# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=662 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 663 --- ## [Tom Smothers has died](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-smothers-has-died/995239 "2023-12-30T12:23:36Z")
Damn. I loved their show, and Tommy was my favorite of the two. Some of you (who are old enough) may remember that there was a musicians’ strike one year, which left the show without its musical backup. So The Beatle… --- ## [Testing again](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testing-again/986419)
**Author:** [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/testing-again/986419 "2023-12-30T12:17:40Z")
Again … --- ## [Recommend a game similar to Civ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-game-similar-to-civ/995280)
**Author:** [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-game-similar-to-civ/995280 "2023-12-30T10:49:12Z")
I’d like one that’s more fantasy-ish, though. I have a hunger for empire-building, but nothing too deep into the tiny details. --- ## [Adding a "Pronouns" custom user field? Good idea, or the worst idea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-a-pronouns-custom-user-field-good-idea-or-the-worst-idea/973025)
**Author:** [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adding-a-pronouns-custom-user-field-good-idea-or-the-worst-idea/973025 "2023-12-30T08:33:00Z")
Following the change that was recently made on the Discourse Meta board, would adding a “Pronouns” user field for public display be something useful to this board? I do not know the answer, and I am very mixed about whe… --- ## [Inappropriate Comments from Dentist](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-comments-from-dentist/974975)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inappropriate-comments-from-dentist/974975 "2023-12-30T08:00:07Z")
My tooth was hurting, so I went to the dentist. Something I haven’t done in years. I did not like what she had to say. Okay, I admit it. I grind my teeth and a lot of damage has been done, exactly as the dentist desc… --- ## [Do they shoot funeral scenes in actual graveyards?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-shoot-funeral-scenes-in-actual-graveyards/955556)
**Author:** [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-shoot-funeral-scenes-in-actual-graveyards/955556 "2023-12-30T07:24:28Z")
I was laughing at this wonderful sketch: Some of the Coffin Flops appear to be shot in a real graveyard, though… but wouldn’t that be considered disrespectful by the families of people actually interred th… --- ## [A new red pill/blue pill choice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-red-pill-blue-pill-choice/995118)
**Author:** [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-red-pill-blue-pill-choice/995118 "2023-12-30T05:37:35Z")
If you take a red pill, you will revert back to being 16 again but with all the knowledge you have accrued to date. If you take a blue pill, you stay the same age but are handed 5 million dollars in cash. Which pill do… --- ## [Musical "hook"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-hook/995243)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-hook/995243 "2023-12-30T02:51:35Z")
I see the term used often. But I’m not a musician and I’m not sure what parts of a song are the “hook”. Here is a quote from Wikipedia about the Stones’ song, “This could be the last time” “A full live performance is al… --- ## [Being a fan of a musician's weirder and less well known work](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-a-fan-of-a-musicians-weirder-and-less-well-known-work/995287)
**Author:** [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-a-fan-of-a-musicians-weirder-and-less-well-known-work/995287 "2023-12-30T01:50:54Z")
Not long after Sinéad O’Connor died this year, I was in a used CD store and picked up a copy of a two-disc compilation of hers, that was half B-sides, half a live show. Really loved it. I dug a bit deeper and realized sh… --- ## [Is Ken Burns's civil War available for streaming?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ken-burnss-civil-war-available-for-streaming/995258)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ken-burnss-civil-war-available-for-streaming/995258 "2023-12-30T00:36:46Z")
I’ve googled around but didn’t find anything. --- ## [What magazine have you stuck with the longest?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-magazine-have-you-stuck-with-the-longest/962937)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 127\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-magazine-have-you-stuck-with-the-longest/962937 "2023-12-30T00:31:30Z")
Magazines come and go. Subscriptions end. Maybe you were introduced to a magazine when relatively young that you still read in digital form, or subscribe to. Maybe you only buy it occasionally but have done so for yea… --- ## [I know we can't give official medical advice on the Dope, but I do have a question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-we-cant-give-official-medical-advice-on-the-dope-but-i-do-have-a-question/995066)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-we-cant-give-official-medical-advice-on-the-dope-but-i-do-have-a-question/995066 "2023-12-29T23:30:38Z")
Of course, I’ve checked WebMD and other allied sites, so ZOMG I’M GONNA DIE is a possibility. Anyway, for the past month or so, the end joint on my second right toe has been red, swollen, and painful. At first, I thoug… --- ## [Do Doctoral Math Students Primarily Learn from Journal Articles, Monographs, and Seminars?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-doctoral-math-students-primarily-learn-from-journal-articles-monographs-and-seminars/994834)
**Author:** [@Caribbean\_cruiser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caribbean_cruiser)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-doctoral-math-students-primarily-learn-from-journal-articles-monographs-and-seminars/994834 "2023-12-29T22:38:54Z")
What is the primary means of education for doctoral students of mathematics? I’m guessing it’s seminars, not lectures – and monographs and journal articles, not textbooks. Is that correct? Are there many textbooks for do… --- ## [NFL 2023: Week 16](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-week-16/994895)
**Author:** [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Replies:** 117\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-week-16/994895 "2023-12-29T22:05:50Z")
Last week’s results meant that the playoff picture became clearer at the top and bottom, but much more muddled in the middle. The Ravens, Niners, Cowboys, and Eagles have all clinched playoff spots; the Chiefs, Dolphins… --- ## [Canadian goals re reducing gas-powered vehicles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-goals-re-reducing-gas-powered-vehicles/995043)
**Author:** [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-goals-re-reducing-gas-powered-vehicles/995043 "2023-12-29T21:12:02Z")
If you are in Canada, better make those plans: All light vehicles - cars and trucks - must be zero emissions by 2035. This will never happen. Trudeau has demanded that auto makers release their plans next year fo… --- ## [Safe to drink out of a rough brass laundry faucet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-drink-out-of-a-rough-brass-laundry-faucet/995240)
**Author:** [@LivingGhost371](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingGhost371)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-to-drink-out-of-a-rough-brass-laundry-faucet/995240 "2023-12-29T19:46:50Z")
The dirty and nasty brass laundry faucet in my basement that’s original to my house leaks and needs to be replaced. I’m not about to drink water from that thing, but I’d like to be able to with the replacement faucet sin… --- ## [What could trigger a 4-year legal battle, 10 years after an apparently amicable divorce?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-trigger-a-4-year-legal-battle-10-years-after-an-apparently-amicable-divorce/990298)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-trigger-a-4-year-legal-battle-10-years-after-an-apparently-amicable-divorce/990298 "2023-12-29T19:23:12Z")
I was diving down an Internet rabbit hole and found a website that had court cases that are, TBH, a little too easy to access. Yes, I found exactly this, and not only has this battle been ongoing since late 2019, 5 lawy… --- ## [Help me learn Backgammon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-learn-backgammon/986198)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-learn-backgammon/986198 "2023-12-29T19:04:40Z")
OK, I don’t mean ‘help me learn’ as in, "I’m going to drop everything so I can learn this game’. I just have too many other things to do. But I would like some help learning the game. I’ve read the rules, I’ve downloa… --- ## [Is Paul McCartney's Christmas song the laziest song ever written?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paul-mccartneys-christmas-song-the-laziest-song-ever-written/805661)
**Author:** [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paul-mccartneys-christmas-song-the-laziest-song-ever-written/805661 "2023-12-29T18:00:26Z")
Bum-bum, bum-bum Bum-bum, bum-bum Bum-bum, bum-bum Bah-BUM, bum-bum Bum, bum. Bum, bum. A wonderful christmas time. I mean… seriously, Paul. What the hell? What is this shit? Everything about this song is lazy. The … --- ## [Where are you getting your news?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-getting-your-news/994774)
**Author:** [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-getting-your-news/994774 "2023-12-29T15:39:52Z")
For several years, I have been in the habit of turning on MSNBC when I first get up. I am usually up early enough to catch Way Too Early and then Morning Joe. I’m a very early riser, it’s ridiculous, I know. But I have… --- ## [Measuring time of possession](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-time-of-possession/995301)
**Author:** [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-time-of-possession/995301 "2023-12-29T15:01:25Z")
How is time of possession measured when: The play clock starts at 10:00. After 8 seconds, the quarterback throws an interception and the former defense runs it back for a touchdown that takes 10 seconds? Does all time… --- ## [Chess Q: 3 pawns vs. Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chess-q-3-pawns-vs-knight/995091)
**Author:** [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chess-q-3-pawns-vs-knight/995091 "2023-12-29T14:16:52Z")
King and three pawns vs King and Knight The three pawns are on their starting squares and connected. Their king is behind them. The other king and knight are centralized but in front of them basically in the middle of t… --- ## [What are these markings on the Apollo Command Module hatch window for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-markings-on-the-apollo-command-module-hatch-window-for/974515)
**Author:** [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-markings-on-the-apollo-command-module-hatch-window-for/974515 "2023-12-29T12:07:37Z")
There’s a company selling reproductions of the hatch window from the Apollo command module: here’s a link. The window appears to have a rotatable bezel with some markings on it - 0° ROLL, 55°R/L, 90°R/L. What would the … --- ## [The Doctor Who 2023 episodes (spoilers from the start)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-doctor-who-2023-episodes-spoilers-from-the-start/993650)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-doctor-who-2023-episodes-spoilers-from-the-start/993650 "2023-12-29T10:23:29Z")
So in anticipation for tomorrow’s first of the 2023 episodes, I tracked down and read the original Doctor Who three-part comic featuring the Meep (originally three parts in the UK, reprinted in issues 1 and 2 of the 1984… --- ## [To be an officer in the US military will any 4-year degree suffice?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-be-an-officer-in-the-us-military-will-any-4-year-degree-suffice/994856)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-be-an-officer-in-the-us-military-will-any-4-year-degree-suffice/994856 "2023-12-29T04:00:39Z")
My understanding is a 4-year degree is necessary to become an officer in the US military. As the subject line says, will any 4-year degree do? Does it matter what college/university you went to? Does your major matter… --- ## [Caracal as a pet. WTF?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caracal-as-a-pet-wtf/990305)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 89\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caracal-as-a-pet-wtf/990305 "2023-12-29T02:42:56Z")
Still having problems posting video. Been seeing dozens of videos on YouTube recently where people had adopted a caracal as a house pet. In case you don’t know, a caracal is a medium sized wild cat from Africa and part… --- ## [Dead Russian soldiers and canon fodder--which ethnic groups are they?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-russian-soldiers-and-canon-fodder-which-ethnic-groups-are-they/995241)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-russian-soldiers-and-canon-fodder-which-ethnic-groups-are-they/995241 "2023-12-29T01:58:11Z")
Russia has lost 315,000 casualties so far in this war. My question is Are those fallen soldiers “pure” Russians ? Or are they mostly other ethnic groups? Russia’s population contains a half dozen ethnic groups, whic… --- ## [Arthur Wright Beemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arthur-wright-beemis/40326)
**Author:** [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arthur-wright-beemis/40326 "2023-12-29T01:43:25Z")
Is anyone familiar with this obsure SCI-FI author? My only reference to him is in a book by Ron Goulart, who says that the Beemis estate had selected him (Goulart) had been selected to finish a number of Beemis’s unfini… --- ## [What do YOU like about the Christmas season?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-like-about-the-christmas-season/995084)
**Author:** [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-like-about-the-christmas-season/995084 "2023-12-29T00:37:21Z")
I didn’t want to bring negativity to other threads, and this isn’t a thread meant to trash Christmas or people who enjoy it. I’m honestly trying to get a better understanding. Inspired by a episode of International Hou… --- ## [Hyperloop : pie in the sky or is it time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hyperloop-pie-in-the-sky-or-is-it-time/666116)
**Author:** [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Replies:** 332\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hyperloop-pie-in-the-sky-or-is-it-time/666116 "2023-12-28T23:30:42Z")
I’d appreciate commentators glance at the original source before commenting : link to pdf. To summarize : the tunnels are sections of 0.8inch thick steel tubes, polished on the inside and welded together using friction-… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=661) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=663)