# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=944&state=tracking [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 945 --- ## [Tomorrow I’m flying overseas for the first time in years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-m-flying-overseas-for-the-first-time-in-years/976718)
**Author:** [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomorrow-i-m-flying-overseas-for-the-first-time-in-years/976718 "2022-12-17T21:25:59Z")
Tomorrow I’m flying (from the US) to Asia. I used to fly intercontinental quite often, but I just realized this is my first time since 2019. Many plans were scrapped during COVID, but it’s finally happening! Next year I… --- ## [Can I iron a snakeskin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723)
**Author:** [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723 "2022-12-17T21:21:51Z")
I figure someone here has got to know the answer to this. I have a tanned cobra skin that’s been tacked to the wall in my bathroom for many years. However, of late it has developed a noticeable curl to it, and I’d like… --- ## [Survivor Season 43](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-season-43/971987)
**Author:** [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-season-43/971987 "2022-12-17T21:04:20Z")
Has everyone lost interest in this show, because it debuts tonight (9/21/22) and nobody has started a thread on it yet! 2 hour premiere --- ## [DNA question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dna-question/976658 "2022-12-17T20:58:14Z")
What are some of the fantastic possible aspects of DNA that serious scientists suspect. Is there any evidence that the host can alter his own DNA by his behavior. --- ## [How to watch UK Christmas specials in the US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-watch-uk-christmas-specials-in-the-us/976685)
**Author:** [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-watch-uk-christmas-specials-in-the-us/976685 "2022-12-17T19:53:20Z")
I like a lot of British television shows and they have a tradition of Christmas (or end-of-the-year) special episodes for many TV shows. I’m trying to figure out whether they will be available for viewing in the US, such… --- ## [How do they install those house tents for fumigation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-install-those-house-tents-for-fumigation/976656)
**Author:** [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-install-those-house-tents-for-fumigation/976656 "2022-12-17T19:53:14Z")
It seems like every week or so I’ll drive by a house that is covered in one of those circus-striped tents that are used to enclose the house for pest control fumigation. How are these installed? Are they custom made for … --- ## [The Secret behind cutout sugar cookies?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-behind-cutout-sugar-cookies/976702)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-secret-behind-cutout-sugar-cookies/976702 "2022-12-17T19:42:22Z")
I have to make cutout cookies. The problem is, every time I do it the snowman turns into a blob, the trees turn into blobs, the candy canes turn into … well you get the picture. What is the secret to not having sugar c… --- ## [My UV lamp puts out 1000 volts- ouch!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-uv-lamp-puts-out-1000-volts-ouch/976655)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-uv-lamp-puts-out-1000-volts-ouch/976655 "2022-12-17T19:40:56Z")
I needed a UV lamp to illuminate and photograph some uranium glass appliances I have. They are easy to find online , not so much at a local store. I found this lamp at Menard’s to try out. It does not work for what I wan… --- ## [Taking Flat Earthers to space (legal question)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-flat-earthers-to-space-legal-question/976660)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taking-flat-earthers-to-space-legal-question/976660 "2022-12-17T19:14:36Z")
Let’s say I offer take all of the major Flat Earth proponents to space and then do so with those that volunteered. Assume I have hold-harmless agreements and releases so I can video them and publish the videos and I all… --- ## [Options for streamlining membership payments online](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-for-streamlining-membership-payments-online/976691)
**Author:** [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/options-for-streamlining-membership-payments-online/976691 "2022-12-17T17:03:00Z")
I’m working on a project for a non-profit I have started volunteering for and I was hoping someone here can give me more info about using forms that will accept Paypal payments. The organization currently has a membersh… --- ## [Retiring main characters in long running series (when you don’t absolutely have to)…](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retiring-main-characters-in-long-running-series-when-you-don-t-absolutely-have-to/976680)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retiring-main-characters-in-long-running-series-when-you-don-t-absolutely-have-to/976680 "2022-12-17T15:33:03Z")
So apparently, Ash Ketchum will cease to be the main character of the Pokemon anime after 25 years on the air. The outpouring of wistful sadness, nostalgia, and nervousness for the new characters made me think of the cla… --- ## [Other Trump NFTs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-trump-nfts/976649)
**Author:** [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-trump-nfts/976649 "2022-12-17T14:45:00Z")
So let’s suppose that Trump decides to followup his successful trading-card-NFT-grift with another series of valuable cards that he can have made for pennies and sell to rubes for $99 apiece in a limited (to 10,000) seri… --- ## [Why are animals still so poor at crossing roads safely?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-animals-still-so-poor-at-crossing-roads-safely/976477)
**Author:** [@Celtic\_Kitsune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celtic_Kitsune)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-animals-still-so-poor-at-crossing-roads-safely/976477 "2022-12-17T13:21:10Z")
I mean they’ve had over one-hundred years of practice. I was on my morning commute a few days ago and driving through an isolated rural area when a fox decided s/he absolutely had to cross the road in front of me at that… --- ## [Who else has read The Armand Gamache books?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-read-the-armand-gamache-books/945120)
**Author:** [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-read-the-armand-gamache-books/945120 "2022-12-17T03:59:22Z")
So recently we took a trip to Georgia to see some family. My daddy was not able to go, but he sent us along with an audiobook. A Better Man, by Louise Penny. I haven’t read such an entertaining book for years. I immedia… --- ## [Qatar World Cup: Good Return on Investment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qatar-world-cup-good-return-on-investment/976030)
**Author:** [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qatar-world-cup-good-return-on-investment/976030 "2022-12-17T03:01:23Z")
I have read Qatar spent between 300 and 400 billion dollars to host the World Cup. I have seen it claimed this is more than all the modern Olympics put together. They built seven state of the art stadia. Attracted the… --- ## [Nuclear fusion product](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-fusion-product/976484)
**Author:** [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-fusion-product/976484 "2022-12-17T02:49:09Z")
In the NYT article about the new breakthrough in fusion research, it says … Blockquote Out flowed a flood of neutron particles — the product of fusion — which carried about 3 megajoules of energy, a factor of 1.5 in en… --- ## [Football punt strategy, the bouncing bomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-punt-strategy-the-bouncing-bomb/975619)
**Author:** [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-punt-strategy-the-bouncing-bomb/975619 "2022-12-17T00:08:07Z")
Has any team every used an intentional squib punt to try to get the ball to hit a player on the opposing team while they are running back to the returner to block? I’ve seen this happen accidentally a few times and I’ve … --- ## [Would increasing life costs in order to increase salaries make sense? Example of Switzerland](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-increasing-life-costs-in-order-to-increase-salaries-make-sense-example-of-switzerland/976486)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-increasing-life-costs-in-order-to-increase-salaries-make-sense-example-of-switzerland/976486 "2022-12-16T23:33:20Z")
No matter how many cities and countries I’ve looked at, the same cost to salary “balance” keeps appearing, it’s either high expenses and high salaries or low expenses with low salaries, but overall the percentage of how … --- ## [Moderation in the "Trump makes major announcement \[...\]" thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-trump-makes-major-announcement-thread/976670)
**Author:** [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moderation-in-the-trump-makes-major-announcement-thread/976670 "2022-12-16T21:50:04Z")
It might be something is wrong with my imagination, but I cannot see how mentioning the blockchain involved in Trump’s scam promotes the grift any more than having an active and alive thread on the topic. --- ## [Rutherford Falls (streaming TV series)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rutherford-falls-streaming-tv-series/941185)
**Author:** [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rutherford-falls-streaming-tv-series/941185 "2022-12-16T19:52:11Z")
Have any of you seen Rutherford Falls? It’s a sitcom on the Peacock streaming service, starring Ed Helms, who created and produced the show along with Michael Schur (whom you might remember from shows like The Office, Pa… --- ## [Does the placebo effect work for bodybuilding?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-placebo-effect-work-for-bodybuilding/976646)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-placebo-effect-work-for-bodybuilding/976646 "2022-12-16T19:50:00Z")
If you inject a bodybuilder with saline and tell him it’s steroids, will it cause him to get bulkier? I assume this has never been done in a double-blind clinical trial because this use of steroids is illegal. So answer… --- ## [Any HVAC experts? I need advice (Draft Inducer & Pressure switch)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-hvac-experts-i-need-advice-draft-inducer-pressure-switch/976662)
**Author:** [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-hvac-experts-i-need-advice-draft-inducer-pressure-switch/976662 "2022-12-16T19:46:51Z")
I have a Carrier HK06WC069 that is failing to start its heat cycle, the draft inducer spins, then I get a blink code 23, Pressure Switch Stuck Open. I can pinch the pressure switch’s rubber hose a few times and hear the… --- ## [Why "Irish Free State"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-irish-free-state/976508)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-irish-free-state/976508 "2022-12-16T18:25:00Z")
I’m curious about the origins of the name “Irish Free State”, which was used between 1922 and 1937. Skimming Wikipedia on the establishment of the State, the Anglo-Irish Treaty and so on, I don’t see any explanation for… --- ## [Greeting People after starting conversations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greeting-people-after-starting-conversations/976625)
**Author:** [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greeting-people-after-starting-conversations/976625 "2022-12-16T18:04:42Z")
Hi SD, I notice that if I start a conversation with someone for the first time in a given day, I have to greet them. If circumstances require that our first exchange is not a greeting, I will at the first opportunity g… --- ## [2022 US Senate Races](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2022-us-senate-races/922327)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 1169\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2022-us-senate-races/922327 "2022-12-16T17:34:36Z")
I spent some time this morning wading through the Wikipedia article on the next US Senate elections. It looks very favorable to the Democrats. Let me try to explain why. Thirty-four Seats are up this cycle. Twenty are … --- ## [What is your experience with emdr?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-experience-with-emdr/976541)
**Author:** [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-experience-with-emdr/976541 "2022-12-16T16:04:06Z")
Someone mentioned it to me last night and I am intrigued. That said, the skeptic in me is hesitant. The therapy for me would be more for anger over things from my childhood rather than ptsd or physical abuse. --- ## [Army investigating soldiers who posed in dog bondage masks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-investigating-soldiers-who-posed-in-dog-bondage-masks/976596)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-investigating-soldiers-who-posed-in-dog-bondage-masks/976596 "2022-12-16T15:59:46Z")
\-=Link=- I suppose it is some retired someone who is into cosplay and perhaps discipline. Worth a look at the photo. --- ## [Could a criminal taunt the police till the statute of limitations is over, living abroad, and get away with it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-criminal-taunt-the-police-till-the-statute-of-limitations-is-over-living-abroad-and-get-away-with-it/976583)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-criminal-taunt-the-police-till-the-statute-of-limitations-is-over-living-abroad-and-get-away-with-it/976583 "2022-12-16T12:40:37Z")
A offshoot of the thread, Why don’t rich people run to a country with no extradition if they know US authorities are about to arrest them?’ Why don't rich people run to a country with no extradition if they know US autho… --- ## [The Dragon Prince on Netflix (open spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dragon-prince-on-netflix-open-spoilers/821374)
**Author:** [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dragon-prince-on-netflix-open-spoilers/821374 "2022-12-16T11:55:23Z")
From the makers of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Watching the second episode now, but I was not that impressed with the first episode. It was clear they were information dumping on us big time. I did like the line, “Wint… --- ## [What do British folks mean by "Rather!"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-british-folks-mean-by-rather/976575)
**Author:** [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2022, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-british-folks-mean-by-rather/976575 "2022-12-16T11:29:12Z")
(Mods: Move as needed. I’m hoping it has a factual answer.) When you say “Rather!” in response to someone, is it like saying “Quite so,” “I agree,” “Indeed,” “Yes” or is one of these meanings (or another one) more on th… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=943&state=tracking) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=945&state=tracking)