Straight Dope Message Board

[Jackmannii]

When I'm 64, and other reminders that you are old.
My computer is 8 years old and still works like it's brand new.

And as a special bonus, blasts from the past:

https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...d.php?t=595947
https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...d.php?t=130921
https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...d.php?t=775021
https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...ad.php?t=92101
https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...d.php?t=669690 1

[Johnny L.A.]

What is the benefit of a sauna?
Heated Clothing 2

[beowulff]

Ideology or witticism.
Trump wall solution

I'd say "Ideology." 3

[Jackmannii]

What Divides Us the Most?
The five billion dollar wall 4

[Spiderman]

gifts for kids whose parents you hate
Keep your fingers crossed for me: Christmas without a furnace

A lump of coal.
What? It'll keep 'em warm. 5

[Jackmannii]

Do other peoples' opinions make you mad?
Is This the Human Condition?

What's it to you, mac? 6

[Knowed Out]

What triggers your 'Cash for crash' awareness?
Wheat Pennies

"Forming a government" in a parliamentary system
Can a King/Queen be removed by the government? 7

[Ludovic]

What is the benefit of a sauna?
Water reserve for astronauts?

It relaxes them in between spacewalks, and can double as a water reserve! 8

[Ludovic]

Water reserve for astronauts?
The Fountain Pen Thread

The Fisher Space Pen could be used as a very tiny water reserve. 9

[Jackmannii]

Suggestions to fight the unmitigated evil of new sidewalks in front of my house?
Taming an insect as a pet

A "Beware of the Hissing Cockroach" sign might scare off city workers, but to be on the safe side you'd better have a couple thousand of them on patrol. 10

[stillownedbysetters]

I am shocked - shocked - to know that dancing is going on...

I'm Afraid For My Daughter



You should be. I've seen [I]Footloose[I], I know where dancing can lead. 11

[CalMeacham]

Cat Wars -- A Solution At Last?

Should we get a budgie?
12

[Annie-Xmas]

New Research Claims Jeanne Calment, thought to be worlds longest living human at 122, a fraud.
The Most Influential Bell-ends of 2018 13

[Ludovic]

Taming an insect as a pet
Should we get a budgie?

Sure, right after the biology lessons! 14

[Jackmannii]

Please help solve this hard drive mystery. It will not install properly.
Would anyone really buy a 30-year old hard drive?

Will it make a good paperweight? 15

[MEBuckner]

What is the justification for farm subsidies?
Ancestors that were killed in battle

My great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpappy died defending this land from the Redcoats! It's only fair I should get paid to not grow soybeans on it! 16

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by MEBuckner

My great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpappy died defending this land from the Redcoats! It's only fair I should get paid to not grow soybeans on it!

Major Major’s father was a sober God-fearing man whose idea of a good joke was to lie about his age. He was a longlimbed farmer, a God-fearing, freedom-loving, law-abiding rugged individualist who held that federal aid to anyone but farmers was creeping socialism. He advocated thrift and hard work and disapproved of loose women who turned him down. His specialty was alfalfa, and he made a good thing out of not growing any. The government paid him well for every bushel of alfalfa he did not grow. The more alfalfa he did not grow, the more money the government gave him, and he spent every penny he didn’t earn on new land to increase the amount of alfalfa he did not produce. Major Major’s father worked without rest at not growing alfalfa. On long winter evenings he remained indoors and did not mend harness, and he sprang out of bed at the crack of noon every day just to make certain that the chores would not be done. He invested in land wisely and soon was not growing more alfalfa than any other man in the county. Neighbors sought him out for advice on all subjects, for he had made much money and was therefore wise. “As ye sow, so shall ye reap,” he counseled one and all, and everyone said, “Amen.”

Major Major’s father was an outspoken champion of economy in government, provided it did not interfere with the sacred duty of government to pay farmers as much as they could get for all the alfalfa they produced that no one else wanted or for not producing any alfalfa at all. He was a proud and independent man who was opposed to unemployment insurance and never hesitated to whine, whimper, wheedle and extort for as much as he could get from whomever he could. 17

[CalMeacham]

What is the highest-level animal that regularly kills and eats other animals?

Questions regarding College Administrators



"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son," said Dean Wormer as he licked the blood from the back of his hand. 18

[CalMeacham]

I am shocked - shocked - to know that dancing is going on...

Cat Wars -- A Solution At Last?



The Man who was Shocked by Cat Dancing. 19

[Annie-Xmas]

How bad is homelessness where you live?
living paycheck to paycheck

That's a good way to become homeless. 20

[Sunspace]

Should we get a budgie?
Cat Wars -- A Solution At Last?

The Cat Wars of the early 21st Century finally began to recede when a new form of ammunition was discovered. 21

[stillownedbysetters]

How do I make the fluffiest eggs?
I'm bored with food.

Excessive experimentation in pursuit of fluffy eggs would bore me, too. For God's sake, throw a steak or a salad in there 9nce in a while. 22

[Ludovic]

Latin in Catholic services--making a comeback?
The recent taboo of using the N-word under ANY circumstances

So that's what the "N" in "INRI" stands for! 23

[Jackmannii]

Why does drinking soda on an empty stomach cause stomach cramps?
How long does a nuclear explosion last?

With Atomic Mr. Pibb, about 3 milliseconds. 24

[Two Many Cats]

Should we get a budgie?
I got Diverticulitis

Fezziwinks II: Now with Feathers! 25

[Ludovic]

France: What are the yellow vests protests about?
Taming an insect as a pet

No, that's what the yellow jacket protests are about. 26

[Jackmannii]

Originally Posted by Ludovic

France: What are the yellow vests protests about?
Taming an insect as a pet

Les cafards sont animals de compagnie? Mais non! Jamais! Aux barricades!!! 27

[MEBuckner]

Tuna sells for $3,000,000
Just set out a trap-line in my study.

"You have tuna in your study?"
"No, but for three million bucks I figure it's worth a shot." 28

[Ludovic]

What's the worst reaction you've ever had to medication?
living paycheck to paycheck

Warning: may cause fetal insomnia, intermittent plague, headache, and bankruptcy. 29

[CalMeacham]

Just set out a trap-line in my study.

Drunken, obnoxious, Arkansas dopers!





I caught one! 30

[Jackmannii]

Ants, round six and they keep coming back.
Impeachment? Then, what?

Set up a Congressional Committee on Ant Encroachment. Then, demand their tax returns. 31

[Ludovic]

Impeachment? Then, what?
Mongolian Folk Rock

Naw, he'd be unfazed by that since he'd think "throat singing" was going to be something different. 32

[Jackmannii]

Question about absolute zero
Can a billionaire buy land in Canada or Greenland and from his own country?

C'mon. While winters in those countries get pretty bad, you can expect at least some molecules to keep moving even during the worst cold snaps. 33

[Jackmannii]

A haunted TV in the MMP
I'm Afraid For My Daughter

They're...here!! 34

[Ludovic]

Anyone ever discover in an old show, a great talent you wern't aware of, only to find....
Funniest Musicians?

I thought the Smothers Brothers were just comedy, but they kept breaking out in to song. Annoying! 35

[Jackmannii]

Taming an insect as a pet
How bad is homelessness where you live?

Sounds a bit grim. On the other hand, people might donate extra cash if you're walking a giant cockroach on a leash while holding a sign that says "Duke is hungry". 36

[MEBuckner]

What's the point of guilt?
Woman in coma gives birth

Dude, She's Like, in a Coma! That's just wrong!!! 37

[CalMeacham]

Question about absolute zero

OK, why is my computer freezing up?

38

[Jackmannii]

I'm Afraid For My Daughter
Just set out a trap-line in my study.

That'll keep her from gallivanting around at night. 39

[stillownedbysetters]

Anyone ever discover in an old show, a great talent you wern't aware of, only to find....
Cold War American films showing Soviets in a positive light



Just when you find a talented guy playing Breshnev, he is making Breshnev likeable. 40

[stillownedbysetters]

Get Rich! Become a Book Author!
Unrealistic expectations or just like to bitch?



Sure I would like it if my book made me rich, but I expect to just be bitchin' about it when it doesn't 41

[Jackmannii]

Is there any way for Sears to reverse their decline or be salvaged?
My computer is 8 years old and still works like it's brand new.

Well jeez, if people like you would just buy a new computer at Sears, the company wouldn't be bankrupt. 42

[CalMeacham]

What's a typical range for air conditioned air temperature coming out of the vents?

Question about absolute zero


You gotta stop using that Helium Dilution Refrigerator in your home cooling system!





Weatherman fired for uttering a racial slur on air

Drunken, obnoxious, Arkansas dopers!

43

[Ludovic]

Did you look for your Christmas presents when you were a kid? Why?
Squatters' Rights and Adverse Possession

If anyone got to play with them for an hour before I did, they became theirs! 44

[Lucas Jackson]

Originally Posted by Jackmannii

When I'm 64, and other reminders that you are old.
My computer is 8 years old and still works like it's brand new.

I have a Mac that’s 13 years old. Works great and I use it everyday. 45

[Jackmannii]

Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Squatters' Rights and Adverse Possession

Yeah, there was the time Bigfoot parked his furry butt in my La-Z-Boy and wouldn't get up. Had to fill him full of 0000 buckshot before he'd move. 46

[Jackmannii]

TMI: My rectum is on fire (anal fissure)
Rewiring your brain to stifle hiccups

That's one way to stop hiccuping. What works for me is whacking my fingers with a ball-peen hammer. 47

[MEBuckner]

Question about absolute zero
OK, why is my computer freezing up?

"Sir, it clearly states in your User Manual that your computer has been designed to operate at temperatures between 50° to 95° Fahrenheit. 459.67° below zero is definitely outside the recommended temperature limits." 48

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by MEBuckner

Question about absolute zero
OK, why is my computer freezing up?

"Sir, it clearly states in your User Manual that your computer has been designed to operate at temperatures between 50° to 95° Fahrenheit. 459.67° below zero is definitely outside the recommended temperature limits."

These two threads keep bumping against each other. I first posted the pair ten entries up. 49

[Jackmannii]

TMI: My rectum is on fire (anal fissure)
Should I keep these speakers?

Try turning down the volume a bit. 50