# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=56&state=muted [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 57 --- ## [Does ignoring a situation on this board actually make it go away?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ignoring-a-situation-on-this-board-actually-make-it-go-away/1031231)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-ignoring-a-situation-on-this-board-actually-make-it-go-away/1031231 "2026-07-18T18:37:31Z")
Too many examples over the years of people saying, in The BBQ Pit (and elsewhere on this board), “Yeah, that person is acting up in some manner, but you just ignore it eventually they will stop doing it.” Ignoring the fa… --- ## [Messages of hope in a dark time](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messages-of-hope-in-a-dark-time/1029793)
**Author:** [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messages-of-hope-in-a-dark-time/1029793 "2026-07-18T16:41:04Z")
I often avoid P&E because I’m know going to see something depressing. So rather than curse the darkness, I’m going to light a little candle (to coin a phrase). I just came across this quote from author Rebecca Solnit, a… --- ## [Can a power surge cause a clock to go ahead?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-power-surge-cause-a-clock-to-go-ahead/1031357)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-power-surge-cause-a-clock-to-go-ahead/1031357 "2026-07-18T14:42:58Z")
We have two electric clocks that do NOT have battery backup. Just digital clocks - both on radios. We occasionally have a brief power outage and afterwards, one clock will be just a couple minutes behind and one on the… --- ## ['Get smart!' \[Jewish phrase\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-smart-jewish-phrase/1030961)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-smart-jewish-phrase/1030961 "2026-07-18T13:25:44Z")
I understand that if someone tells someone to ‘get smart’ (Jewish phrase), he’s saying, ‘You’re being an idiot. Look at the situation like you’re n intelligent person.’ (More or less.) I’m not Jewish, but I get the jo… --- ## [Bleeped (I think) Red Skelton joke - what did he say?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleeped-i-think-red-skelton-joke-what-did-he-say/971459)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleeped-i-think-red-skelton-joke-what-did-he-say/971459 "2026-07-18T12:51:52Z")
I came across this Tonight Show clip from 1983 where Red Skelton is Johnny Carson’s guest. Skelton tells a Delorean joke that seems to have been censored. The audio stumbles at the punchline, but, by the look on Johnny’… --- ## [Minor character in a work of fiction that you would like to see have their own spin-off](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162 "2026-07-18T12:48:26Z")
I’m talking about characters that are barely in a movie or TV show but because their presence is so memorable, you would like to see more of them. We are re-watching “The Night of”. Such an amazing production. On the su… --- ## [Authority of the Hawaii Supreme Court and the USSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authority-of-the-hawaii-supreme-court-and-the-ussc/1031758)
**Author:** [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/authority-of-the-hawaii-supreme-court-and-the-ussc/1031758 "2026-07-18T12:36:14Z")
I’ve just read a cheap polarizing engagement-driven online article about a cheap political attack by Justice Todd Evens of the Hawaii Supreme Court, on the cheap politics of John Roberts and the US Supreme Court, in whic… --- ## [Reexamining Star Wars 50 years later](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 424\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reexamining-star-wars-50-years-later/1026810 "2026-07-18T05:41:20Z")
For this thread, I’m focusing on the first trilogy, especially Episode IV:A New Hope. I know it’s not exactly 50 years yet, but close enough for blaster fire. Back in 1977, the look and feel of Star Wars seemed very fu… --- ## [Strangest musical double bill you've seen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481)
**Author:** [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Replies:** 90\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-musical-double-bill-youve-seen/1030481 "2026-07-18T03:26:43Z")
Inspired by the Worst Double Feature thread. I never saw Jimi Hendrix open for the Monkees, but if you did, you probably win this thread. Around 1971 or so I saw the Grateful Dead. The opener was a monkey act, i.e., a … --- ## [What musical performance or recording of a performance makes you tear up?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616)
**Author:** [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-musical-performance-or-recording-of-a-performance-makes-you-tear-up/1030616 "2026-07-18T02:54:49Z")
I am enough of a David Bowie fan but not a rabid deep fan. I am enough of a David Byrne fan but not a rabid deep fan. For some reason this performance just wrecks me. Perhaps it is the layered generations of civilians … --- ## [Sidewalk cooking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sidewalk-cooking/1031723)
**Author:** [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sidewalk-cooking/1031723 "2026-07-18T00:02:45Z")
This is a new one for me - forecast from yesterday showing “Smoke”; don’t believe I’ve ever seen that one before. It smells like a campfire outside, which got me wondering… --- ## [Help me build a new playlist](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-new-playlist/1031717)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-new-playlist/1031717 "2026-07-17T21:35:31Z")
My workout playlist has more than a thousand tunes, but it’s getting stale. I need a bunch of new-to-me tunes. Please throw some suggestions my way. My requests: Limit your post(s) to three (ok, five if you must) song… --- ## [Can polar-orbit satellites launch out of Florida?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-polar-orbit-satellites-launch-out-of-florida/1031733)
**Author:** [@Timz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timz)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-polar-orbit-satellites-launch-out-of-florida/1031733 "2026-07-17T20:52:33Z")
Many? Most? satellites going up these days are in close-to-polar orbits, so you’d like the rocket to launch near northward or near southward. So heading south out of Vandenburg is fine, but not out of Florida. Is it for … --- ## [The Bugaloos and their web of lies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bugaloos-and-their-web-of-lies/1031659)
**Author:** [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bugaloos-and-their-web-of-lies/1031659 "2026-07-17T18:20:10Z")
Remember the Bugaloos? Saturday morning live action show? Well, they showed up in my YouTube feed, and something was perplexing. Those wings don’t look nearly big enough for those guys to get airborne. I don’t care ho… --- ## [Mad #600 out](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-600-out/1031638)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-600-out/1031638 "2026-07-17T17:36:10Z")
I picked this up today in the local comic store (you used to be able to get Mad at the newsstand, but even the few remaining places selling magazines don’t seem to carry it – only “Special” issues). 1.) Issue #600! They… --- ## [Guys wearing their belt buckle off-center](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-wearing-their-belt-buckle-off-center/605688)
**Author:** [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-wearing-their-belt-buckle-off-center/605688 "2026-07-17T14:07:22Z")
I’ve been (re)watching several episodes of the old Dick Van Dyke show, and I’ve noticed a few separate occasions where different male characters wore their belt buckles off to the side, damn near on their hips. And then… --- ## [Adapting a classic Lord of the Rings quote to the present political situation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adapting-a-classic-lord-of-the-rings-quote-to-the-present-political-situation/1031730)
**Author:** [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adapting-a-classic-lord-of-the-rings-quote-to-the-present-political-situation/1031730 "2026-07-17T09:54:23Z")
I wish Trump need not have happened in my time." “So do I,” comes the reply, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given… --- ## [My shaving soap doesn't work anymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-shaving-soap-doesnt-work-anymore/1031436 "2026-07-17T05:34:11Z")
All my adult life, I’ve used a brush and soap to shave. (Why, you may ask? Dunno. I like old-fashioned things, I guess.) I’ve never been loyal to any particular brand. But recently I bought a new bar, and it failed … --- ## [Sam Neill has died](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-neill-has-died/1031635)
**Author:** [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-neill-has-died/1031635 "2026-07-17T05:31:22Z")
Actor Sam Neill, who starred in My Brilliant Career and Jurassic Park, has died aged 78. A post made to his social media account on Monday afternoon said he had died in Sydney “surrounded by his family”. “The loss was… --- ## [Where's the blue? (reflecting pool)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-blue-reflecting-pool/1031664)
**Author:** [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-blue-reflecting-pool/1031664 "2026-07-17T00:52:34Z")
OK, they’re draining the reflecting pool again. All the pictures I’ve seen show no hint of the blue color that’s supposed to be there. Is it just because the color is obscured by scum from the drained water? --- ## [Amazon sleaziness? (extra $13 for fast delivery not refunded)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-sleaziness-extra-13-for-fast-delivery-not-refunded/1031724)
**Author:** [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2026, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-sleaziness-extra-13-for-fast-delivery-not-refunded/1031724 "2026-07-17T00:26:58Z")
I ordered something and wanted it fast so I paid the extra $13 to get it sooner. It didn’t arrive when promised and Amazon sent an email saying, Sorry but it’s delayed, you’ll get it later. Okay, but what about the $13 t… --- ## [How's your produce quality lately?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-produce-quality-lately/1031602)
**Author:** [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-your-produce-quality-lately/1031602 "2026-07-16T23:02:12Z")
I’m interested in knowing if any of you have noticed a significant loss of quality in the produce you buy from the grocery store in the last few years. I know that produce quality can vary from state to state, but I liv… --- ## [Spirulina Farts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spirulina-farts/340885)
**Author:** [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spirulina-farts/340885 "2026-07-16T22:48:03Z")
My husband has recently been consuming a lot of Greens+, spirulina, that sort of stuff. Perhaps coincidentally, he has been letting go the most toxic, potent, vile farts I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing. … --- ## [Noise cancelling headphones](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noise-cancelling-headphones/1031699)
**Author:** [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noise-cancelling-headphones/1031699 "2026-07-16T22:06:25Z")
I have an old pair of Bose Quiet Comfort headphones that I mostly use on airplanes. But they are wearing out. The battery doesn’t hold a charge as well (it still lasts a long time, but drops suddenly from “70%” to “doesn… --- ## [I canceled an email address I had for 33 years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-canceled-an-email-address-i-had-for-33-years/1031643)
**Author:** [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-canceled-an-email-address-i-had-for-33-years/1031643 "2026-07-16T21:48:40Z")
I had an email address I got when I first got out of college. It started as a NetCom account which later was bought by MindSpring which in turn was bought by Earthlink. I long ago stopped getting internet service from th… --- ## [Mister Rogers Neighborhood - where was he going at the end?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mister-rogers-neighborhood-where-was-he-going-at-the-end/1002527)
**Author:** [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mister-rogers-neighborhood-where-was-he-going-at-the-end/1002527 "2026-07-16T20:04:21Z")
At the beginning of the show, Mr Rogers walks in the house, hangs up his jacket and puts on a cardigan, and swaps his dress shoes for sneakers. The assumption is, he’s coming home from work and getting comfy, right? The… --- ## [Fake 'AC' systems](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-ac-systems/1031545)
**Author:** [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-ac-systems/1031545 "2026-07-16T19:34:07Z")
With the recent UK heatwaves, I’m seeing a lot of ads recently for so-called portable ‘AC’ units which supposedly use little electricity and require no installation or external piping. This has to be a scam. You can’t … --- ## [Why does Louisiana refer to districts as parishes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-louisiana-refer-to-districts-as-parishes/319804)
**Author:** [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-louisiana-refer-to-districts-as-parishes/319804 "2026-07-16T19:16:02Z")
To me a parish is the area serviced by the local church. But I’ve never heard anyone refer to geographical area as a parish. Is Louisiana the only place that does that? Why? --- ## [The Male Inequality Problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-male-inequality-problem/1023440)
**Author:** [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Replies:** 1173\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-male-inequality-problem/1023440 "2026-07-16T19:14:38Z")
This is the best article I’ve read all year. (Or video. I didn’t watch the video.) It is a very long article (worth it!) so I’ll pull out some points I thought were especially good. It’s obviously true as we look a… --- ## [Satisfactory 1.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satisfactory-1-0/1007213)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 326\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satisfactory-1-0/1007213 "2026-07-16T19:07:42Z")
Satisfactory just entered 1.0 earlier this week, so I’ve picked it back up, and thought we could use a thread to chat about it. For folks who haven’t heard of it: it’s a factory-building game in the vein of Factorio, bu… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=55&state=muted) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=57&state=muted)