# 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:** 212
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4222 "2023-05-18T16:05:14Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > > [@carnut](#): > > > > Get Smart had Agent 99; Midnight Avenger had Agent 13 > > [Get Smart Wiki page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Smart#Agent_13) > > > **Agent 13** ([David Ketchum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ketchum)) is an agent who is usually stationed inside unlikely, sometimes impossibly small or unlucky places, such as [cigarette machines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_machine), washing machines, lockers, trash cans, or fire hydrants. He tends to resent his assignments. Apparently it didn’t do him any serious harm. Ketchum is still alive at the age of 95. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4223 "2023-05-18T17:33:10Z")
I’ve had glasses since I was nine or so. I was in one of those revolving restaurants with my parents and they kept pointing out things for me to see that I just couldn’t. It wasn’t long before I’d had an eye exam and was being fitted for glasses. I alternate between contact lenses and glasses these days. I asked about Lasik surgery a few years ago, but my eye doctor said it wasn’t worth it at my age. > [@SCAdian](#): > > … > > > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > > Sterling Archer, Julian Bashir, Ethan Hunt and Jack Ryan. > > Who are Archer and Hunt? Didn’t know Bashir was a spy. And I only know Ryan from _Red October_ and _Patriot Games_ – didn’t seem much like a secret agent to me… Archer and Hunt have been answered already (which reminds me of Roy Miller in _Knight and Day_, also played by Tom Cruise; I’ve always liked to think Miller is just Ethan Hunt under a false name during a psychotic break). An alter ego of the good doctor was indeed a spy: [Julian Bashir, Secret Agent | Memory Alpha | Fandom](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Julian_Bashir,_Secret_Agent) To say nothing of his none-too-enthusiastic work for Section 31: [Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (episode) | Memory Alpha | Fandom](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Inter_Arma_Enim_Silent_Leges_(episode)) Jack Ryan has become much more of a secret agent in recent iterations of the character: [Jack Ryan (TV series) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_(TV_series)) ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4224 "2023-05-18T18:32:31Z")
Ha! Ketchum was, according to imdb, on 13 episodes of _Get Smart_. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4225 "2023-05-18T19:03:28Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I have never changed a car’s cabin air filter, nor have I ever paid someone else for that service. In fact, I’ve never _considered_ changing one. > > I’m sure my driving experience has suffered. Your breathing experience may have suffered. I don’t change my own because it’s a bit of a pain in the ass to do on my car. Doable but awkward. I have them change it every now and then. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4226 "2023-05-18T19:32:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I have never changed a car’s cabin air filter, nor have I ever paid someone else for that service. In fact, I’ve never _considered_ changing one. > > I’m sure my driving experience has suffered. Just curious, do you change your furnace filter in your home (if applicable)? mmm ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4227 "2023-05-18T19:39:02Z")
Not applicable. When I’ve lived places with forced air heat I have. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4228 "2023-05-18T19:50:18Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I asked about Lasik surgery a few years ago, but my eye doctor said it wasn’t worth it at my age. I didn’t get glasses until I was in college. I know I had eye tests in elementary school ( the Lions Club trucks) so my eyes were o.k. then. But in my first giant lecture hall in college, I couldn’t see a thing written on the board. I wore glasses until I got Lasik when I was in my late 40s. Then, one of my eyes developed a cataract, and I had to have it corrected. My other eye was fine. By the time that eye started developing a cateract, my insurance paid for a corrective lens. Yay. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4229 "2023-05-18T19:53:17Z")
I did not know that I needed glasses until I was in my late teens. I remember it clearly. I was at a bowling alley and the pins looked a little fuzzy. I borrowed my friend’s glasses, put them on, and I was like, damn! I was astounded at how sharp they looked. I did not want to return his glasses. Of course I procrastinated and did not actually get my own for another 5 years or so. mmm ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4230 "2023-05-18T22:00:58Z")
I voted ‘not needed’ for glasses, but only because of the regular proviso. I’m in my late 40s, and about 5 years ago, the VSP basically said “you can have glasses, they’ll improve things, but you don’t _need_ them, but they’re covered.” So I got a pair, and updated them about 3 years ago (right before COVID). I normally only wear them at the movies, and for poorly lit presentations on screens at work. It helps in low light, and/or long distance, but I’m okay if I forget. Still it’s an improvement, and I would have said if the question was phrased a bit differently. And it has gotten worse with age, so the best answer would have been “soon”. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4231 "2023-05-19T01:07:10Z")
Uh oh, I had forgotten those bits. Thanks for the catch! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4232 "2023-05-19T15:26:03Z")
My vision actually _improved_ while I was in law school, despite long hours, tiny print and frequent eyestrain. My eye doctor said she’d never heard of that happening. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4233 "2023-05-19T15:38:11Z")
**Mrs Magill** uses an electric toothbrush. I tried one for a while, but I didn’t care for it. My hygienist actually thought my home care improved without the electric. I guess I’m doing _something_ right. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4234 "2023-05-19T17:21:43Z")
After a recent dental visit, where the hygienist recommended an electric toothbrush, I started using one. I can’t stand the tickling sensation. I’m hoping I will get used to that. mmm ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4235 "2023-05-19T17:25:31Z")
Funny, at my last dental visit they recommended I use an electric toothbrush, also, but I kept using my manual one. Because after the visit, like most dentists, they gave me a free manual toothbrush. And I’m not going to let that free toothbrush go to waste, darn it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4236 "2023-05-19T17:32:41Z")
I use an electric toothbrush, and I have no issues with it. My dentist is always praising my dental hygiene. As for using outside stairs for boarding a plane, I’ve done it five times or so, but I haven’t the foggiest idea what planes they were. The only one I remember for sure is the Constellation I flew out of Presque Isle ME. I’d never heard of that particular plane before, so it stuck in my memory. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4237 "2023-05-19T17:58:58Z")
I also have “boarded a commercial flight by walking across the apron and climbing a set of stairs or ramp up to the plane” but have no idea what kind of plane it was, or more likely what kind of planes they were; I first started flying in the 1960’s or early 70’s and that was pretty much standard, IIRC, at smaller airports at the time. (I have a vague recollection of people who weren’t even going on the flight being able to walk out there with you; but it’s a pretty vague recollection and may not be accurate, or I may have just read something about it. I do know that people not going on the flight used to be able to come into the waiting room with you, though, including all the way up to the boarding gate. Used to be a normal way to see somebody off.) > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > After a recent dental visit, where the hygienist recommended an electric toothbrush, I started using one. > > I can’t stand the tickling sensation. I tried an electric toothbrush once, after pressure from my dentist, and having at the time recently inherited one (yes, a new brush in it.) I used it for approximately half a second, went ‘gaaah’ and got it back out of my mouth and have no intention of ever trying one again. Horrible nails-on-chalkboard kind of vibrating sensation. Obviously it doesn’t bother some people. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4238 "2023-05-19T18:33:09Z")
I’ve boarded airplanes on the tarmac, via a stairway, numerous times, though mostly back in the '80s and '90s, or when I’ve had to fly into/out of very small airports. I did, once, board a widebody (two-aisle) airliner via an external stairway. It was a decade ago, at Kona International Airport, in Hawaii; that terminal has no jetbridges, and we boarded our flight back to the mainland U.S. (on either a 767 or 777, I can’t remember) by walking across the apron and up the mobile stairway. Also, about 7 years ago, i had to come _off_ of a widebody plane, via a mobile stairway, while it was sitting in the middle of the apron at O’Hare. We’d just backed away from the gate, and when we went to move forward, one of the brakes on the landing gear locked up, rendering the plane immobile. After attempting to fix it for two hours, while we all sat there on the plane, they decided to deboard the plane – they wheeled out a mobile stairway, and as we were sitting there in the middle of an active taxiway, they had airport security cordoning off the area, and escorting us to buses that took us back to the terminal. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4239 "2023-05-19T18:37:18Z")
We board and deplane via stairs at Princess Juliana Airport in Sint Maarten each year. I also used stairs in Florida (Gainesville?). They had employees with umbrellas for us because it was drizzling. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4240 "2023-05-19T18:58:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I did, once, board a widebody (two-aisle) airliner via an external stairway. It was a decade ago, at Kona International Airport, in Hawaii; that terminal has no jetbridges, and we boarded our flight back to the mainland U.S. (on either a 767 or 777, I can’t remember) by walking across the apron and up the mobile stairway. Gosh, I totally forgot about Hawaii. Yeah, interisland is typically outside stairs. I remember meeting a very cute Ag beagle at the Kona Airport. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/4241 "2023-05-19T19:01:18Z")
I deplaned from a **787** via air stairs to the tarmac and a waiting bus at Heathrow just last Saturday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=211) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=213)