# 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:** 310
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6184 "2023-08-16T18:50:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > There wasn’t a computer lab at the high school I attended because at that time, state-of-the-art was a TI-10 calculator or a mainframe. I remember learning to use a slide rule in high school, no hint of computers anywhere in the school ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6185 "2023-08-16T18:57:27Z")
I answered the old-fashioned braces; but I don’t remember whether any actual glue or cement was involved. Wires were most certainly involved; every time my mouth stopped hurting, I’d be taken back to the dentist and he’d tighten the wires and my mouth would hurt again. Eventually something happened with that dentist, I think at a point when I was supposed to be temporarily without the braces. Probably most dentists would have thought more work was needed, but I had gotten old enough to insist that my teeth were straight enough and I wasn’t doing any of that ever again. I gather that the process has improved; but I stand by that anyway. I have some odd-sized bits of gaps in my teeth, but they work. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6186 "2023-08-16T19:41:55Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > but damn those sucked Well, there’s your problem. Air conditioners are supposed to _blow._ Computer labs: When I was in high school ‘computers’ were still in an air conditioned room with a raised floor and tended by acolytes who’d just shed their white coats. My first computer book had a photo og Grace Hopper – in an ensign’s uniform. So, no computer lab. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6187 "2023-08-16T20:00:25Z")
My high school had a computer lab that consisted of teletypes that looked like this: [![](https://kbd.news/pic/2022/67/1274.jpg) ](https://kbd.news/pic/2022/67/1274.jpg) You saved your work to punched tape: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Punched_paper_tape_roll.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Punched_paper_tape_roll.jpg) and connected to the remote computer, an HP 2000e mini, via an acoustic modem: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Acoustic_modem_and_phone_plugged.jpg/675px-Acoustic_modem_and_phone_plugged.jpg?20121213121523) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Acoustic_modem_and_phone_plugged.jpg/675px-Acoustic_modem_and_phone_plugged.jpg?20121213121523) There were probably 6 teletypes in the computer lab, not sure. You had an account that also saved your work, but it wasn’t uncommon for all the accounts to get purged randomly, so you had to save your work on the punched tape or lose it (I learned that lesson the hard way). This would have been around 1976ish. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6188 "2023-08-16T21:14:04Z")
I had old-fashioned braces, as did my two older sisters. We hated 'em but I’m sure our teeth look better today because we had 'em. I rode the bus from first through eighth grade, when I was in public school. Never had any problems, and it could be fun hanging out with friends along the way. I floss weekly at a minimum, and whenever I get gunk caught in my teeth (corn on the cob and Oreos are particular offenders). Every time I have a checkup my dentist encourages me to floss more often… but then tells me that my teeth look great. I usually have three or four books going at once, and rarely have a problem getting back into a book if I read any of it in the past month. Longer than that, and I can see how it might be a problem. My prep school had a swimming pool, and I was on the swim team. Practices were boring - back and forth, back and forth, yeesh - but meets were sometimes exciting. I lettered in swimming, but as a manager and not a competitor, in my senior year. I don’t think any of my schools, at any time, had A/C. Maybe an occasional window unit. > [@SCAdian](#): > > Six weeks of swimming in PE each year – the _only_ thing I liked about that class. The girls got ugly green swimsuits (or at least that’s how I’ve heard them described - never actually saw one), but we boys swam in our birthday suits. This thread may interest you, then: [High schools, YMCAs, and nude swimming](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-schools-ymcas-and-nude-swimming/379807) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6189 "2023-08-16T21:25:56Z")
My school didn’t have any computing facility, but occasionally students (not me, can’t remember why) went to the local college where there was a link to a DEC PDP-10 at the nearby polytechnic (which i later attended) where the equipment closely resembled squeegee’s ^^. My school bus was a double decker. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6190 "2023-08-16T22:35:05Z")
I had the cemented-on braces, middle school to early high school. I really do try not to, but I will let the water run while brushing my teeth if I don’t catch myself. Old habit. I feel like it has something to do with the sound of running water. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6191 "2023-08-16T22:37:34Z")
I run the water while I’m brushing my teeth in the evening, but that’s solely to get warm water – the bathroom is on the second floor of the house, and the water heater is in the basement, so it takes about a minute to get warm water going so that I can wash my face (which I do immediately after brushing my teeth). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6192 "2023-08-16T22:53:57Z")
Dental implants don’t like cold water. Or mine don’t. So I run for a few minutes ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6193 "2023-08-16T22:59:31Z")
The unknown bug? I’m gone. Won’t be dealing with it. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6194 "2023-08-16T23:12:35Z")
My wife is allergic to wasps…I am very much used to leaping to my feet and killing or trapping any weird intruders. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6195 "2023-08-16T23:17:36Z")
I often let the water run, though not when conditions are unusually dry. But when I use water at home, what I’m doing is basically moving it over all of about 300 feet. Beck, I’ll get that bug for you (probably by trapping it and removing it). Trade you for any sewing that needs doing, if you do that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6196 "2023-08-16T23:30:51Z")
Unknown bug, I immediately take control by saying, “Don’t kill it! I will get it.” And then I remove it from the house without killing it. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6197 "2023-08-16T23:44:49Z")
Ginger sesame miso dressing, please. 😋 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6198 "2023-08-16T23:46:15Z")
I’m probably not going to eat that salad at all, because it would just be lettuce and onions by the time I got through chucking all the pollution at the waiter. But I picked 1000 Island as a default. Probably because the salad wasn’t a proper wedge. Then I would order bleu cheese. But only if it was house-made. And on the side. I think I’ll just have the soup. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6199 "2023-08-16T23:50:04Z")
There seems to be an East Coast / West Coast divide when it comes to what dressings restaurants have available. When I lived on the East Coast I always asked for Italian dressing. Then when I moved to California I would Italian out of habit, and usually got told “We don’t have Italian, but we do have a vinaigrette.” So I got in the habit of just asking for vinaigrette. Now when I visit back East I ask for vinaigrette out of habit, and often get told “We don’t have vinaigrette…” But I picked basic vinaigrette in the poll. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6200 "2023-08-16T23:50:04Z")
I let the water run when I brush my teeth. It’s getting warm for shaving, which is the next step. But I also do it at night, when I’m not going to be shaving. I guess the amount of water I use is so small compared to what we use in our irrigation system that’s on for about three hours per day. (we live in an area with no water shortage) ---
**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:** [August 17, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6201 "2023-08-17T00:07:17Z")
I always liked Italian dressing. I like it when it has a good vinegary bite. I never liked French dressing, but I admit I only dislike it because my older brother liked it, going all the way back to childhood. I decided I didn’t like it just because he liked it, before I had even tasted it, and because of that petty reason to this day, to my knowledge I’ve never actually tasted straight French dressing. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2023, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6202 "2023-08-17T00:38:48Z")
Even though we had a classroom full of TSR-80s I voted that we didn’t have a computer lab. To me the term computer lab means a room that is open for students to use when needed. Our computers were strictly for those taking the computer class. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/6203 "2023-08-17T01:05:53Z")
If “take the lead” on dealing with the bug means scooting out of the room going, Get rid of it! Then yeah. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=309) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=311)