# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380 "2022-09-28T11:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 181
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3602 "2023-04-24T18:45:57Z")
They sound so much cuddlier when you call them “palmetto bugs” instead of flying cockroaches. I lived in the tropics between the ages of 4 and 7, and I’m still unwilling to live anywhere that doesn’t freeze in the winter. All that profusion of life needs to be kept in check or you get kudzu and giant bugs. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3603 "2023-04-25T00:30:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Henry IV? Currently, he is trailing the cheesecake, with strawberries, option by quite a lot – but still, by less than everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3604 "2023-04-25T02:17:48Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Unless the boats are in reference to a different poll. Venice, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3605 "2023-04-25T07:04:10Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I just want to know who’s driven a turbine powered vehicle that’s street legal. Is Jay Leno among this board’s readers? I guess if he were here he would have picked steam as well, though. 🙋‍♂️ Even though it’s not privately owned it is legal to drive a M1 Abrams on the road under certain conditions. I have driven a M1 tank on a roadway. Yes I had a military driver’s license that had a M1 family of vehicles endorsement. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2023, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3606 "2023-04-25T10:28:37Z")
Neil Young has a turbine powered '59 Lincoln. > **[LincVolt — Perrone Robotics, Inc.](https://www.perronerobotics.com/news/lincvolt)** > > LincVolt is a 1959 Lincoln Continental, owned by rock star Neil Young, which has undergone a “green” conversion with an electric motor and onboard alternate fuel-based turbine generator. Perrone Robotics has imbued LincVolt with her onboard sensing,... ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3607 "2023-04-25T16:45:59Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I just want to know who’s driven a turbine powered vehicle that’s street legal. Just because it’s not street legal doesn’t mean it hasn’t been driven on the street. In racing, we use jet engines to help dry the track after a rainstorm. Some of those “tracks” are actual streets on non-racing days. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3608 "2023-04-25T17:10:36Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > In racing, we use jet engines to help dry the track after a rainstorm. But that does not constitute a “turbine-_powered_” vehicle. I suppose it is kind of an open question as to whether a jet car is turbine-powered, according to the intention of the poll. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3609 "2023-04-25T17:16:43Z")
True. And yes, I was also thinking about a couple of jet cars that still exist and are seen on the track during historical events. Those, I haven’t driven. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3610 "2023-04-26T15:50:11Z")
Well how about that, I had the California Dreamin’ lyric wrong…fooled by the tense change maybe. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3611 "2023-04-26T16:19:39Z")
I got California Dreamin right just because I’ve read about the meaning of the lyrics before. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3612 "2023-04-26T16:25:13Z")
I posted the California Dreamin’ question because it was today that I learned that I had it wrong for the past five decades. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3613 "2023-04-26T16:46:18Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > because it was today that I learned that I had it wrong for the past five decades. What’s the correct answer? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3614 "2023-04-26T17:44:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > What’s the correct answer? Various lyrics sites have it as “_pretend to pray_” for versions by the mamas & the papas, the beach boys, and sia (the ones I looked at). ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3615 "2023-04-26T17:50:51Z")
Well, whaddaya know. I just listened, and Denny sounds like he _could_ be singing “began,” but in the backup echo it’s clearly “pretend.” For what it’s worth, I also always thought the preacher “locked the door.” ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3616 "2023-04-26T18:05:04Z")
_Pretend_ to pray is consistent with the cynicism found in the very next lines: You know the preacher like the cold He knows I’m gonna stay the only reason the singer is in the church to begin with is to stay warm, not engage in religious observances. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3617 "2023-04-26T18:18:33Z")
Switching seats would largely depend the family 's attitude. If they ask politely and deferentally, I would probably switch - I wouldn’t want my small child sitting next to a stranger, either. But If they’re assholes and demand I switch seats, suddenly, it’s SEP. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3618 "2023-04-26T18:41:38Z")
I was in a hotel some years ago, going to the elevator, when a ten-ish-year-old lass ran up and hit the button. We rode it down together and I felt a bit nervous about being alone in the elevator with her, because, OMG, an adult stranger and a young girl, alone in a strange place. Parents can be really paranoid about things like that (if they see it). ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3619 "2023-04-26T19:07:38Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > For what it’s worth… No, no, that’s another song: _"What a field day for the heat_ _Cows and people in the street…"_ mmm ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3620 "2023-04-26T19:22:38Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I was in a hotel some years ago, going to the elevator, when a ten-ish-year-old lass ran up and hit the button. We rode it down together and I felt a bit nervous about being alone in the elevator with her, because, OMG, an adult stranger and a young girl, alone in a strange place. Parents can be really paranoid about things like that (if they see it). This same thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I was descending in an elevator by myself, when it stopped at a floor and some girl who was maybe 8 years old came in, hit the button for her floor, and it was just the two of us. My first thought (other than, “where are your parents?”) was to look upwards for the ceiling camera in the elevator for reassurance that I would have video proof that I didn’t do anything wrong during the ride. And even still, like you, I was a bit nervous. Sad that this is the kind of society that we live in today, but it is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/3621 "2023-04-26T19:43:21Z")
I wrote that it depends. I’m one of those folks that travels enough to get a preferred seat for free, but I’ll play along with the idea that I’ve paid for such a seat. First, if I’ve paid for a preferred seat, I’ve also chosen that seat. That’s how it works. You don’t pay extra fro a preferred seat and then just show up at the airport expecting someone will put you in a preferred seat. Second, if someone is sitting next to me, they are also in a preferred seat, so someone chose the seat for the kid. Third, if in fact, the family didn’t pick seats at booking, then they’ve established a monetary value they place on assuring they can sit with their kid (and its probably around a hundred bucks). So the argument that they absolutely have to sit with their kid kinds of takes a hit, with a monetary value attached to the child’s safety. Finally, if approached to change seats, I’m only going to consider it if it is like for like (or better). So, if they have a preferred aisle seat and I have an aisle (or a middle or window), then sure, let’s do it. If they have a middle seat in the last row, now way Jose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=180) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=182)