# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=278&state=muted [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 279 --- ## [Israel, and the USA as of June 21, 2025, strikes dozens of targets in Iran, including nuclear program](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-and-the-usa-as-of-june-21-2025-strikes-dozens-of-targets-in-iran-including-nuclear-program/1019556)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 641\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-and-the-usa-as-of-june-21-2025-strikes-dozens-of-targets-in-iran-including-nuclear-program/1019556 "2025-07-17T17:38:27Z")
Israel said it has launched a series of strikes against Iran that included dozens of military targets, including the country’s nuclear program, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF said the operation, titl… --- ## [How precise are these coordinates?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-precise-are-these-coordinates/999621)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-precise-are-these-coordinates/999621 "2025-07-17T17:10:19Z")
I do a lot of photo identification on Vintageaerial.com. When I pin the location of a photo I describe the location in simple terms like, “north side of Cecil St just west of Adams Rd.” Occasionally I will use an actual … --- ## [Classic rock DJ's (or algorithms): play this, not that](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-rock-djs-or-algorithms-play-this-not-that/1020938)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-rock-djs-or-algorithms-play-this-not-that/1020938 "2025-07-17T16:28:20Z")
If you listen to classic rock (personally, my musical tastes got frozen somewhere in the mid-80s) on Spotify, or SiriusXM, or FM radio…you may have noticed that some songs get done to death while others have been forgott… --- ## [A question on Planck length](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-planck-length/984178)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-planck-length/984178 "2025-07-17T16:24:47Z")
From a purely mathematical view, the Planck length comes about when you normalize the speed of light (c), the Boltzmann constant (kb), the gravitational constant (G) and the reduced Planck constant (h - bar) to a value o… --- ## [$250 hotel incidental charge for "unauthorized" tampering with HVAC controls](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/250-hotel-incidental-charge-for-unauthorized-tampering-with-hvac-controls/1020863)
**Author:** [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MW_Degen_Gamblr)\ **Replies:** 221\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/250-hotel-incidental-charge-for-unauthorized-tampering-with-hvac-controls/1020863 "2025-07-17T16:06:00Z")
I jailbroke a hotel room thermostat and got hit with a $250 incidental damage fee. I bypassed the hotel’s rigged settings to drop the temperature below there “energy saving” 68 degree minimum. Apparently some snitching a… --- ## [RIP Martin Cruz Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-martin-cruz-smith/1020914)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-martin-cruz-smith/1020914 "2025-07-17T15:03:14Z")
He passed away on July 11, but I have just now learned about it. I first encountered him through his novel Gorky Park (1981), which hit the bestseller list and was promptly turned into a film starring William Hurt and Br… --- ## [Elsbeth, High Potential & Patience](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509)
**Author:** [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elsbeth-high-potential-patience/1020509 "2025-07-17T14:42:20Z")
All three recent TV shows have a woman with a special way of looking at things and solving crimes. Now I have never watch an episode of Elsbeth, but I know her from guest appearances on the Good Wife, etc. Her characte… --- ## [How to embed pictures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-embed-pictures/1020974)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-embed-pictures/1020974 "2025-07-17T14:17:11Z")
I could have sworn there was a sticky about this at one time or another. I know you have to host your image on a third party site, such as Imgur, but then is it just a matter of copying and pasting the link to the image? … --- ## [Why is Trump now opposing Putin, when for years he bowed down to him?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-now-opposing-putin-when-for-years-he-bowed-down-to-him/1020856)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-now-opposing-putin-when-for-years-he-bowed-down-to-him/1020856 "2025-07-17T14:14:33Z")
Recently Trump has been criticizing Putin, and even allowing more weapons for Ukraine. This is a 180 degree shift from Trump’s attitude for the past several years, when he always bowed down to Putin, and stopped supply… --- ## [Is lithium a micronutrient?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lithium-a-micronutrient/1020944)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lithium-a-micronutrient/1020944 "2025-07-17T13:50:05Z")
Currently the official RDA of lithium is zero; and it is known to be accumulative in the body meaning that intake for medical reasons like treating bipolar syndrome has to be carefully monitored. That said, lithium is so… --- ## [Calling all woodworkers: questions about framing to support 300lb fish tank](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-woodworkers-questions-about-framing-to-support-300lb-fish-tank/619502)
**Author:** [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-woodworkers-questions-about-framing-to-support-300lb-fish-tank/619502 "2025-07-17T13:30:07Z")
I’m getting a 30 gallon fish tank and intend to build a stand for it. The tank is 36"w x 12"d x 16"h and the stand will be 36.5" w x 12.5"d x 33"h. The tank will be approx 300 lbs when full. The reason I’m building a st… --- ## [Shakespeare Mafia-- Signup](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeare-mafia-signup/1020456)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeare-mafia-signup/1020456 "2025-07-17T12:36:40Z")
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. This is a Mafia game. The basic ide… --- ## [Hi Bob and other drinking games](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-bob-and-other-drinking-games/1020877)
**Author:** [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hi-bob-and-other-drinking-games/1020877 "2025-07-17T04:55:42Z")
Does anyone know how many drinks were prompted on an average episode of the Bob Newhart show? Any other favorite drinking games? --- ## [Jane's Addiction cancelling reunion tour after onstage brawl](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/janes-addiction-cancelling-reunion-tour-after-onstage-brawl/1007371)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/janes-addiction-cancelling-reunion-tour-after-onstage-brawl/1007371 "2025-07-17T04:19:40Z")
They had the original members, and not only did I not know they were on tour, I was quite surprised to find out that Perry Farrell is still alive. --- ## [What forum to share Doper-created art?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-forum-to-share-doper-created-art/1020954)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-forum-to-share-doper-created-art/1020954 "2025-07-17T02:19:54Z")
I’ve used AI to generate a series of interesting sports-related images that I’d like to share with the Dope. Would it be in Cafe Society because it’s art (kind of, inasmuch as AI-generated art counts as art)? Would it be… --- ## [Our cat Binx went across the Veil today](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-cat-binx-went-across-the-veil-today/1020822)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-cat-binx-went-across-the-veil-today/1020822 "2025-07-17T01:17:32Z")
Our beloved cat Binx, 13 days away from his 13th birthday, passed to the Great Beyond today. He was in renal failure and we took him to the emergency vet, where we euthanized him and he passed surrounded by his people. --- ## [How does the Portuguese Man o' War work? (Zooids and colonial organisms)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-portuguese-man-o-war-work-zooids-and-colonial-organisms/1020925)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-portuguese-man-o-war-work-zooids-and-colonial-organisms/1020925 "2025-07-17T00:45:19Z")
The Man o’ War is sometimes thought of by the layperson as a jellyfish, but it’s not. It’s a colonial organism called a siphonophore. It consists of zooids that are each specialized, but come from the same fertilized egg… --- ## [Term limits and age caps for federal office: if not, then what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-and-age-caps-for-federal-office-if-not-then-what/1020800)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-limits-and-age-caps-for-federal-office-if-not-then-what/1020800 "2025-07-17T00:35:43Z")
Current and recent circumstances have caused Redditors to bring up the idea of federal term limits and age caps with somewhat boring frequency. This is just the latest; here is a “classic” one from two years ago. As you … --- ## [Name Famous People You've Met](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863)
**Author:** [@Jim\_Taggart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Taggart)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-famous-people-youve-met/835863 "2025-07-17T00:23:33Z")
Name famous people you’ve met, not seen in person but actually had a conversation with. Mine are Mary Tyler Moore Jerry (the Beav) Mathers Dickie Noles (former MLB pitcher) --- ## [The hypothetical "top" and "bottom" of the Earth (better explained in OP)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hypothetical-top-and-bottom-of-the-earth-better-explained-in-op/1009122)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hypothetical-top-and-bottom-of-the-earth-better-explained-in-op/1009122 "2025-07-16T23:48:22Z")
So imagine you pierced an orange from top to bottom with a metal straw, perfectly vertically. The holes at either end are the “top” and “bottom” of the orange. Now imagine you did that with the Earth. The line through th… --- ## [Why do you complicate everything?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-complicate-everything/1020861)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-complicate-everything/1020861 "2025-07-16T23:47:32Z")
I think the next time I hear this in a casual conversation I am going to snap. 60 years ago men and women used logic in everyday conversations they would automatically start identifying pertinent factors that might someh… --- ## [If you were U.S. president, what would your reputation/image be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-u-s-president-what-would-your-reputation-image-be/1020903)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-u-s-president-what-would-your-reputation-image-be/1020903 "2025-07-16T22:17:23Z")
I would be the hermit president who hates public speaking and spends almost every day in the Oval Office “working from home” in front of a laptop. I would only ever travel for absolutely needed events. I would type up al… --- ## [My new political satire comic book/graphic novel project, AMERICAN GREATNESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-political-satire-comic-book-graphic-novel-project-american-greatness/1000505)
**Author:** [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-political-satire-comic-book-graphic-novel-project-american-greatness/1000505 "2025-07-16T22:10:29Z")
A handful of you may remember my novel CULTURAL PRACTICES OF THE HEARTLAND – a political satire I wrote about a giant monster, representing the insanity of recent politics in the US. The visuals of it stuck with me so m… --- ## [If’n I wanted to buy World Cup tickets, how would I go about it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-n-i-wanted-to-buy-world-cup-tickets-how-would-i-go-about-it/1020904)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-n-i-wanted-to-buy-world-cup-tickets-how-would-i-go-about-it/1020904 "2025-07-16T20:36:07Z")
I understand some sort of lotteries are involved, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Canadian resident, if that makes any difference? --- ## [What time is it? How do you determine the current, precise time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-how-do-you-determine-the-current-precise-time/1017657)
**Author:** [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-how-do-you-determine-the-current-precise-time/1017657 "2025-07-16T20:23:29Z")
Does anyone else here like to know the current, precise time down to the second? How do you determine that? Besides on a smart phone or watch, that is, down to the exact second? I’m confident this has been discussed her… --- ## [What the hell is "Potash?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-potash/1013436)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 155\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-potash/1013436 "2025-07-16T19:52:52Z")
Inspired by this quote from the “Retaliatory Tariffs” thread in Politics and Elections: I’d read about potash in my geography textbooks in fifth grade, but I never got a clear idea of what it IS. I guess about fifty ye… --- ## [Retaliatory tariffs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322)
**Author:** [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Replies:** 749\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retaliatory-tariffs/1013322 "2025-07-16T19:41:59Z")
People are saying that when Trump raises tariffs on various countries, they will likely retaliate by raising tariffs on American goods. Why? Trump’s tariffs are likely to hurt both sides. Wouldn’t other countries rais… --- ## [Junior officers suddenly in charge of large units](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-officers-suddenly-in-charge-of-large-units/1020876)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/junior-officers-suddenly-in-charge-of-large-units/1020876 "2025-07-16T17:37:16Z")
It’s a common enough trope in fiction: A large military unit is hit by a successful decapitation strike, leaving the only surviving officer (and hence new commander) as someone very junior who was late to the officers’ … --- ## ["I really REALLY hate that"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-really-hate-that/1020508)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-really-hate-that/1020508 "2025-07-16T16:57:56Z")
Do you currently live with an item you hate(no MIL jokes here :wink:) I have this chair. Just had to have it. Oh, 10-12 years ago. I always sat in one corner of the loveseat in my LR. By the lamp and table. The lovesea… --- ## [What would happen if I flew through a city at Mach 3?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-flew-through-a-city-at-mach-3/1020896)
**Author:** [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2025, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-flew-through-a-city-at-mach-3/1020896 "2025-07-16T16:54:29Z")
Assume I’m Superman-ish. Would there be massive building damage? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=277&state=muted) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=279&state=muted)