# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=476 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 477 --- ## [New movie, Flight Risk, doesn't want to alienate it's audience... yet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-flight-risk-doesnt-want-to-alienate-its-audience-yet/1007394)
**Author:** [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-flight-risk-doesnt-want-to-alienate-its-audience-yet/1007394 "2024-09-17T21:20:11Z")
One of the trailers I saw before Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was for a movie called Flight Risk. About a minute in, title cards pop up that say “From the Academy Award Winning Director of Braveheart, And Apocalypto, And Hac… --- ## [Can anybody recommend an online background check company?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-recommend-an-online-background-check-company/1007390)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-recommend-an-online-background-check-company/1007390 "2024-09-17T20:57:15Z")
More than a credit check is needed. Inexpensive is desired. Asking for a friend. --- ## [Did Kamala Harris work at McDonalds?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-kamala-harris-work-at-mcdonalds/1006631)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 438\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-kamala-harris-work-at-mcdonalds/1006631 "2024-09-17T20:02:11Z")
I’m voting for Kamala either way, but I’d prefer her not to lie. She says she and her man Doug worked there, McDonalds doesn’t appear to confirm. Snopes lists the topic, “Research In Progress” I don’t understand, eith… --- ## [So... Has legalized Pot caused the End of Civilization as We Know It?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-legalized-pot-caused-the-end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it/1007245)
**Author:** [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-legalized-pot-caused-the-end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it/1007245 "2024-09-17T19:14:11Z")
I’m up in Durango, CO, and there are Marijuana dispensaries all over town. In Arizona, “Medical Marijuana” is available if you pay Dr. Nick for a card. Before these dispensaries were common, there was much wringing of h… --- ## [NFL 2024-25: Week 2](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2024-25-week-2/1007062)
**Author:** [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Replies:** 108\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2024-25-week-2/1007062 "2024-09-17T18:58:07Z")
Week 2 starts with a TNF matchup between the Bills and Dolphins, AFC East contenders who struggled to win their home openers. In another divisional matchup, the Rams travel to Arizona, where the NFC West rivals will both… --- ## [Current avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-avatar/1007271)
**Author:** [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-avatar/1007271 "2024-09-17T18:06:44Z")
For feces and yuks I looked into the two bon vivants gracing my current avatar (the painfully-smiling “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat”-t-shirted gentlemen). Buddy on right apparently croaked in hospice not five … --- ## [TV opening credit sequences—the long and the short of it](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-opening-credit-sequences-the-long-and-the-short-of-it/1007268)
**Author:** [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-opening-credit-sequences-the-long-and-the-short-of-it/1007268 "2024-09-17T17:45:58Z")
As I was marveling over the efficiency of the opening credits of a show I’m currently binging (The Good Wife, a 3- or 4-second sequence consisting of the title and the creators’ names) I tuned in to Bill Maher’s HBO sho… --- ## [Let us discuss canned meat products](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 172\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-discuss-canned-meat-products/1007066 "2024-09-17T17:07:36Z")
For starters, I refer you (but do not limit you) to this site: Those teeny Underwood cans, wrapped neatly in white paper, are so cute. They look like they would taste good. I’ve stared at the Underwood cans in the gro… --- ## [Shooting heroin question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-heroin-question/1007370)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-heroin-question/1007370 "2024-09-17T15:16:23Z")
{Mods - I don’t use heroin, nor intend to. This isn’t seeking medical advise. It’s a question about human body physiology} All I know about shooting heroin has been learned from movies and TV, in otherwards no real life… --- ## [Actors who do a good job of playing evil or dark characters](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 106\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-do-a-good-job-of-playing-evil-or-dark-characters/1006527 "2024-09-17T14:32:07Z")
Either in one film or multiple roles in multiple films and TV shows. My favorites are: Ron Perlman Clancy Brown Klaus Kinski --- ## [The Day the Clown Cried](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried/69413)
**Author:** [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-clown-cried/69413 "2024-09-17T13:05:42Z")
I have been tasked by my friends to locate a copy of this Lewis Masterpiece. Anyone have a line on it? The Screenplay perhaps? Anyone? --- ## [A question about shingles (The Disease)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289)
**Author:** [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-shingles-the-disease/1007289 "2024-09-17T12:05:41Z")
This was a train of thought brought about by a commercial about getting the shingles vaccine. My memories of having chicken pox as a kid are that it was pretty mild for me and wasn’t difficult to ignore the itching and … --- ## [Could we implement this option ...?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-implement-this-option/1005532)
**Author:** [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-implement-this-option/1005532 "2024-09-17T08:45:42Z")
It’s a known ‘feature’ that when a post has one reply immediately following it, the reply doesn’t show the ‘replying to’ symbol (in the top right corner). This has often led to confusion about whether the reply actuall… --- ## [Reasons why the BMI is useless](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-the-bmi-is-useless/1007307)
**Author:** [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-the-bmi-is-useless/1007307 "2024-09-17T04:03:29Z")
Here are 10 reasons that the BMI is bogus according to NPR: To save you a click: The person who dreamed up the BMI said explicitly that it could not and should not be used to indicate the level of fatness in an indi… --- ## [What is the benefit of drugs with short half lives vs long half lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benefit-of-drugs-with-short-half-lives-vs-long-half-lives/1007367)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benefit-of-drugs-with-short-half-lives-vs-long-half-lives/1007367 "2024-09-17T03:27:03Z")
In many classes of drugs there are drugs with short half lives and drugs with long half lives. Prozac has a half life of 5 days. Paxil has a half life of 21 hours. Xanax is about 12 hours, Valium is 2 days. I know dru… --- ## [Oh, come on! Stupid trends, anyone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-stupid-trends-anyone/1006966)
**Author:** [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-come-on-stupid-trends-anyone/1006966 "2024-09-17T01:44:15Z")
Really? No, REALLY? “Airport tray aesthetic”? The “airport tray aesthetic” has taken off on TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest as people share artfully arranged shots of their sunglasses, shoes, toiletries and reading m… --- ## [A question for you Army guys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490)
**Author:** [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490 "2024-09-17T01:26:42Z")
Companies, troops, and batteries have long been designated by letters of the alphabet, such as the famous E Co. The US Military use the NATO alphabet, in which ‘A’ is “Alfa”. But I keep seeing references in print to “A… --- ## [Astronaut pay](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astronaut-pay/1007079)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astronaut-pay/1007079 "2024-09-17T00:53:40Z")
Q1: Do astronauts get hazardous duty pay if they actually fly in space? Q2: The two astronauts who launched on June 5 were supposed to spend 8 days in space, but their mission has been extended to about 93 days because … --- ## [Newspaper features pages when you were a kid: what do you remember?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newspaper-features-pages-when-you-were-a-kid-what-do-you-remember/1006191)
**Author:** [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newspaper-features-pages-when-you-were-a-kid-what-do-you-remember/1006191 "2024-09-17T00:27:47Z")
When I was a child our family in Toronto took two papers: the Toronto Telegram (afternoon paper) and the Globe and Mail (morning paper). In both, the first thing I’d turn to was the comics page, a.k.a. the features page… --- ## [If you liked Earth you shoulda put a ring on it](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-earth-you-shoulda-put-a-ring-on-it/1007372)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-liked-earth-you-shoulda-put-a-ring-on-it/1007372 "2024-09-17T00:15:22Z")
Interesting new theory that during the Ordovician the Earth captured an asteroid close and large enough to be torn apart forming a ring that gradually rained down on Earth. It was already known from a mine in Sweden t… --- ## [How much of an impact could Taylor Swift have on the 2024 election?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-an-impact-could-taylor-swift-have-on-the-2024-election/988758)
**Author:** [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Replies:** 324\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-an-impact-could-taylor-swift-have-on-the-2024-election/988758 "2024-09-17T00:09:28Z")
It’s not hard to argue that she has the world by the tail right now, and I’d like to think that if she continues her meteoric popularity (especially among the age range of kids whose parents are shelling out big bucks to… --- ## [Ignorance loses a round, stunning observers (Debunkbot)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ignorance-loses-a-round-stunning-observers-debunkbot/1007194)
**Author:** [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ignorance-loses-a-round-stunning-observers-debunkbot/1007194 "2024-09-16T23:54:56Z")
Persuasion is tough and shifting beliefs about conspiracy theories is thought to be particularly difficult, as they fulfill an underlying need to explain or control our environment. Or so we thought. Gifted article: htt… --- ## [Term life insurance: Keep it or dump it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-life-insurance-keep-it-or-dump-it/1007360)
**Author:** [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/term-life-insurance-keep-it-or-dump-it/1007360 "2024-09-16T22:58:52Z")
I’m asking for opinions from the learned members of the Dope. For many years, we’ve carried term life insurance policies from AAA. We have no dependents. The payout from either is the same, and while substantial, hard… --- ## [Gacy was NOT a Killer Clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861 "2024-09-16T21:08:05Z")
I don’t know why this bugs me so much, but it does. I was listening to a YouTube video about serial killers, and I heard this little gem again: “(John Wayne Gacy) …would sometimes wear his clown costume while torturing… --- ## [Obesity and body roundness indicator](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-and-body-roundness-indicator/1007297)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obesity-and-body-roundness-indicator/1007297 "2024-09-16T20:36:21Z")
I ran into this today in the New York Times, but this graphic they link is much more eloquent than the article: BMI (a function of weight and height) has been criticized for not distinguishing between fat and muscle, … --- ## [Toasting to things](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toasting-to-things/1007321)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toasting-to-things/1007321 "2024-09-16T20:08:01Z")
Family Feud was on and I was half heartedly watching. One question asked was to name something people toast to. The family got “weddings” right away but then things stalled. Usually I can tell if an answer has a chance t… --- ## [New twist in the gun rights movement](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-twist-in-the-gun-rights-movement/1006113)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 144\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-twist-in-the-gun-rights-movement/1006113 "2024-09-16T19:53:37Z")
“A federal judge has dismissed charges against a Kansas man for possessing a machine gun, saying prosecutors failed to establish that a federal ban on owning such weapons is constitutional.” From here: US judge tosses … --- ## [One way to tell if your coworkers don't like you: they take you up a mountain and leave you there](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-way-to-tell-if-your-coworkers-dont-like-you-they-take-you-up-a-mountain-and-leave-you-there/1006337)
**Author:** [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Replies:** 138\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-way-to-tell-if-your-coworkers-dont-like-you-they-take-you-up-a-mountain-and-leave-you-there/1006337 "2024-09-16T19:51:03Z")
Maybe a job search is in order. --- ## [How oppressive were the British taxes on the American colonies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-oppressive-were-the-british-taxes-on-the-american-colonies/1007302)
**Author:** [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-oppressive-were-the-british-taxes-on-the-american-colonies/1007302 "2024-09-16T19:02:40Z")
The origin story of the United States of America usually begins with a debate over “taxation without representation”. The British Crown, needing to pay for the costs of the recently concluded French and Indian War, impo… --- ## [35mm film camera](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-camera/727200)
**Author:** [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-camera/727200 "2024-09-16T17:07:01Z")
I just acquired a Minolta SRT 101 35mm film camera. With standard 55mm lens plus a Vivitar Automatic Tele Converter, plus a Vivitar 80-250mm zoom lens and a NICE tripod. I haven’t shot film in decades. My last 35mm cam… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=475) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=477)