# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=416 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 417 --- ## [Christmas Tree Pics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-pics/1011397)
**Author:** [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-tree-pics/1011397 "2024-12-14T16:40:04Z")
I can’t believe we don’t have a thread for sharing pictures of our Christmas trees. My wife takes the tree very seriously, always doing a color theme (and sometimes more than just colors). You would not believe how much … --- ## [About dust allergies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-dust-allergies/1011582)
**Author:** [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-dust-allergies/1011582 "2024-12-14T16:36:47Z")
My ENT recently suggested that I get an allergy test, to see if I was reacting to something causing my chronic rhinitis. Turns out I have a mild reaction to dust mites and dogs. Among other things, a friend suggested t… --- ## [Recommend me an online pharmacy -- must take Medicare and supplementary insurance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-online-pharmacy-must-take-medicare-and-supplementary-insurance/1011621)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-online-pharmacy-must-take-medicare-and-supplementary-insurance/1011621 "2024-12-14T16:05:29Z")
My current online pharmacy, which is associated with our Medicare supplement insurance, has become impossibly incompetent to deal with, and I want to change. So I have come here, as with so many other issues, to get reco… --- ## [Time dimensionS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-dimensions/1010090)
**Author:** [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-dimensions/1010090 "2024-12-14T14:34:57Z")
Instead of hijacking this thread: Was the universe infinitely large immediately after the Big Bang? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board I ask here: Just what makes a dimension “time-like”, and what preven… --- ## [Fatal hit-and-run - passenger got arrested](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-hit-and-run-passenger-got-arrested/929517)
**Author:** [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-hit-and-run-passenger-got-arrested/929517 "2024-12-14T14:22:06Z")
In a recent tragic hit-and-run incident in Calgary (Canada), a policeman was killed. Shortly after, it was announced that the driver and his passenger had been arrested. Can a passenger in such an incident be charged wi… --- ## [Corner reflector on the moon thought experiment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corner-reflector-on-the-moon-thought-experiment/1010771)
**Author:** [@sbright33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbright33)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corner-reflector-on-the-moon-thought-experiment/1010771 "2024-12-14T14:11:48Z")
Please correct me if I’m wrong with Facts. All we need is a corner reflector on the moon. 3 mirrors glued together so they are perpendicular. 3 sides of a cube. The other 3 are open. Like a radar reflector on a ship. It … --- ## [Have we reached the peak of media compression technology or is it still advancing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-reached-the-peak-of-media-compression-technology-or-is-it-still-advancing/1008652)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-reached-the-peak-of-media-compression-technology-or-is-it-still-advancing/1008652 "2024-12-14T12:41:39Z")
I’m not sure if this is a factual question or not. But my impression is 25 years ago, the MP3 was the best compressed form for audio. It is about 90% smaller than a lossless, non-compressed file. I don’t know much about … --- ## [Rugby question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rugby-question/1011583)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rugby-question/1011583 "2024-12-14T07:57:14Z")
This is the one sport I don’t understand, so forgive the probably very basic question. When a team is advancing the ball, and a player gets tackled, they seem to be allowed to leave ball on the ground for a teammate. P… --- ## [Warner Brothers Lawyers: (Spittake!)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warner-brothers-lawyers-spittake/974164)
**Author:** [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warner-brothers-lawyers-spittake/974164 "2024-12-14T06:54:36Z")
Uhm…the fuh. I have a difficult time believing Diddy got permission for this because there would be creative control issues…etc…you can’t just call up DC and say “Yo im doing a tequila commercial, how many zeros do i add… --- ## [Sergeant Cork tv series](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sergeant-cork-tv-series/1011623)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sergeant-cork-tv-series/1011623 "2024-12-14T03:10:20Z")
A British series from 1963-1966, set in about 1890 Victorian London. Sergeant Cork and DC Marriott are the sum total of a new class of policeman called “detectives” in the new CID department at Scotland Yard. I highly re… --- ## [Why dentists went to open spaces for patient treatment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dentists-went-to-open-spaces-for-patient-treatment/1011560)
**Author:** [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dentists-went-to-open-spaces-for-patient-treatment/1011560 "2024-12-14T03:08:48Z")
Continuing the discussion from Fast Food Kitchens: Or maybe the rash of sexual abuse cases in the 80s & 90s I believe? --- ## [When did celebrity autograph signings at public events go from free to paid?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-celebrity-autograph-signings-at-public-events-go-from-free-to-paid/1011390)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-celebrity-autograph-signings-at-public-events-go-from-free-to-paid/1011390 "2024-12-14T02:12:53Z")
Note not talking about randomly finding them on the street, rather at conventions or other public signing events. Though I never went to them prior to the 2000s seeing them in media it didn’t really seem like the celebr… --- ## [Formula 1 2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-1-2024/995536)
**Author:** [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Replies:** 322\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/formula-1-2024/995536 "2024-12-14T01:38:53Z")
New year, so I guess it’s time for a new thread. Let’s start out with a bummer, shall we? I don’t like her as a presenter because she is bad at the job. But this Maga shit is just nauseating. “…and most recently shar… --- ## [Medical folks -- what do you think of Mangione's back X-ray?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-folks-what-do-you-think-of-mangiones-back-x-ray/1011554)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-folks-what-do-you-think-of-mangiones-back-x-ray/1011554 "2024-12-14T00:35:40Z")
Luigi Mangione, the United Healthcare CEO’s killer, had posted an X-ray of his back, showing fixation hardware for a fusion of L5 and S1. It’s obvious that L5 was too forward of S1. The X-ray appears in lots of places o… --- ## [Mystery stone tablet found](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-stone-tablet-found/1011321)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-stone-tablet-found/1011321 "2024-12-13T21:51:56Z")
The tablet has 60 characters inscribed in it, that correspond to no known language. The basalt slab was discovered by accident in 2021 by a group of local fishermen who spotted it in the silt of Bashplemi Lake, Georgia… --- ## [Tracking down which username and password are compromised](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracking-down-which-username-and-password-are-compromised/1011616)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracking-down-which-username-and-password-are-compromised/1011616 "2024-12-13T20:41:51Z")
I occasionally go to a website and log in, and Chrome will tell me to update my password because that username/password combo has been compromised. Is there any way for me to get access to the data that Chrome is using?… --- ## [CNN has outsmarted itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-has-outsmarted-itself/1011587)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-has-outsmarted-itself/1011587 "2024-12-13T20:33:07Z")
I asked about national news sites that are still free a few weeks ago. But I have noticed a way around CNN’s block. When you click on the headline to read an article the popup tells you to sign up for a membership. But i… --- ## [Again with the Bad Latin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-bad-latin/616359)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/again-with-the-bad-latin/616359 "2024-12-13T19:32:30Z")
Probably not worth a pit thread, but once again I am disappointed at a TV writer’s refusal to pick up a phone and call somebody who actually knows Latin. A recent episode of American Dad featured an old man casting a cur… --- ## [Belloingcat Open Source challenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belloingcat-open-source-challenge/1011610)
**Author:** [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belloingcat-open-source-challenge/1011610 "2024-12-13T17:46:35Z")
https://challenge.bellingcat.com/ Some pretty tricky answers to find here… thought it might be a good test for peoples sleuthing skills. I got the first two (and I think I managed to get the second one without finding … --- ## [Can I stream BBC World Service on autoplay?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stream-bbc-world-service-on-autoplay/1011536)
**Author:** [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-stream-bbc-world-service-on-autoplay/1011536 "2024-12-13T16:59:03Z")
I can’t find anything about this. I had a link in my phone that I think was put there by the manufacturer of this alarm app, but it doesn’t play. I want my Android alarm app to turn on and wake me up with a live stream … --- ## [Long-in-development Movies Completed by someone else](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-in-development-movies-completed-by-someone-else/1011565)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-in-development-movies-completed-by-someone-else/1011565 "2024-12-13T13:38:51Z")
I re-watched The Thief and the Cobbler recently. It was a long-term project of Richard Williams (who directed the animation for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and, as we’ve been discussing in the Christmas Carl thread, the 1971… --- ## [Increasingly, people are being killed over smaller and smaller things](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasingly-people-are-being-killed-over-smaller-and-smaller-things/983613)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 205\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/increasingly-people-are-being-killed-over-smaller-and-smaller-things/983613 "2024-12-13T13:20:35Z")
Not sure if this is GD or IMHO (mods can decide), but there were two excellent op-eds that came out recently: A man getting choked to death just for shouting loudly on a New York subway, a woman shot because she was… --- ## [Trump to recognise Somaliland](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-recognise-somaliland/1011524)
**Author:** [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-recognise-somaliland/1011524 "2024-12-13T10:51:45Z")
Somaliland is the largest unrecognised country, it’s a former British protectorate that merged with Somalia immediately after independence, and declared independence in 1991. It seems to have been doing a lot better than… --- ## [Most quintessential Christmas singer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-quintessential-christmas-singer/1011515)
**Author:** [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-quintessential-christmas-singer/1011515 "2024-12-13T09:43:05Z")
With only two weeks till Christmas, we’re in the thick of Christmas music on the radio, as background music in stores, etc. Which singer to you most exemplifies Christmas music? To me, I think the only real answer here i… --- ## [Has anyone else had the absolute worst luck with Tinder or online dating?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-else-had-the-absolute-worst-luck-with-tinder-or-online-dating/1011526)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-else-had-the-absolute-worst-luck-with-tinder-or-online-dating/1011526 "2024-12-13T07:01:38Z")
Straight male btw just for reference I’ve been using Tinder continuously since 2013 (outside of times I was actually in a committed relationship) My stats are 5 Conversations that actually got to the planning to meet-… --- ## [2024 US Senate Elections](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-us-senate-elections/975149)
**Author:** [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Replies:** 469\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2024-us-senate-elections/975149 "2024-12-13T04:42:45Z")
Too early to talk about the 2024 races? I guarantee you the party poohbahs are already talking about them! With the very important caveat that one 2022 Senate race is yet to be determined, below is my take on the state… --- ## [Really cheap tires on garden equipment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-tires-on-garden-equipment/1011568)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-cheap-tires-on-garden-equipment/1011568 "2024-12-13T02:34:16Z")
The current generation of tires for garden carts and wagons, even wheelbarrows are the cheapest crap I have ever seen. No other tires are like these 8 to 10 inch beasties. I had to replace one this year. It was fine in t… --- ## [Mysterious respiratory illness kills at least 143 in Congo, mostly children](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-respiratory-illness-kills-at-least-143-in-congo-mostly-children/1011338)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-respiratory-illness-kills-at-least-143-in-congo-mostly-children/1011338 "2024-12-13T01:35:54Z")
Symptoms include cough, fever, and interestingly, anemia. Most of the diagnosed victims were aged 5 or less, and it’s unknown if the anemia is part of the illness, or if people who are anemic, due to malnutrition or oth… --- ## [The Amazing Kreskin dead at 89](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-kreskin-dead-at-89/1011501)
**Author:** [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-kreskin-dead-at-89/1011501 "2024-12-13T01:06:07Z")
Wonder if he predicted his own death. George Joseph Kresge Jr. --- ## [Question about 'attacking the poster' moderation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-attacking-the-poster-moderation/1011451)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-attacking-the-poster-moderation/1011451 "2024-12-13T00:57:32Z")
In this thread about the recent street murder, Stranger was moderated for (coming close to) attacking the poster. Please note, I am not questioning the moderation. But more asking about the ‘attacking the poster’ part. … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=415) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=417)