# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=730 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 731 --- ## [Skirting patents on pharmaceutical drugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skirting-patents-on-pharmaceutical-drugs/990776)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skirting-patents-on-pharmaceutical-drugs/990776 "2023-09-28T09:54:51Z")
I was listening to a podcast (Search Engine) about the illegal use of fentanyl, and they mentioned that when it was made illegal (I forget which country), the illegal drug producers altered the molecule just enough to st… --- ## [Estonia and Better Education? As good as the hype?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estonia-and-better-education-as-good-as-the-hype/990689)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/estonia-and-better-education-as-good-as-the-hype/990689 "2023-09-28T05:38:40Z")
Enjoyed this Grauniad article on modern methods of education. The article has a high opinion of Estonia (see excerpt and link). Sounds very impressive, probably is, but sometimes this sort of thing is hype, not nuance.… --- ## [Doubleheaders](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doubleheaders/988632)
**Author:** [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doubleheaders/988632 "2023-09-28T05:00:26Z")
MLB baseball has had “doubleheaders” forever - although not as many recently as in the past (a doubleheader is two games played between the same teams - usually one after the other with a short break between them - one … --- ## [NFL 2023: WEEK THREE ring circus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-week-three-ring-circus/990494)
**Author:** [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-week-three-ring-circus/990494 "2023-09-28T04:02:01Z")
Didn’t take long for injuries to become the biggest story in the NFL. Jets trade away a couple second round picks for Aaron Rodgers and he earns about over 9 Million dollars per snap that he actually played for them. Nic… --- ## [Some ground fault interrupters act to break the whole circuit. Who knew?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ground-fault-interrupters-act-to-break-the-whole-circuit-who-knew/990564)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ground-fault-interrupters-act-to-break-the-whole-circuit-who-knew/990564 "2023-09-28T01:40:00Z")
Last night my wife washing up before going to bed and accidentally splashed some water into an electric socket which tripped the GFI, taking out the whole bathroom. I was unaware that a GFI could do that, but I just goo… --- ## [Are Internet Ratings Broken?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-internet-ratings-broken/989166)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-internet-ratings-broken/989166 "2023-09-28T01:37:33Z")
Another Atlantic article with food for thought, delivered by Dash and requesting a five star review… Are online ratings broken? To some degree they have always been about data panhandling as much as feedback and reward… --- ## [Why do colour pictures from the 1960s look so bright compared to modern colour pictures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-colour-pictures-from-the-1960s-look-so-bright-compared-to-modern-colour-pictures/990745)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-colour-pictures-from-the-1960s-look-so-bright-compared-to-modern-colour-pictures/990745 "2023-09-28T01:10:20Z")
I’m not sure if “bright” is the best description, but I was skimming the wiki article on JFK the other night and was struck by the difference in the colour images compaged to later colour pix. Why do they have that brig… --- ## [Heading to Portland, Maine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heading-to-portland-maine/990033)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heading-to-portland-maine/990033 "2023-09-28T00:07:15Z")
What should I do while I’m there? I’m heading up on Friday afternoon, leaving Monday morning, so I’ll have all day and night on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday looks like rain, so I could use some indoor suggestions, too… --- ## [Massacre at Wolf 359](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massacre-at-wolf-359/990648)
**Author:** [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/massacre-at-wolf-359/990648 "2023-09-27T23:05:42Z")
This remarkably well done fan film contains elements not just of Best of Both Worlds and DS9. but of the last season of Picard and the 1996 videogame Star Trek:Borg Massacre at Wolf 359 --- ## [Blast it, Microsoft, stop with the unwanted "improvements"!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-it-microsoft-stop-with-the-unwanted-improvements/990703)
**Author:** [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blast-it-microsoft-stop-with-the-unwanted-improvements/990703 "2023-09-27T21:29:49Z")
Grrrrrrrr… Wasted two hours of my life this afternoon wrestling with an unwanted update to email on one of my computers. Dammit, Microsoft, I’m happy with Mail on that one, don’t want to switch to New! Improved! Outlook… --- ## [AI use opens Hollywood to public domain (?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-use-opens-hollywood-to-public-domain/990549)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-use-opens-hollywood-to-public-domain/990549 "2023-09-27T21:02:16Z")
The US copyright office and the judicial system has recently decided that AI generated art cannot be copyrighted. Ergo, any AI art is de facto in the public domain. Right now, Hollywood is having a fight over the use of… --- ## [Milestone or Kilometerstone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/milestone-or-kilometerstone/990681 "2023-09-27T20:50:39Z")
This may be an FQ question but too silly for that so MPSIMS it is… I was watching a video where an Italian shipmaker (cruise ships…big ones) mentioned they had hit a milestone. Clearly English is a second language to h… --- ## [David McCallum dies age 90 (NCIS and Man From Uncle)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-mccallum-dies-age-90-ncis-and-man-from-uncle/990691 "2023-09-27T20:13:09Z")
This one hurts. Ducky on NCIS was my favorite character. David was excellent in the role. He played the character with a lot of vigor up until the recent seasons. People never realized he was playing a character 20 years… --- ## [Part of Speech - The closer you are](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-speech-the-closer-you-are/990700)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-speech-the-closer-you-are/990700 "2023-09-27T16:47:07Z")
In a sentence like, “The closer you are, the bigger you seem”. Why do we use “the” in front of closer and bigger? Neither of these seem to be nouns (though, I assume that they’re some special type of one.) What’s the na… --- ## [Videos of encounters with strange fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videos-of-encounters-with-strange-fish/990783)
**Author:** [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/videos-of-encounters-with-strange-fish/990783 "2023-09-27T16:22:57Z")
I think that’s a whale shark: This one doesn’t look real: …but it’s a fish: It’s an Asian sheepshead wrasse, also known as the kobudai in Japan: It may be the same fish that the curator of an underwater Japa… --- ## [Can you identify this Giant Animal book?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-identify-this-giant-animal-book/990743)
**Author:** [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-identify-this-giant-animal-book/990743 "2023-09-27T15:49:43Z")
I had it when I was younger and enjoyed looking at the pictures. They looked to be watercolors on a white background but probably weren’t really. Each page had a pair of humans running or swimming alongside the critters,… --- ## [What did it cost to feed and supply Napoleon Bonaparte's Grande Armée per day and how far would the sale of the Louisiana Territory have gone in terms of sustaining the Armée?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-it-cost-to-feed-and-supply-napoleon-bonapartes-grande-armee-per-day-and-how-far-would-the-sale-of-the-louisiana-territory-have-gone-in-terms-of-sustaining-the-armee/990677)
**Author:** [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-it-cost-to-feed-and-supply-napoleon-bonapartes-grande-armee-per-day-and-how-far-would-the-sale-of-the-louisiana-territory-have-gone-in-terms-of-sustaining-the-armee/990677 "2023-09-27T15:44:00Z")
I had heard years ago but never found any evidence to support the claim that the sale of the Louisiana Territory didn’t go far at all in sustaining the Grande Armée. I have not found any information. on the daily costs o… --- ## [Another Time Traveler Question - Sex with "the Locals"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-time-traveler-question-sex-with-the-locals/970441)
**Author:** [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-time-traveler-question-sex-with-the-locals/970441 "2023-09-27T14:58:09Z")
Inspired by this thread. Let’s imagine that our time traveler goes back to, say, the Middle Ages and soon enough attracts the attention of some random medieval Joe/Jane. Yes, that kind of attention. They find a place wh… --- ## [Does it bug you? The incessant pressure to bend your will?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bug-you-the-incessant-pressure-to-bend-your-will/990388)
**Author:** [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Replies:** 142\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-bug-you-the-incessant-pressure-to-bend-your-will/990388 "2023-09-27T14:34:35Z")
Seems like kind of a strong way of putting it, “Bend your will”. But when I think about it, it’s not less than that. TV Commercials, stalkery internet ads, ‘news’ headlines intended primarily to divide the population–B… --- ## [Can you melt an egg?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-melt-an-egg/990739)
**Author:** [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-melt-an-egg/990739 "2023-09-27T14:08:19Z")
For clarification I’m asking about unfertilized chicken eggs. This in reference to a recent Ars Technica where AI is copying a (conventionally incorrect) YES Obviously when you first apply heat, the egg will solidify, … --- ## [Rise of opioids decreasing profitability of opium poppy farming](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-opioids-decreasing-profitability-of-opium-poppy-farming/990595)
**Author:** [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rise-of-opioids-decreasing-profitability-of-opium-poppy-farming/990595 "2023-09-27T14:07:16Z")
I was wondering how the increased availability of opioids like fentanyl was affecting the illicit opiate market. I understand heroine has been completely replaced in some areas. Which suggests less demand for the raw ing… --- ## [A bunch of jerkoffs ruin women's volleyball game](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bunch-of-jerkoffs-ruin-womens-volleyball-game/990425)
**Author:** [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bunch-of-jerkoffs-ruin-womens-volleyball-game/990425 "2023-09-27T13:30:22Z")
So at a game at a university in Brazil, several male medical students (!) decide to celebrate the end by running out on the court and masturbating. All of them have been expelled, presumedly ending their hopes at a caree… --- ## [Has anyone here had hair transplant surgery? In Turkey?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-had-hair-transplant-surgery-in-turkey/990522)
**Author:** [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-had-hair-transplant-surgery-in-turkey/990522 "2023-09-27T13:13:10Z")
Looking for any reports of dopers that have had this done. From what chatgtp has told me, Turkey is the place to go for this if you’re not filthy rich. I’ve never had “good hair”, but I’d take any hair over being bald. … --- ## [Could not be more mundane! RV personality question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-not-be-more-mundane-rv-personality-question/990761)
**Author:** [@TXRebel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXRebel)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-not-be-more-mundane-rv-personality-question/990761 "2023-09-27T12:08:54Z")
Hi all! We RV and we watch YouTube. Fun combo! Any way we watch a couple of YouTubers named Victoria and Craig and they do Wild RV Life. We’ve watched all their vids, they’re cute. However when I try to Google and find o… --- ## [Plane travel (9/2023): masking vs. CPAP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-travel-9-2023-masking-vs-cpap/990727)
**Author:** [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-travel-9-2023-masking-vs-cpap/990727 "2023-09-27T12:00:47Z")
I’m about to get on a plane (4 hour trip) for the first time since the pandemic hit, and I plan to wear a mask in the airports, but am wondering about the plane itself. I could keep the mask on, or not. I also am traveli… --- ## [Trump sues Simon and Schuster, Bob Woodward, et al., for publishing interview tapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sues-simon-and-schuster-bob-woodward-et-al-for-publishing-interview-tapes/979108)
**Author:** [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sues-simon-and-schuster-bob-woodward-et-al-for-publishing-interview-tapes/979108 "2023-09-27T11:32:14Z")
Trump is suing over the interview tapes where Trump admitted having classified Kim Jong Un letters. Infuriatingly, CNN does not link to the filing. This should be amusing. IANAL, and have only skimmed the filing, but … --- ## [What have I missed? (regarding charging EV at home)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-i-missed-regarding-charging-ev-at-home/990565)
**Author:** [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-i-missed-regarding-charging-ev-at-home/990565 "2023-09-27T10:56:44Z")
I am the proud new owner of a CR recommended, fully electric, Nissan Leaf. It is a pleasure to drive, and has the exact amount of “stuff” I’m comfortable with. I live in an apartment building, but it rents out garages f… --- ## [“Streets ahead” from Community in the wild used for real!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-ahead-from-community-in-the-wild-used-for-real/990566)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-ahead-from-community-in-the-wild-used-for-real/990566 "2023-09-27T04:36:09Z")
I was listening to a science and technology podcast called Babbage produced by The Economist and the guest used “streets ahead” as a serious way to discuss certain approaches to using AI! Here at time mark 29:24. Anyone… --- ## [I have no cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-cake/990687)
**Author:** [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-no-cake/990687 "2023-09-27T04:02:36Z")
So, I will play myself a song. Years ago, I answered my home phone (guess what day it was?) to a guy singing this song. He sang the whole song. --- ## [Illegal search and seizure - ie this scenario correct?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-search-and-seizure-ie-this-scenario-correct/990616)
**Author:** [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-search-and-seizure-ie-this-scenario-correct/990616 "2023-09-27T03:40:50Z")
I know that law in books is going to be modified to suit the plot… Here’s the scenario: Cop is looking for his missing almost certainly kidnapped girlfriend. He enters the house where he thinks she might be, and fin… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=729) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=731)