# Are ANY of these questions true? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203 "2004-03-24T22:10:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/21 "2004-03-25T03:28:52Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > What? No “A duck’s quack doesn’t echo” statement?? Could it be that this is one battle we’ve actually won? Maybe we should have a parade. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/22 "2004-03-25T03:38:42Z")
People do not get sick from cold weather; it’s caused by microbes. It is easier to tanmit these in closed rooms, so that one is kinda true. It is obviously unrelated to children returning to school since the ‘flu season in al parts of the world is in the winter months, whereas school terms vary in individuals countries and even provinces within countries. About 7 per cent of the population are left handed. Estimated vary but that sounds like a reasonable average. There is now ay that the figure is anywher near 27% lobelia. There is no such thing as an average houselfy, not even an average species. If there were they wouldn’t live for one month. Much of thelifecycle is spent as a maggot, and this can last for many months. If we assume we are only referring to adult flies then I suspect that most are eaten within 1 day of emergence. Maybe some species of houseflies in some parts of the world live an average of 30 days before dying due to old age, but as presented the factoid is just plain wrong. A staff report has been prpared on eating spiders in your sleep. [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidereat.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidereat.html) Neither rabbits nor parrots have 360o fields of vision, although they have well over the 120o or so that people manage. So those animals can’t see behind them without turning. If we just mean they can see somewhat behind them then they are ceratinly not the only animals that can do that. We can add horses, frogs, crocodiles, cattle and many other species to the list. I won’t even get into the variation within that huge group of birds called ‘parrots’. Hospitals do make money make money by selling umbilical cords blood, but they don’t use them for vein surgery. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/23 "2004-03-25T04:13:27Z")
According to the April edition of Natural History magazine, Fiddler Crabs do not need to turn around to see behind them, since their eyes are on stalks and view the world as a 360 degree panorama. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/24 "2004-03-25T05:43:10Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. People do not get sick from cold weather; it’s from being indoors a lot more. You can get _dead_ from weather that is too cold, but I guess that doesn’t count as sick. There are lots of molds and fungi indoors. At least at my house there are. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/25 "2004-03-25T05:49:07Z")
According to this website, toothbrushes were invented by the Chinese in 1498. [http://www.geocities.com/kbeb3234/pre18.htm](http://www.geocities.com/kbeb3234/pre18.htm) But I found another site that said the 1500’s. ---
**Author:** ![quothz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/da6949/32.png) [@quothz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quothz)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/26 "2004-03-25T06:18:41Z")
> [@pencilpusher](#): > > 1. Most of us have eaten a spider in our sleep. > 2. In most television commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint > and a little thinner is used in place of the milk. **16** looks like a spurious variation of [this](http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.htm) legend, which Snopes has pretty neatly debunked. **21** sounds highly dubious. Everyone in the general vicinity of the studio is going to be a union worker, and unions typically have rules about handling anything even vaguely hazardous. It may well be some substance other than milk, or even CGI in higher-budget stuff\*, but it’s very likely to be benign. \*I’m not aware of any specific commercial using CGI milk, but I wouldn’t be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/27 "2004-03-25T06:26:40Z")
Michael Jackson owned the company that owned the copyright to the Wisconsin state anthem, _On, Wisconsin!_ But the copyright expired in the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/28 "2004-03-25T06:48:22Z")
I always heard that lefties were approximately 10% of the population. [WebMD](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/36/1728_61147.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D) [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-handed) They agree with me. > [@](#): > > 1. The average housefly lives for one month. I’d heard 13 days, but I don’t know that one for sure. No cite either. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/29 "2004-03-25T21:24:55Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > About 7 per cent of the population are left handed. Estimated vary but that sounds like a reasonable average. There is now ay that the figure is anywher near 27% lobelia. Well I did say I _think_ 😃 7% sounds awfully low … I was basing my guess on something I saw on TV - murder victim had been stabbed by a left hander which ruled out over 75% of the population … hmmmm ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/30 "2004-03-25T21:55:05Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Not to further hijack the thread, but that and every other reference to it I’ve found (including the one in the OP) so far uses the exact same wording, indicating a single source. I’d like to see some more details about this alleged tomato-can carburetor or even a photo or two. I can find nothing but the assertion that one was used, but nothing else. The lack of confirmation on Harley-Davidson’s website furthers my suspicion. I’d say the authors of those lists are confusing the 1903 Wright Flyer (which did have a carburetor made from a tomato can) with the 1903 Harley-Davidson (which, by one account, had a carburetor the _size_ of a tomato can). ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/31 "2004-03-25T22:12:57Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > I’d say the authors of those lists are confusing the 1903 Wright Flyer (which did have a carburetor made from a tomato can) with the 1903 Harley-Davidson (which, by one account, had a carburetor the _size_ of a tomato can). No, I don’t think so. However, to further throw a wrench into the works, I found this bit about [url=http://www.curtisswright.com/history/1876-1908.asp]Glenn Hammond Curtiss [/quote] , who, among other things help revolutionize aviation engines, and: > [@](#): > > He saw an early motorcycle on display at an exposition in Buffalo, the Thomas Auto-Bi. The Thomas Company advertised one-cylinder gasoline engine kits appropriate for installation on a bicycle. Curtiss ordered one of these and found that most of the parts were unfinished castings, and machining instructions were poor. With help from a local shop he managed to machine and assemble an engine. No mention was made of a carburetor in the manufacturer’s instructions; **he designed and made his own from a tomato can**. After installing the engine on one of his bicycles, the whole town turned out to witness the first demonstration of a gasoline-powered vehicle in Hammondsport. **The year was 1901**. ---
**Author:** ![AV8R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AV8R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AV8R)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/32 "2004-03-25T22:26:51Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. In most television commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint > and a little thinner is used in place of the milk. I’d say this one is false. Years ago I read an article about advertising photography, and it said that the product specifically being advertised must be the actual product seen. Thus, if it’s an advertisement for milk, then real milk must be used in the ad (although you could pour the real milk over fake strawberries). Conversely, if you were advertising strawberries, then you could use fake milk. [Sorry, I have no idea what they use for fake milk.] ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/33 "2004-03-25T22:53:26Z")
> [@Lobelia Overhill](#): > > It’s said to be impossible to keep your eyes open when you sneeze - I’ve never managed to That one’s BS, but not everyone can manage it. I sneeze with my eyes open sometimes. Learned to do it when I was 16, driving my car on a hilly, winding country road, and had to sneeze like you wouldn’t believe. I knew if I closed my eyes I’d likely go off the road, so I kept them open. It hurt. Doesn’t hurt when I do it anymore, and when I sneeze while driving my eyes stay open now. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/34 "2004-03-25T23:33:01Z")
> [@Kilt-wearin' man](#): > > That one’s BS, but not everyone can manage it. I sneeze with my eyes open sometimes. Learned to do it when I was 16, driving my car on a hilly, winding country road, and had to sneeze like you wouldn’t believe. I knew if I closed my eyes I’d likely go off the road, so I kept them open. It hurt. Doesn’t hurt when I do it anymore, and when I sneeze while driving my eyes stay open now. I can do it if I hold my eyes open. I decided that the reason you _shouldn’t_ do it is because a)No one should see what they look like in the mirror when the sneeze, it’s not pleasent. b)Holding both your eye’s open means you’re going to sneeze all over the mirror. Not pleasent either. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/35 "2004-03-25T23:55:51Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > No, I don’t think so. Is this in reference to the Wright Flyer or the confusion? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/36 "2004-03-25T23:59:52Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Is this in reference to the Wright Flyer or the confusion? Both, actually. But mainly the [Wright Flyer engine](http://www.nasm.si.edu/wrightbrothers/fly/1903/engine.cfm): > [@](#): > > **How the Wright engine worked** > The engine had no fuel pump, carburetor, or spark plugs. Nor did it have a throttle. Yet the simple motor produced 12 horsepower, an acceptable margin above the Wrights’ minimum requirement of 8 horsepower. Gasoline was gravity fed from a small quart-and-a-half tank mounted on a strut below the upper wing. The gasoline entered a shallow chamber next to the cylinders and mixed with the incoming air. Heat from the crankcase vaporized the fuel-air mixture, causing it to pass through the intake manifold into the cylinders. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/37 "2004-03-26T00:17:40Z")
> [@cactus waltz](#): > > [snoped!](http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/green.asp) I happened to read this a few days ago. It is about whether Coke was **originally** green and in fact states “The original formula called for caramel to give Coca-Cola its rich brown color” so the statement about Coke’s colour without colourings may be correct. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/38 "2004-03-26T01:24:08Z")
\*3. A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 years. \* Yeah, and how many teeth does a non-smoker lose? All my grandparents had a complete set of falsies by the time they were 60 - that’s an average of 5 a decade (none of 'em smoked). I don’t think that was at all unusual. Current generation has much smaller decay rates, but that’s down to fluoridation of the water, not smoking. Hell, even I’m over quota. Thirty-three years old, never smoked, never had a filling in my shiny white healthy teeth … but I have had ten of 'em ripped out due to a too-small mouth! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/39 "2004-03-26T01:27:48Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > \*3. A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 years. > \* > > Yeah, and how many teeth does a non-smoker lose? I smoked for over 20 years, and roughly a pack to a pack-and-a-half a day, on average, until I quit nearly a year ago. I still have all 32 adult teeth (although admittedly some of them are in less-than-perfect shape). ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/40 "2004-03-26T01:33:31Z")
> [@AV8R](#): > > I’d say this one is false. > Years ago I read an article about advertising photography, and it said that the product specifically being advertised must be the actual product seen. Thus, if it’s an advertisement for milk, then real milk must be used in the ad (although you could pour the real milk over fake strawberries). Conversely, if you were advertising strawberries, then you could use fake milk. > [Sorry, I have no idea what they use for fake milk.] I’ve read a lot of articles on advertising “gimmicks” and pretty sure that they use glue (like the Elmer’s variety) for milk. _…goes off to find a cite quickly_ [http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/advertising\_marketing/food\_ads.cfm](http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/advertising_marketing/food_ads.cfm). 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203.md?page=3)