# 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:** 435
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8684 "2023-12-16T03:44:21Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > my husband had a librarian convention in June and I tagged along for all the free stuff Assortments of bookmarks? “Shush!” t-shirts? Dewey decimal calculators? Recycled ISBN mood rings? ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8685 "2023-12-16T03:56:02Z")
The lighter poll reminded me of a concert we went to. My cousin took the metal piece off and worked the valve wheel way over. When the main act came on and people held up their lighters, he held his up and it had like an 8" flame. People ten rows in front of us were looking back to see what that was about. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8686 "2023-12-16T05:27:32Z")
I was happily starting to click the “15 minutes” option but then decided on reflection that is not actually 15 minutes. I’m just always sure I can get anywhere in town in that amount of time. It turns out Google Maps predicts 16 - 18 minutes, depending on where exactly you’re going in the airport. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8687 "2023-12-16T05:35:50Z")
I can get to either Chicago O’Hare or Chicago Midway by car in 35-40 minutes, unless traffic is particularly hairy. (I could probably get to ORD in a bit under 30, if there was no traffic.) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2023, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8688 "2023-12-16T07:26:14Z")
Free stuff includes ARCs\* (advanced reader copies) by the armfuls. Also pens, shirts, stress balls, comic books, bookmarks, and more tote bags than you’ll ever need. The convention includes cooking shows (free food), an opening ceremony with free booze, book signings, trivia contests, celebrity speakers, and lots more. We saw George Takei speak a couple of years ago. Another time we got to see Stephen King, Dave Barry, Amy Tan, and Mitch Albom play with the band the Rock Bottom Remainders. Bonus: you don’t have to be a librarian to go to the Amercan Library Association convention. Anybody can buy a floor pass at [the ALA site](https://www.ala.org). \*ARCs are not yet published. They can have different covers, spelling errors, or other differences from the later versions. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8689 "2023-12-16T08:26:03Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Free stuff includes ARCs\* (advanced reader copies) by the armfuls. Also pens, shirts, stress balls, comic books, bookmarks, and more tote bags than you’ll ever need Just funning you. My first software job was at a library software company, and even the MLSs teased each other about the image of librarians, but they were _dead_ serious about the importance of their profession (and I agree!). ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8690 "2023-12-16T12:14:19Z")
I guess i haven’t used a Bic lighter in years. I have never before seen the “safety band” and don’t know how it functions. Is it like a child safety cap, making the lighter harder to use? If so, i have a gruesome anecdote that might explain why it exists. > **don't click this if you don't want to read an unpleasant story** > > I sometimes have to read “serious claim files” in my gig as an actuary. These are descriptions of particularly expensive claims, which means they are typically claims where something horrible happened to someone. In this case, some children had been left in a minivan. One was able to reach a lighter, and somehow managed to use it to set afire a stack of magazines in the car. The magazines lit the car on fire. The children, in car seats or just not strong enough to open the doors, were trapped inside and burned to death. > > Our client was the lighter manufacturer, who was being sued, as best as i could tell, because their product worked as it was supposed to work. Or more realistically, because our client had enough insurance to be worth suing. > > So i wonder if that “safety band” is supposed to make it harder for this kind of event to happen. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8691 "2023-12-16T13:08:19Z")
I really like the notion that Mean Mr. mustard holds his tummy every time he posts and goes “mmmmm”, like Santa ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2023, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8692 "2023-12-16T13:25:12Z")
They may be serious about their profession but they go a little nuts at the convention. Ever seen the [Book cart drill teams](https://youtu.be/HtmZxghTkyY?si=4ceJ7BZzcAYWQzaR)? ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8693 "2023-12-16T13:37:35Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > So i wonder if that “safety band” is supposed to make it harder for this kind of event to happen. I use (generic) Bic lighters. The band makes it more difficult for a kid to flick. When I buy lighters the first thing I do is remove the band (I’m a grownup). ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8694 "2023-12-16T13:39:01Z")
Wow, that got weird. Can’t say I’m that surprised: having dated one, librarians roll deep. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8695 "2023-12-16T14:29:57Z")
Mustard-flavored ice cream? mmmnah. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8696 "2023-12-16T14:49:59Z")
Did you just make a yummmy sound? ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8697 "2023-12-16T15:22:39Z")
I think that was a yuckmmmy. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8698 "2023-12-16T15:39:48Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xKpYI0mwdEs/maxresdefault.jpg "yummy sound (open matte)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKpYI0mwdEs&t=3) ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8699 "2023-12-16T16:10:47Z")
I think the Bic child safety bands are like child-proof caps on medicine. If your big clumsy, maybe arthritic hand can’t do it just hand it to a kid and he’ll get it done. My father-in-law couldn’t get the lighter to work for a three-year-old’s birthday cake so he handed it to the five year old brother and they were lit lickety-split. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8700 "2023-12-16T17:40:34Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > How long does it take me to get to the airport? I dunno, how much traffic is there? Yeah. I picked 45-to-one-hour, but it’s actually about an hour, and might well be over depending on traffic and road conditions. Plus which it would depend on where I was going. For some destinations, it would make a lot more sense to go nearly two hours to the next big-city airport, instead of about an hour in a couple of different directions to one of two small regional airports. Or, come to think of it, which I didn’t when voting, if I could afford to hire a plane there’s one within twenty minutes. Maybe two, depending on size of plane. But I think the poll said “commercial flights” which I took to mean “airline selling seats on a plane, not business selling charter flights”. I don’t have a lighter. I can’t remember if I’ve ever had a lighter; though I used to sometimes carry matches, and currently keep a good supply of matches in the house. (Wood stove, and occasionally candles.) I know nothing about any bands on Bic lighters. So clearly the no-opinion choice. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8701 "2023-12-16T17:58:31Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > That becomes sort of a chicken/egg problem for the smaller airport. If airlines don’t offer many flights, then people will just drive to another airport farther away. We have here Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport nee Mesa Gateway nee Williams Field. Two airlines serve it, Allegiant to 35 cities and Sun Country to just Minneapolis. Allegiant flies to medium-sized cities like Las Vegas and Omaha, … plus Minneapolis. It is marginally faster to get to than the Main airport, Sky Harbor but I’ve never wanted to fly to Bozeman. There’s another regional across town in Goodyear. I have no idea what cities it serves. Edit: No commercial flights from that airport. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8702 "2023-12-16T21:36:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > yeah, you should see what they pass off as scallops We covered this quite “deeply” some years ago- > [@Scallop myth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scallop-myth/224793/3): > > Fake scallops and crab are more properly called “surimi” and are made from pollock, cod or other white fish through a fairly involved process. I can’t find any site that speaks to your question, but I believe that any reputable restaurant would not risk their reputation by claiming something to be what it isn’t. Many years ago, punched out cod was sold frozen as “scallops”, but there have been changes in advertising laws and truth in labeling requirements are more stringent today. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380/8703 "2023-12-16T23:12:33Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Assortments of bookmarks? “Shush!” t-shirts? Dewey decimal calculators? Recycled ISBN mood rings? I just watched a movie my sister recommended (_The Beautiful Fantastic_ – o.k. A bit twee), and there was a librarian who kept shushing everybody. Made me think I’ve been going to libraries all my life, worked in libraries for around 12 years, and I’ve _never_ seen a librarian shush anyone. Doing that stereotypical shhhhhhhh. If someone’s too noisy or getting a little rowdy someone would go up to them and quietly say a few words. But not cartoony shushing. The local county branch where I worked in high school and college had Bruce the Bouncer. He was the son of one of the library assistants, and he was on the high school football team. Impressive and intimidating – even though he was a nice, sweet guy. > [@squeegee](#): > > Just funning you. My first software job was at a library software company, and even the MLSs teased each other about the image of librarians, but they were _dead_ serious about the importance of their profession (and I agree!). Damn! I knew I should have read ahead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=434) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-1/972380.md?page=436)