# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eirik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b19c9b/32.png) [@Eirik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eirik)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/41 "2004-03-26T01:34:23Z")
> [@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.] When I took a video productions class in college, I recall reading that it used to be common practice to do all sorts of strange things. Shoe polish would be added to coffee, for example, to darken it. After the laws changes, you’re right, the product being advertised _had_ to be the actual product, but all sorts of things were done to help it along. If you’re doing cereal, the photographer might pour out 50 boxes to pick out each and every individual flake and arrange it just so. I’ve seen a few companies that have cereals that have added things (like dried strawberries, marshmellows, etc) get called out on consumer shows because the picture clearly uses _all_ the available extras shown on a single bowl to make it look like the box contains more. Not illegal, but definitly questionable. Typically, they’d use something like white glue as a milk subsititue. If they were advertising ice cream topping, they’d used Crisco for the ice cream. Cakes used to advertise frosting are usually baked differently with some added ingrediates to increase their fluffyness. (My neighbor as a child did photo shoots for advertising for a while, and brought home a bunch of cakes from one. They tasted very bland.) As for some of the other ones: Hitchcock might have lost his bellybutton at some point through surgery, but he was most certainly born with one. Computer users do indeed blink far less than someone not on the computer. Seven times a minute might be a bit low, but not by much. the idea that Prince Charels and Williams don’t travel together isn’t so odd. The President and Vice President don’t, either. In fact, by tradition, at least one member of the cabinent is left at the White House during the state of the union to prevent the total decapitation of the US government. On a more personal level, some families don’t all travel together to prevent everyone from being wiped out (A passenger on Eastern 401 that crashed in the Everglades was a father traveling apart from his wife) ---
**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 26, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/42 "2004-03-26T02:22:13Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Both, actually. But mainly the [Wright Flyer engine](http://www.nasm.si.edu/wrightbrothers/fly/1903/engine.cfm): Not so fast. > [@](#): > > [AOPA Pilot Magazine](http://www.aopa.org/pilot/100/news0307.html) > The fuel system of the 1903 Wright engine consisted of a metal can (with a capacity of one gallon) that was mounted below the top wing on a wing strut. A tube ran down the strut to the engine. Raw fuel (the fuel that was bought from a nearby marina is estimated to have been between 30 and 50 octane) squirted out of a small hole in the end of the tube into an open-ended can on the top of the engine. Air drawn through the can picked up the fuel and swept it into the aluminum case, carrying it through the serpentine routing on the path to the cylinders. > [@](#): > > [NASA](http://wright.nasa.gov/airplane/eng03.html) > The 1903 engine was a water-cooled machine. On the figure at the top of this page, we show the single radiator feed hose at the bottom and twin radiator return hoses on the top of the engine. The large flywheel which is used to damp out vibrations from the engine is seen at the back of the engine. Near the flywheel is the magneto which generates the electricity for the ignition system. The four cylinders on the side of the engine are actually the combustion chambers in which the fuel/air mixture is ignited. The intake valve springs are visible at the top of the combustion chambers, the exhaust valve springs are at the bottom. The air intake and carburetor are located on the top of the engine and the fuel line runs from the air intake down the front of the engine. The timing chain and timing gear sprockets are also located on the front of the engine. On the bottom of the engine one finds the lubrication system and the timing cams and cam shafts. ---
**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, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/43 "2004-03-26T02:50:49Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Not so fast. That’s still a far cry from claiming the carburetor (such as it was) was made froma tomato can. Other descriptions call it a “pan”, including another page on your [NASA](http://wright.nasa.gov/airplane/fuelsys.html) cite: > [@](#): > > The fuel line continues past the valve, along the top of the engine, and into the the side of the air intake as shown on this figure. The liquid fuel drips into the carburetor, which is a flat, enclosed pan that sits on the top of the engine. The floor of the carburetor is hot because it sits over the engine cylinders. Air is drawn into the carburetor, through the air intake, because of the action of the pistons far downstream. This appears, from the diagram on this page, to include more than the admittedly can-shaped air intake. Could the air intake have actually _been_ made from a can, possibly even a tomato can? I suppose so, but there’s no direct evidence for it, that I can find. ---
**Author:** ![pencilpusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d6d6ee/32.png) [@pencilpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pencilpusher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/44 "2004-03-26T02:51:38Z")
WOW thanks for the info gang. This was sent to me by my SIL and there were a bunch of those questions that were… questionable. I appreciate the answers. Count me as one of the more enlightened ones now 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/45 "2004-03-26T02:56:02Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and the parrot. Try the owl. [http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/pix/snowyowl.html](http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/pix/snowyowl.html) Notice that the face in in the crease of the wings on the back. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/46 "2004-03-26T02:57:39Z")
Whoops, misread that. Carry on. ---
**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 26, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/47 "2004-03-26T03:20:36Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > This appears, from the diagram on this page, to include more than the admittedly can-shaped air intake. Could the air intake have actually _been_ made from a can, possibly even a tomato can? I suppose so, but there’s no direct evidence for it, that I can find. Maybe not for the Wright Flyer there is [a precedent of having a tomato can carburetor](http://www.curtisswright.com/history/1876-1908.asp). > [@](#): > > The Thomas Company advertised one-cylinder gasoline engine kits appropriate for installation on a bicycle. [Glenn] 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:** ![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, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/48 "2004-03-26T03:22:32Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Maybe not for the Wright Flyer there is [a precedent of having a tomato can carburetor](http://www.curtisswright.com/history/1876-1908.asp). No shit. Read post #31 in this thread. I’ll wait. 😃 ---
**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 26, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/49 "2004-03-26T03:23:50Z")
Which, of course, you already know. Where’s the smack smiley when you need it? ---
**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, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/50 "2004-03-26T03:24:24Z")
Maybe this belongs in “Am I the Only One” but… Am I the only one that’s experiencing Tomato Can Carburetor Deja Vu in this thread? 😉 (Am I the only one who had to type Carburetor four times before finally getting it right?) (I’m sure I’m the only one who cares at this point ;)) ---
**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 26, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/51 "2004-03-26T03:34:06Z")
FWIW, PBS thought enough of the tomato can bit to include it in one of their 100th Anniversary documentaries. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/52 "2004-03-26T03:34:06Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Maybe this belongs in “Am I the Only One” but… > > Am I the only one that’s experiencing Tomato Can Carburetor Deja Vu in this thread? 😉 > > (Am I the only one who had to type Carburetor four times before finally getting it right?) > > (I’m sure I’m the only one who cares at this point ;)) No, you’re not crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/53 "2004-03-26T04:48:12Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. The toothbrush was invented in 1498. No, this is far too early. We know the toothbrush originated in West Virginia, because if it had been invented anywhere else, it would have been called the “teethbrush”. ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/54 "2004-03-26T06:09:21Z")
sorry if someone esle answerd this, but I didnt read through all the postings: as for the milk one, the paint and thinner is a possibility, they almost certainly dont use actual milk. many shoots, particularly for commercials, last all day, under hot lights so spoilage is a possibility. Plus milk just doesn’t look white enough on camera. i was on a shoot where Elmer’s glue was used for milk in a bowl of cereal, but a glass full of glue might not be so efficient so thinned paint seems a plausable substitute. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203/55 "2004-03-26T08:18:42Z")
**Are ANY of these questions true?** Nitpick. Can a _question_ be true or false? Nitpick over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-any-of-these-questions-true/236203.md?page=2)