraska systematically spoof its COVID numbers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-nebraska-systematically-spoof-its-covid-numbers/1022819)
**Author:** [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2025, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-nebraska-systematically-spoof-its-covid-numbers/1022819 "2025-09-09T04:44:42Z")
I was just reading this paper and there are several references to Nebraska as an outlier in its COVID death rate: We also conducted robustness checks where we exclude the state of Nebraska, as there appear to be incons… --- ## [Hollow Knight: Silksong](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollow-knight-silksong/1022744)
**Author:** [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2025, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollow-knight-silksong/1022744 "2025-09-09T03:21:41Z")
After 7 years, the sequel to Hollow Knight is about to come out in half an hour: Hollow Knight: Silksong on Steam Anyone curious about it? I only played the first one for about an hour, but there is a lot of internet ex… --- ## [Return To Office, not working as controlling bosses wanted it](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-to-office-not-working-as-controlling-bosses-wanted-it/1020858)
**Author:** [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2025, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/return-to-office-not-working-as-controlling-bosses-wanted-it/1020858 "2025-09-09T02:51:27Z")
Late last year, Forbes reported that 90% of companies will return to the office in 2024, with 28% threatening to fire workers who don’t comply. But it turns out that the motivations for calling workers back to the of… --- ## [Why we need the metric system](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-we-need-the-metric-system/554140)
**Author:** [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2025, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-we-need-the-metric-system/554140 "2025-09-09T00:11:17Z")
I’ve just put together a video describing one (often overlooked) reason why we Americans need the metric system – and, no, this reason ISN’T the Mars Climate Orbiter: (Note that in doing this little projec… --- ## [Help me identify this space game from before 2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-space-game-from-before-2002/1022827)
**Author:** [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-space-game-from-before-2002/1022827 "2025-09-08T21:54:15Z")
So I used to live in Canada for a short while. While there, a friend of the family I was living with brought over a game that was entertaining to play. Normally I don’t like space games, but this was interesting. Okay… --- ## [Jeep stopped by police, drunk driver arrested](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeep-stopped-by-police-drunk-driver-arrested/1022848)
**Author:** [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeep-stopped-by-police-drunk-driver-arrested/1022848 "2025-09-08T21:16:11Z")
Nothing particularly unusual here, except the Jeep was quite small, and pink in colour. The driver was described as “drunk”, but this being BC, I suspect other substances may have been involved. The man is appealing th… --- ## [Is the President calling out the National Guard constitutional?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-calling-out-the-national-guard-constitutional/1019369)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-president-calling-out-the-national-guard-constitutional/1019369 "2025-09-08T20:11:20Z")
I am deliberately keeping this out of P&E because I don’t want the thread to devolve into Trump v. The City of Los Angeles. Instead think of Eisenhower forcing desegregation in 1957 in Arkansas. I know it is legal as p… --- ## [Peripheral Conversationalist v Interlocutor](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peripheral-conversationalist-v-interlocutor/1022784)
**Author:** [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peripheral-conversationalist-v-interlocutor/1022784 "2025-09-08T20:06:23Z")
Do you start off talking to people one-on-one with peripheral vision and verbally addressing them? On the other hand, do you always expect direct eye contact with every person with whom you converse? Are they a false dic… --- ## [My satirical comic book AMERICAN GREATNESS #1 is available for sale digitally and in print](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-satirical-comic-book-american-greatness-1-is-available-for-sale-digitally-and-in-print/1019308)
**Author:** [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-satirical-comic-book-american-greatness-1-is-available-for-sale-digitally-and-in-print/1019308 "2025-09-08T19:41:51Z")
It’s finally finished and for sale! AMERICAN GREATNESS takes on Trumpian politics – “The last 9 years of American politics distilled into a revolting, orange-haired, tiny-fingered, thousand-foot monster, tromping through… --- ## [The Boatlift of 9/11](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boatlift-of-9-11/1022810)
**Author:** [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boatlift-of-9-11/1022810 "2025-09-08T19:38:12Z")
A video of the evacuation of Lower Manhattan via ferry, tugboat and private craft. The largest rescue by water in history. Narrated by Tom Hanks. BOATLIFT - An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience (HD Version) --- ## [Aretha Franklin played golf?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-played-golf/1022802)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aretha-franklin-played-golf/1022802 "2025-09-08T19:27:22Z")
On paper, no reason why not, but I was still surprised to read (Once in a Great City, by David Maraniss) that in 1963 she “…was telling everyone about how she loved to play golf with Ted and travel with him to her new fa… --- ## [Oh. Hello!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-hello/1022794)
**Author:** [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-hello/1022794 "2025-09-08T18:33:26Z")
Hi. Hello. --- ## [Same name as job](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489)
**Author:** [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Replies:** 138\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489 "2025-09-08T18:24:56Z")
I had an unusual experience. I went to a bank and the person who waited on me was named “Teller”. Has anything like this happened to you? Say, at a bakery or wherever? --- ## [Interesting cosplay I have seen recently](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-cosplay-i-have-seen-recently/1022856)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-cosplay-i-have-seen-recently/1022856 "2025-09-08T17:35:16Z")
I worked a table for Orycon and the Rose City Comic Con this weekend, and among the more interesting cosplays I saw was a couple “Weird” Al Yankovics, three Squirrel Girls, a Jay and Silent Bob lookalike pair that dress … --- ## [Should I take this cavity seriously?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-take-this-cavity-seriously/1022824)
**Author:** [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-take-this-cavity-seriously/1022824 "2025-09-08T17:06:27Z")
Bit of background. I have a bad gag reflex and as a result I have very rarely been to the dentist for a teeth cleaning. The last time was probably 15 years ago. This hasn’t been an issue because I have been fortunate nev… --- ## [What happens to the Tuvaluans when their country sinks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-tuvaluans-when-their-country-sinks/80330)
**Author:** [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-tuvaluans-when-their-country-sinks/80330 "2025-09-08T16:42:04Z")
Here’s a sample news story about the problems faced by the nation ofTuvalu. Scientists fear that the entire territory of the low-lying archipelagic country could be rendered uninhabitable by rising sea-levels. What are … --- ## [Any clue what a passing score is on the ASCP Phlebotomy Test?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-clue-what-a-passing-score-is-on-the-ascp-phlebotomy-test/537065)
**Author:** [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-clue-what-a-passing-score-is-on-the-ascp-phlebotomy-test/537065 "2025-09-08T16:19:27Z")
My wife has taken the pre-test for this: http://www.ascp.org/pdf/ExaminationContentGuidelinesPBT.aspx She got 76% of the questions right. Her instructors in phlebotomy never told her what the passing % is. It’s nowhe… --- ## [Sabaton--"The First Soldier"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sabaton-the-first-soldier/1022852)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sabaton-the-first-soldier/1022852 "2025-09-08T15:16:48Z")
I found this amazing song, about a very amazing man. Albert Severin Roche The First Soldier Of France. {LINK} Biography. My God, but to get a new hero in life, at MY age. LINK --- ## [TIL of a constructive use-case for the blockchain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/til-of-a-constructive-use-case-for-the-blockchain/1022621)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/til-of-a-constructive-use-case-for-the-blockchain/1022621 "2025-09-08T14:59:18Z")
Today I learned of an actual helpful use of the blockchain. I’ve been waiting for this for well over a decade and now it has arrived. From wiki, the blockchain, “Is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records tha… --- ## [Crock Pot Ribs? WTF?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crock-pot-ribs-wtf/1022684)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crock-pot-ribs-wtf/1022684 "2025-09-08T13:57:16Z")
I have complained about eating ribs that were mush. Ribs need texture and this weekend I had ribs that had been cooked in a crock pot, and then thrown in the smoker for 30 min to firm them up. They were almost mush but… --- ## [Books that should have been read in high school](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-should-have-been-read-in-high-school/1022741)
**Author:** [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-should-have-been-read-in-high-school/1022741 "2025-09-08T05:33:36Z")
Inspired by the “Books you read in high school that you absolutely hated” thread, what do you think are books that should be read in high school? I’d like to see The Long Walk taught. The way Stephen King makes the cha… --- ## [The VMAs (Video Music Awards) are being aired on CBS this year, not MTV](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vmas-video-music-awards-are-being-aired-on-cbs-this-year-not-mtv/1022733)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-vmas-video-music-awards-are-being-aired-on-cbs-this-year-not-mtv/1022733 "2025-09-08T05:16:55Z")
However, MTV has not, to my knowledge, shown videos for many years; their sister channels do. But CBS? Is it due to the merger I keep hearing people talk about? Yeah, I know, first world question du jour. --- ## [Another "identify that carnival ride" question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-identify-that-carnival-ride-question/1021671)
**Author:** [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-identify-that-carnival-ride-question/1021671 "2025-09-08T02:34:36Z")
Prompted by this question, What is this carnival attraction called?: I’m thinking of a ride I was on in the mid-1970s. Passengers sit inside small barrels (big enough for three or four kids sitting inside, on a circul… --- ## [Books you had read in high school that you absolutely loved](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-loved/1022772)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-had-read-in-high-school-that-you-absolutely-loved/1022772 "2025-09-08T02:12:34Z")
Inspired, of course, by the ’ Books you had read in high school that you absolutely hated’ thread, which also inspired the ’ Books that should have been read in high school’ thread. Anyway, I wanted to create this ‘othe… --- ## [What are some good flavored coffees?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-flavored-coffees/1022661)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-good-flavored-coffees/1022661 "2025-09-08T00:54:27Z")
Not the ones that claim to be a certain flavor, but unless you look at the package you couldn’t begin to guess that it was flavored at all, let alone what specific flavor it is supposed to be. --- ## [Goodbye My Sweet Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-my-sweet-girl/1022783)
**Author:** [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2025, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-my-sweet-girl/1022783 "2025-09-07T22:44:36Z")
Last week on Friday my wife and I took a three mile hike with our old dog Minnie. She did great, hopping in the car to her place after the trek as she always does. Today we had to say goodbye to her. In the space of a we… --- ## [Social Security watch thread -- from rumor to fact to speculation and back again](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-watch-thread-from-rumor-to-fact-to-speculation-and-back-again/1015976)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 180\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-watch-thread-from-rumor-to-fact-to-speculation-and-back-again/1015976 "2025-09-07T22:32:19Z")
I’d like to consolidate discussion about proposed, rumored, and actual changes to Social Security that are flying around in the news. I’ve seen references in various threads and hope the swirling vortex will pull them in… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=243&state=tracking) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=245&state=tracking)