# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=44&state=watching [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 45 --- ## [It would seem that I actually have a literary agent](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-would-seem-that-i-actually-have-a-literary-agent/1032224)
**Author:** [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-would-seem-that-i-actually-have-a-literary-agent/1032224 "2026-08-11T20:30:32Z")
It feels so surreal to be typing that statement. I’ve become so cynical and discouraged about querying lit agents that my first inclination was to assume it was a scam. Kept waiting for the moment when I was asked to sen… --- ## [How universal is the term ‘shotgun’ for a vehicle’s front passenger seat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620 "2026-08-11T19:47:27Z")
The other day my son, who is home from college for the Summer, had a friend from high school ride his bike over to visit. Just as he got to our house his bike broke down and was unridable. So my son asked me if I could l… --- ## [My cat keeps pulling up the registers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-keeps-pulling-up-the-registers/1032187)
**Author:** [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-keeps-pulling-up-the-registers/1032187 "2026-08-11T19:23:24Z")
This is Otto. We’ve had him for about two months. Nice boy, but he’s about as sharp as a sack full of wet mice. The last few days, he’s been obsessed with pulling the hea… --- ## [The Qatari jet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-qatari-jet/1030142)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-qatari-jet/1030142 "2026-08-11T17:48:21Z")
Okay, Qatar gives trump this huge white elephant. Now, for some reason it’s necessary to tear it down to the skin for retrofitting to the tune of at least a billion dollars. The idea is to make it a safe and secure Air F… --- ## [What are drip-dry clothes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-drip-dry-clothes/1032251)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-drip-dry-clothes/1032251 "2026-08-11T16:33:44Z")
I’m reading Three-Eight Charlie by Jerrie Mock, about her 1964 solo flight around the world. She mentions ‘drip-dry clothes’. What are those? Aren’t all clothes drip-dry? I mean, you hang them up, the water drips off… --- ## [The Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event had to have been crazy fast, right?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cretaceous-paleogene-extinction-event-had-to-have-been-crazy-fast-right/1032096)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cretaceous-paleogene-extinction-event-had-to-have-been-crazy-fast-right/1032096 "2026-08-11T15:53:59Z")
I’ve been catching up on a lot of the science that’s happened in 30 years since I had a formal science class, especially genetic studies and fossils that support evolution in really remarkable ways. Some of the more fasc… --- ## [We all have our secrets!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-all-have-our-secrets/1032031 "2026-08-11T15:47:48Z")
What is your super secret ingredient that would horrify your friends and family if they knew you used it. Mine? A teaspoon of expresso powder in brown gravy. --- ## [Feets! "Be Clean"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feets-be-clean/1023751)
**Author:** [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feets-be-clean/1023751 "2026-08-11T10:37:01Z")
Do you actively wash your feet in the shower? Or just let what crud flows downward to clean them? I guess you can figure out what side I’m on. :blush: :foot: --- ## [Is sexism stronger than racism in America?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexism-stronger-than-racism-in-america/1027848)
**Author:** [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sexism-stronger-than-racism-in-america/1027848 "2026-08-11T09:19:52Z")
Continuing the discussion from Was Kamala Harris a below average Democratic Presidential Candidate?: (There was a related link 17 (!) years ago.) I started this (to avoid a hijack, and to) to say one data point is the… --- ## [Have tech entrepreneurs become Bond villains?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-tech-entrepreneurs-become-bond-villains/1032284)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-tech-entrepreneurs-become-bond-villains/1032284 "2026-08-11T04:30:19Z")
After listening to an alarming interview on Fresh Air with Gil Duran, author of “'The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy.” It seems not that long ago that Silicon Valley techies were seen as gen… --- ## [Reggie Bannister, from Phantasm series, and other horror movies, has died](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reggie-bannister-from-phantasm-series-and-other-horror-movies-has-died/1032288)
**Author:** [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reggie-bannister-from-phantasm-series-and-other-horror-movies-has-died/1032288 "2026-08-11T02:28:36Z")
Phantasm’s Reggie Banister has died. Phantasm, and the rest of the series has been a favorite of mine for awhile now. Reggie was always one of the more fun parts of the series. He was always fun when he showed up in oth… --- ## [The Geefle, the Gonk, and the nectarines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-geefle-the-gonk-and-the-nectarines/1032287)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-geefle-the-gonk-and-the-nectarines/1032287 "2026-08-11T01:12:41Z")
Recently I was reading about nectarines being not a specific fruit but only an unfurry cultivar of peach. It brought back a deep memory of Sesame Street. I don’t think this skit quite traumatized me, but I did think it w… --- ## [Windows 10 - setting cursor speed once and for all](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-10-setting-cursor-speed-once-and-for-all/1032245)
**Author:** [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-10-setting-cursor-speed-once-and-for-all/1032245 "2026-08-11T00:13:12Z")
I use my laptop at home, hooked up to a monitor on my desk. Then I bring it to work and do the same with the monitor there. At home, my cursor speed defaults to 14. But at work it’s set at 10 and every day I have to go i… --- ## [Other Stars, Other Suns, Superman](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-stars-other-suns-superman/1032211)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-stars-other-suns-superman/1032211 "2026-08-10T23:34:29Z")
Those of us who know comics know that Superman gets his powers under the energies of a Yellow Spectrum Sun. Red Suns deny him these energies. But Astronomy teaches of of other stars. There are five star colors: blue, … --- ## [Is it legal for me to have a tattoo added to my body after I die?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247 "2026-08-10T23:24:37Z")
Let’s say I want a small tattoo, non-obscene, added to an arm after I die. Would it be legal for this to happen? --- ## [Electrical Wiring: Can I cap a hot wire and leave it in a junction box above ceiling fan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-wiring-can-i-cap-a-hot-wire-and-leave-it-in-a-junction-box-above-ceiling-fan/1032222)
**Author:** [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-wiring-can-i-cap-a-hot-wire-and-leave-it-in-a-junction-box-above-ceiling-fan/1032222 "2026-08-10T23:21:29Z")
Can I cap a hot wire and leave it in a junction box above ceiling fan? Specifically: Is it safe and to code to cap a hot line and leave it in a junction box? I think this is SOP, but want to double-check. If so, any r… --- ## [Songs you can't play today](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-cant-play-today/1031799)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 146\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-cant-play-today/1031799 "2026-08-10T23:17:59Z")
Almost a decade ago, Baby It’s Cold Outside was flagged as sexist. Today, Zulu Warrior by The Brothers Four came up on my iPod. The lyrics: Ay-come-a-zimba-zimba-zi-a Ay-come-a-zimba-zimba-zee … seem like they may… --- ## [No blue jeans allowed -- in 1972?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-blue-jeans-allowed-in-1972/1032194)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-blue-jeans-allowed-in-1972/1032194 "2026-08-10T22:08:53Z")
How many roller rinks are out there now? Didn’t occur to the sign painter that girls could wear jeans too --- ## [Roger Waters is a tankie](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234)
**Author:** [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Replies:** 392\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234 "2026-08-10T22:03:10Z")
At least, that’s the impression one gets from his interview with CNN today, in which he claims, among other things, that Russia is only invading Ukraine to defend itself from NATO aggression, that Joe Biden is a war crim… --- ## [Unified Field Theorem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unified-field-theorem/1032257)
**Author:** [@cladking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cladking)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unified-field-theorem/1032257 "2026-08-10T21:13:17Z")
I believe the great scientists of the last century were making this too complex by trying to solve a procedural question symbolically and then finding that there is no math capable of it. … --- ## [Channel 56](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/channel-56/1032219)
**Author:** [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/channel-56/1032219 "2026-08-10T17:28:15Z")
I grew up in the Los Angeles media market and I could access (at most) about half a dozen UHF channels. About half were foreign language stations (CH 14-25 roughly). The local PBS station was CH 28. Moving up the dial, t… --- ## [Why was the site in "read-only mode" for 15 minutes just now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-site-in-read-only-mode-for-15-minutes-just-now/1032262)
**Author:** [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-site-in-read-only-mode-for-15-minutes-just-now/1032262 "2026-08-10T17:22:51Z")
That was weird. --- ## [All things Pickleball](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-things-pickleball/1032231)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-things-pickleball/1032231 "2026-08-10T15:42:31Z")
A digression from When i was young, people played tennis. Or some racquet ball fans liked squash or table tennis. But now pickleball is all the rage. What is it? How is it different from tennis? Why did it suddenly ge… --- ## [Marine Corps Boot Camp Question (San Diego)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marine-corps-boot-camp-question-san-diego/1032256)
**Author:** [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marine-corps-boot-camp-question-san-diego/1032256 "2026-08-10T12:29:11Z")
Last week it was reported a Marine “recruit” died at Camp Pendleton, ostensibly during a physical evaluation. When I went through boot camp in San Diego (1969) recruits left MCRD only once, and that for rifle/marksmans… --- ## [Child Actors that didn't crash and burn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-actors-that-didnt-crash-and-burn/652964)
**Author:** [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Replies:** 251\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-actors-that-didnt-crash-and-burn/652964 "2026-08-10T11:19:13Z")
We hear a lot about hild stars that burn out tragically or have shitty drug filled lives after their glory days. Its become a cliché. But there are quite a few I can think of that have had very successful careers without… --- ## [Vascular Dementia: How to mourn your Mom while she's still alive](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vascular-dementia-how-to-mourn-your-mom-while-shes-still-alive/1032229)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vascular-dementia-how-to-mourn-your-mom-while-shes-still-alive/1032229 "2026-08-10T11:15:04Z")
Mom’s been diagnosed for 5 1/2 years. A few minor strokes prior to that. The first few years had Mom with a 24/7 aide living in my old bedroom. A fall in early 2021 was caused by pretty bad Lumbar stenosis. A laminectom… --- ## [(Old) GoGo on Vacation - A Holiday MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gogo-on-vacation-a-holiday-mmp/1032106)
**Author:** [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Replies:** 305\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-gogo-on-vacation-a-holiday-mmp/1032106 "2026-08-10T07:01:30Z")
Vacation! A couple of beers and cocktails in. Happy vacation to me! Talk amongst your selves. --- ## [Iran is roiled by anti-government protests](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-is-roiled-by-anti-government-protests/1026267)
**Author:** [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Replies:** 135\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-is-roiled-by-anti-government-protests/1026267 "2026-08-10T03:08:22Z")
Iran is roiled by anti-government protests. And this next part really surprises me. (The bolding is mine.) --- ## [Suppose The Earth Was In The CENTER of The Galaxy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-earth-was-in-the-center-of-the-galaxy/207774)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-the-earth-was-in-the-center-of-the-galaxy/207774 "2026-08-10T02:22:36Z")
…what would the night sky look like? Would all those stars make it as bright as daytime? I read once that cosmologists thought that life probably would not evolve on planets near the centers of galaxies…toomuch radiation… --- ## [Man teaches octopus to play piano](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-teaches-octopus-to-play-piano/1032212)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-teaches-octopus-to-play-piano/1032212 "2026-08-10T02:17:16Z")
Maybe this belongs in MPSIMS, but it’s about music (kinda) and sort of even about food. The video is 18 minutes, and well-edited. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=43&state=watching) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=45&state=watching)