# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=313&state=tracking [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 314 --- ## [Has your spring this year been lousier than Chicago's?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-spring-this-year-been-lousier-than-chicagos/1018578)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-spring-this-year-been-lousier-than-chicagos/1018578 "2025-05-21T12:03:11Z")
Yeah, I know Chicago’s spring is always a crapshoot, usually with an emphasis on the crap. But it seems this year’s has been even crappier than usual. April and May have been extremely windy and pretty much bone dry. … --- ## [American attempts to take Canada](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-attempts-to-take-canada/1018502)
**Author:** [@justdoit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justdoit)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-attempts-to-take-canada/1018502 "2025-05-21T11:58:03Z")
Maybe this has been discussed already here but Trump is not the first president who wanted Canda. USA tried to take it in War of 1812 when Canada was a province. Americans thought it would be easy but it wasn’t. Were … --- ## [Hugo awards 2025](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hugo-awards-2025/1018596)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hugo-awards-2025/1018596 "2025-05-21T11:46:25Z")
I decided to attempt to vote for the Hugo’s this year. Mostly, because for $50, they give me an awful lot of “Hugo nominated” fiction. And I’m kinda looking for new authors to follow. Let’s see how much of the material i… --- ## [Betting on the Bear: SQQQ etc. "generally not intended to be held overnight"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betting-on-the-bear-sqqq-etc-generally-not-intended-to-be-held-overnight/1018508)
**Author:** [@Gordon\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_G)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betting-on-the-bear-sqqq-etc-generally-not-intended-to-be-held-overnight/1018508 "2025-05-21T11:44:32Z")
I sometimes bet on Do Not when I played Craps long ago, and am now inclined to make a small Bearish bet on the stock market just to “put my money where my mouth is.” I’m not optimistic about the Dollar either and would … --- ## [What Would Happen to Guernsey, Jersey, and Man if the U.K. Monarchy Were Abolished?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-guernsey-jersey-and-man-if-the-u-k-monarchy-were-abolished/1018560)
**Author:** [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-guernsey-jersey-and-man-if-the-u-k-monarchy-were-abolished/1018560 "2025-05-21T07:29:23Z")
Guernsey, Jersey, and Man are technically not a part of the U.K. but are possessions of the U.K. Crown. Theoretically. they could become independent, sovereign monarchies. But maybe they would just be absorbed by whatev… --- ## [Jordan Klepper deserves awards](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jordan-klepper-deserves-awards/952715)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jordan-klepper-deserves-awards/952715 "2025-05-21T07:12:20Z")
Here’s his latest: This guy is fucking brilliant. One-of-a-kind. Not even Jon Stewart could do this work as well as Klepper does it. I’d link to nearly every piece he’s done for the Daily Show for the pa… --- ## [Rock band on the moon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-band-on-the-moon/1018550)
**Author:** [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-band-on-the-moon/1018550 "2025-05-21T04:44:56Z")
Thinking about the recent thread about a horse on the moon, how about a rock band? I would think that guitar, bass, keys and wind intruments probably wouldn’t be too much trouble. But drums? Kick drum might be not too… --- ## [Movies you most associate with "Cable Movie Channel Repeats"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-most-associate-with-cable-movie-channel-repeats/1018600)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-most-associate-with-cable-movie-channel-repeats/1018600 "2025-05-21T03:19:37Z")
Basically if you had TNT, TBS, Showtime, Spike, or some other cable channel that mostly played a lot of movies to fill time, if whenever you switched to one of those stations and a certain movie was seemingly ALWAYS on? … --- ## [Mean Girls, original vs. remake: Why was the limit problem changed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mean-girls-original-vs-remake-why-was-the-limit-problem-changed/1018603)
**Author:** [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mean-girls-original-vs-remake-why-was-the-limit-problem-changed/1018603 "2025-05-21T02:38:54Z")
In both versions of the movie Mean Girls, there’s a climactic moment when the main character, Cady, is at a math competition, on the final question, where the contestants have to determine the value of the limit of an ex… --- ## [Video shows Sean Combs beating the shit out of Cassie Ventura](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-shows-sean-combs-beating-the-shit-out-of-cassie-ventura/1001723)
**Author:** [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [May 21, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-shows-sean-combs-beating-the-shit-out-of-cassie-ventura/1001723 "2025-05-21T01:13:11Z")
Video has been released that shows Sean Combs beating Cassie Ventura quite badly when she tried to leave a hotel they were in. Man, I knew the guy was a jerk, but this is really bad. I hope he faces some fucking consequ… --- ## [Epstein's flight logs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epsteins-flight-logs/1018540)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epsteins-flight-logs/1018540 "2025-05-20T23:22:54Z")
The more I hear about these logs, the more I wonder: Why would anyone trust the truthfulness of the flight logs, given the amoral scofflaws involved? And why would anyone assume there to be only one set of books? --- ## [Lithium-Ion batteries: Are there fire extinguishers can can put out a lithium-ion fire?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lithium-ion-batteries-are-there-fire-extinguishers-can-can-put-out-a-lithium-ion-fire/1018434)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lithium-ion-batteries-are-there-fire-extinguishers-can-can-put-out-a-lithium-ion-fire/1018434 "2025-05-20T22:09:32Z")
Title kinda says it all. I have heard Li-ion battery fires are near impossible to extinguish. They have all they need to burn on their own. Like most people these days I live with these batteries (including one fairly… --- ## [Whatever happened to semicolons?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-semicolons/324327)
**Author:** [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-semicolons/324327 "2025-05-20T18:41:42Z")
If you read stuff written more than a couple of decades ago, the writers made proper use of semicolons. Now you rarely see them. They have mostly been improperly replaced by commas. What is going on here? --- ## [Thousands of "fired" federal workers get their jobs back \[Rachel Maddow 5/1/25\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-fired-federal-workers-get-their-jobs-back-rachel-maddow-5-1-25/1018506)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-fired-federal-workers-get-their-jobs-back-rachel-maddow-5-1-25/1018506 "2025-05-20T18:40:30Z")
I couldn’t sleep last night and was browsing YouTube around 3 AM when I came across this video. According to it, Rachel Maddow states that a district judge in California, Judge William Alsup, an appointee of former Presi… --- ## [Car bomb explodes outside Palm Springs, CA fertility clinic, killing the car's occupant \[17-May-2025\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-bomb-explodes-outside-palm-springs-ca-fertility-clinic-killing-the-cars-occupant-17-may-2025/1018482)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-bomb-explodes-outside-palm-springs-ca-fertility-clinic-killing-the-cars-occupant-17-may-2025/1018482 "2025-05-20T17:37:19Z")
It also caused damage to nearby buildings, including a Denny’s across the street, but the cold-storage room at the clinic is intact. No other explosives were found in the area. I personally think the location was a coi… --- ## [End of the 20th Century world order? What next?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-20th-century-world-order-what-next/1017841)
**Author:** [@natureboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natureboy)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-20th-century-world-order-what-next/1017841 "2025-05-20T16:31:28Z")
Not sure where to put this, but watching the MAGA machine roll on, going back to the summer of last year, I’ve been reading/following articles and information from various people (actually educated people) who seem famil… --- ## [The Wolf of Snow Hollow (no spoilers in the OP)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow-no-spoilers-in-the-op/1018552)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wolf-of-snow-hollow-no-spoilers-in-the-op/1018552 "2025-05-20T15:28:40Z")
I saw this movie this weekend. It’s fantastic! Written, directed and stared in by Jim Cummings. In my opinion, the guy is very talented, I’d go so far as saying he’s brilliant. It’s a dark comedy and it ultimately is no… --- ## [New Jersey Passed A Law Against Deep Fakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-passed-a-law-against-deep-fakes/1016544)
**Author:** [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Replies:** 107\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-jersey-passed-a-law-against-deep-fakes/1016544 "2025-05-20T14:41:37Z")
I cannot find the exact wording of the law. Governor Murphy said on the local news that other states had passed such laws. But that they had been struck down as violations of the first ammendment. That is one reason I o… --- ## [Love Death and Robots Season 4 Netflix](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-death-and-robots-season-4-netflix/1018465)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-death-and-robots-season-4-netflix/1018465 "2025-05-20T14:33:45Z")
New Season drop and deserves a thread. A first live action entry. Cute enough I guess. Overall the animation styles are the star here. And they are interesting. I just wish they were in service of better stories. Prev… --- ## [What is this? (aerial image in someone's back yard)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-aerial-image-in-someones-back-yard/1018543)
**Author:** [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-aerial-image-in-someones-back-yard/1018543 "2025-05-20T14:25:58Z")
I think FQ is the correct spot for this. I was perusing Google Maps and found this in someone’s rural back yard It is two arcs connected by radiating lines (9 x16 meters). THe arcs ‘focus’ on a centered square structu… --- ## [Eurovision 2025 discussion thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eurovision-2025-discussion-thread/1018339)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eurovision-2025-discussion-thread/1018339 "2025-05-20T10:06:07Z")
It’s the first night of Eurovision. In the USA, you can stream on Peacock. So far, I liked Poland and didn’t like Slovenia --- ## [In Newfoundland you can walk on the mantle of the Earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-newfoundland-you-can-walk-on-the-mantle-of-the-earth/1018562)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-newfoundland-you-can-walk-on-the-mantle-of-the-earth/1018562 "2025-05-20T07:16:31Z")
Is it just a huge slab that somehow got to the surface, or does that mean that there’s a gap in the crust and the mantle is poking up? I’m having trouble understanding. Apparently there is an area called the Tablelands … --- ## [Band names containing misspelled animal names](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-containing-misspelled-animal-names/1018557)
**Author:** [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/band-names-containing-misspelled-animal-names/1018557 "2025-05-20T06:12:05Z")
There was a fad for animal-themed band names in the 60s, which the Internet tells me was started by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. I think there was a sub-fad within it for misspelling the animal name. I can only think of… --- ## [Upgrading a Windows Laptop w/ odd hardware configuration - questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-a-windows-laptop-w-odd-hardware-configuration-questions/1018183)
**Author:** [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-a-windows-laptop-w-odd-hardware-configuration-questions/1018183 "2025-05-20T04:05:47Z")
I have a Dell G3 15" 3579 laptop that I am about to upgrade, and I have a couple of questions on how to go about this that I wondered if the SDMB could help me with. They’re kind of esoteric, but I’d like to know if any… --- ## [Did Carl Sagan say "a physicist is a hydrogen atom's way of learning about hydrogen atoms"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-carl-sagan-say-a-physicist-is-a-hydrogen-atoms-way-of-learning-about-hydrogen-atoms/1018380)
**Author:** [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-carl-sagan-say-a-physicist-is-a-hydrogen-atoms-way-of-learning-about-hydrogen-atoms/1018380 "2025-05-20T03:48:09Z")
Physicist Brian Cox quoted the beautiful aforementioned phrase on Colbert’s show, attributing it to Carl Sagan. Googling it yielded few results but they seem to be all quoting Brian Cox quoting Carl Sagan. Did Sagan re… --- ## [Guess what went wrong with cat, for fun?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-cat-for-fun/1018542)
**Author:** [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-went-wrong-with-cat-for-fun/1018542 "2025-05-20T03:20:55Z")
A cat has been arrested for drug smuggling. Yes. --- ## [Ironic injuries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-injuries/1018548)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ironic-injuries/1018548 "2025-05-20T02:23:41Z")
I was doing some chainsawing this weekend, and no, the chainsawing itself was not the cause of the ironic injury. I was putting on safety glasses, one of the arms was bent inward, and I poked myself pretty hard in the fa… --- ## [I don’t listen to podcasts. How do I forbid my echo from offering to play them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-listen-to-podcasts-how-do-i-forbid-my-echo-from-offering-to-play-them/1018558)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-listen-to-podcasts-how-do-i-forbid-my-echo-from-offering-to-play-them/1018558 "2025-05-19T23:50:23Z")
I’d also like to configure the Amazon music app so it never lists any podcasts as available programming when I’m listening in my car. TIA --- ## [Ben Casey opening -- what did it mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-casey-opening-what-did-it-mean/1018505)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2025, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-casey-opening-what-did-it-mean/1018505 "2025-05-19T23:02:27Z")
Here it is on YouTube: For those who don’t want to watch, the words “Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity” are said (in Sam Jaffe’s voice) while the symbols are written on a chalkboard in a vertical column. … --- ## [Hudson's Bay Company -- Canada's last great department store -- is in trouble](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hudsons-bay-company-canadas-last-great-department-store-is-in-trouble/1015295)
**Author:** [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hudsons-bay-company-canadas-last-great-department-store-is-in-trouble/1015295 "2025-05-19T20:57:53Z")
Founded May 2, 1670 – no, not a typo, but back then they were a fur trading company. But after the demise of department stores one by one, The Bay remained in business, in its unique niche as an upscale department store… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=312&state=tracking) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=314&state=tracking)