# 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:** 257
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5124 "2023-06-26T16:06:43Z")
Once in a while I wonder how my life might have been different if I had gone to a different college, or chosen a different major. But I have no way of knowing. It could have easily turned out much better, or much worse, or about the same, either as a direct result or for “butterfly effect” reasons. Anyway, I don’t think about it often because that water has long since flowed under the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5125 "2023-06-26T16:10:49Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > How does one accomplish that in the middle of a traffic jam? > > Somebody else is going to pull into that space. Not necessarily. Even a gap of 5-6 car lengths isn’t going to be enough to safely get over from a full stop if the other lane is moving at 10-15 mph. I drove down 95 from NJ yesterday and during several jams I got over to the right and did exactly as I described. Nobody tried to cut in even once, and these are mostly generally very aggressive Maryland/Philadelphia/New Jersey drivers. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5126 "2023-06-26T16:48:02Z")
A lot of our Boston and environs traffic jams seem to come from people who have an upcoming major exit/interchange, and who hover in the middle lane and try to slide in at the last moment. Left lane usually works pretty well for me. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5127 "2023-06-26T17:21:38Z")
There are roads where i can guess which lane will be stopped. (Often the right lane is blocked during routine rush hour. For “snow slowdown” the right is usually fastest.) There are roads where i know there’s a good alternative route. So my answer isn’t exactly other, it’s “it depends”. But i picked “other”. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5128 "2023-06-26T18:10:56Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > If you’ve never had Burmese before, I highly recommend you take any opportunity you can to try it. It’s like Indian, Thai, and Chinese all combined together in strange and delicious ways. That’s exactly how I described it! I was taken to a Burmese restaurant in San Francisco by a friend and his fiance (who was Burmese). I had a Burmese friend, too, but she only wanted to eat “American” food. The only thing I didn’t care for much at the restaurant was the dessert which was a kind of parfait/ice cream sundae concoction. I didn’t like the jello with the ice cream. Not a big jello fan. Oh, and I’ve never eaten Nutella. Does it taste like those little foil wrapped squares of chocolate called Ice Cubes (with a picture of a polar bear on the wrapper)? There are a couple of casual French restaurants in my neighborhood. More bistro like? But also more breakfast/lunch places. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5129 "2023-06-26T18:54:10Z")
Regarding driving “slowly,” I had a struggle with that one. I picked “only when the cars in front of me are going slowly,” but that depends on your definition. I tend to drive around the speed limit, maybe slightly above. In many instances that is considered “slow,” although I don’t consider it to be. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5130 "2023-06-26T19:00:06Z")
Nutella is hazelnut/chocolate. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5131 "2023-06-26T19:05:59Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Regarding driving “slowly,” I had a struggle with that one. I picked “only when the cars in front of me are going slowly,” but that depends on your definition. I tend to drive around the speed limit, maybe slightly above. In many instances that is considered “slow,” although I don’t consider it to be Yeah. @Karen_Lingel, do you mean “slowly” as in “30 MPH when the speed limit’s 65”? or do you mean “between 65 and 70 when the speed limit’s 65 but most of the traffic is doing 75 to 85”? And also, you left out work zones, when there isn’t enough other traffic for that to be a controlling factor. ETA: > [@susan](#): > > Nutella is hazelnut/chocolate. That’s what I thought, until I read the label. There’s hazelnut and chocolate in there, but it’s mostly sugar and palm oil. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5132 "2023-06-26T19:33:20Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Nutella is hazelnut/chocolate. I know. But the Ice Cubes candy is also chocolate and hazelnut (just all mixed together – not striped). I was wondering if anyone who’d eaten both thought they tasted alike. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5133 "2023-06-26T19:39:35Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > How does one accomplish that in the middle of a traffic jam? > > Somebody else is going to pull into that space. But they get back out again after a few moments as they try for every little advantage they perceive. Some years ago I read an article – can’t remember where – by a traffic engineer who’d also studied fluid dynamics and he asserted, as **DCnDC** said, the best way for you, and everyone, to get past a jam is to leave enough space so you can slow down then the guy in front of you slows, but not come to a stop. This helps smooth those out [phantom traffic jams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goVjVVaLe10) where people have to come to a stop for no discernible reason. That’s the way I try to drive in heavy traffic and yeah, if I leave a 75-yard gap in front of me, some putz in a pickup or jerk in a Jeep\* will dart into it but 90% of the time they dart back out again trying to climb the ladder and the other 10% I’ve lost only one car-length of braking space when they inevitably brake because they rolled up on the guy in front of them. I find it a lot more zen and relaxing that the endless cycles of zoom-and-brake the alphas use. \*Not that I’m stereotyping or anything. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5134 "2023-06-26T20:07:14Z")
Good point. I took “slowly” to mean “significantly below the speed limit”, and I typically drive maybe 5 mph above the speed limit, traffic permitting, and answered the poll based on that. But I suppose those maniacs in the left lane going more like 10-15 mph over the speed limit might think I’m driving slowly. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5135 "2023-06-26T22:53:37Z")
Omg! I Love ice cubes. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5136 "2023-06-26T23:26:28Z")
I haven’t had them in ages, but I used to love them, too! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5137 "2023-06-27T00:51:55Z")
I wonder if they’re still available. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5138 "2023-06-27T02:51:35Z")
It’s not possible for the cats to get out of the house on their own, so they’ll come find me when they feel like it. Usually doesn’t take too long. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5139 "2023-06-27T03:14:30Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever had COVID. However I’ve had symptoms people keep telling me could be long COVID. I had what was probably RSV in October 2022 and it was weird, but I tested negative for COVID. Plus I started having asthma attacks with every respiratory illness, so from time to time I thought I must be suffocating from COVID but no, actually just asthma. That I know of, I haven’t had covid. But I did get H1N1 the year it hit the US and it progressed to mild pneumonia. And for the next 10 years I got bronchitis with 80% of the colds I got, and it made my asthma symptoms worse each time I got sick. I’ve only been sick once in the past 4 years, having spent 14 illness-free months ahead of covid, and not only did I not test positive for covid a few months ago, I also didn’t get bronchitis. Yay! I’m slightly hopeful that 4 years without a lower respiratory infection has finally healed some of whatever residual damage I had after the flu and pneumonia. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5140 "2023-06-27T03:29:04Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I wonder if they’re still available. They are, and you can get them at indie candy shops like [Yummies](https://restaurantguru.com/Yummies-Kittery) in Kittery, Maine, but they don’t taste like they did back in the 80s and 90s ☹ ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5141 "2023-06-27T03:30:57Z")
So you had “long flu”. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5142 "2023-06-27T03:33:50Z")
I mean yeah, it’s been a recognized flu outcome for fortunately a minority of people for decades. It’s a big part of how they realized so quickly that long covid was a potential issue. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/5143 "2023-06-27T03:47:04Z")
I had one cat who always greeted me, and i might have gone looking for him if he hadn’t. My current cat likes company, but she has never greeted me at the door. And she’s very good at hiding. It would be weird to go looking for her right after getting home. (She was gone for nearly a day before we went looking, in fact.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=256) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=258)