# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 146
**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 10, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2902 "2024-08-10T00:37:09Z")
_Maxim 4: Close air support covers a multitude of sins._ ---
**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:** [August 10, 2024, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2903 "2024-08-10T00:47:33Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I’ve never lived in Gary and never will, but I have actually spent significant amounts of time there, on purpose. Didn’t see a poll option for that. I haven’t spent much time there, but i drove through when i was in the area and got a tour from a local friend. I didn’t see a poll option, either. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2024, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2904 "2024-08-10T00:49:18Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Helicopters can be fun to ride in, but they’re very loud. I don’t want to be followed around by one. Ditto. Is definitely turn down the “air support”. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2905 "2024-08-10T01:09:29Z")
My mother-in-law doesn’t speak English. (My father-in-law passed away a few years ago.) Our relationship is cordial, but of course we never really talk. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2906 "2024-08-10T01:17:26Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Helicopters can be fun to ride in, but they’re very loud. I don’t want to be followed around by one. Have some fun with it. I would drive around all over town pretending to be Henry Hill. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2907 "2024-08-10T01:57:09Z")
Drove through Gary a number of years ago and stopped at a rest area to get something to drink. It was an unstaffed location and all the vending machines were enclosed in bars. Never saw that before anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2908 "2024-08-10T02:07:23Z")
I know essentially nothing about Gary Indiana, but I found [this article](https://www.indianaenvironmentalreporter.org/is-gary-indiana-really-dangerous/) which says > Back in 1994-1995, Gary was ranked as the most dangerous place in the United States. … Crime rates in Gary have improved since the 1990s, but the city is still considered dangerous. And [this statistics page](https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/in/gary/crime) says > With a crime rate of 36 per one thousand residents, Gary has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 28. Within Indiana, more than 97% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Gary. So maybe air support is warranted. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2909 "2024-08-10T08:27:06Z")
Some of these polls are getting just too weird. And not good weird- Vance weird. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2910 "2024-08-10T13:41:31Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Any time I’m indulging in a luxurious baked good (cookies, brownies, etc) a glass of milk works in a way a glass of water just won’t. But both combined is a lot of calories, so increasingly rare. My husband (American) and his sisters always drink milk with cake, cookies, etc. I might have milk about 50% of the time when I eat baked goods. I know two adult men, one from India and the other from Italy who each include a glass of milk with breakfast. Breakfast is just not breakfast. > [@markn\_1](#): > > Oh, and the 23rd edition of CRC Standard Mathematical Tables which includes logarithm tables. I have a copy somewhere, but I no idea where. It was a Christmas present from my dad as I kept mentioning how many text. books I needed to have to make sure I had all the equations. I own both a standard and a circular slide rule, but I‘ve never used them, so I didn’t include them. I have also been known to use Excel for calculations. It’s often already open. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2911 "2024-08-10T13:52:14Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > I own both a standard and a circular slide rule, but I‘ve never used them, so I didn’t include them. I got the impression that the poll was about what you have, not what you use. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2912 "2024-08-10T15:00:46Z")
I don’t get some of them so I move on by. I did not vote in the Gary Indiana one because I have been there and stopped. Nothing in the poll fits that one. Not understanding the Olympic one either. Could be because it’s morning and I am sans coffee. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2913 "2024-08-10T16:37:45Z")
I wasn’t aware that a lot of people stop drinking milk when they grow up. My SO and I go through two (sometimes three) gallons of whole milk per week. We are not regular cereal eaters, so almost all of it is drunk from a glass (or chugged from the jug if no one is looking). There are two things that I know about Gary, Indiana: It’s the only place that can light up Professor Harold Hill’s face, and it wasn’t founded until 1906 🙂 ---
**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 10, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2914 "2024-08-10T17:06:05Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > I don’t get some of them so I move on by. > > I did not vote in the Gary Indiana one because I have been there and stopped. Nothing in the poll fits that one. > > Not understanding the Olympic one either. Could be because it’s morning and I am sans coffee. Yep. No rule stating you have to vote in every poll. The Olympic one is about whether you think the overall count of lower medals is more important than winning one gold medal. I heard one silver medal swimmer call himself the first loser. It depends on what your expectations are. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2915 "2024-08-10T17:09:39Z")
Oh that makes sense! Thank you for explaining the Olympic one. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2916 "2024-08-10T17:22:10Z")
I don’t know how long it’s been there, but I’ve just noticed a cog in the polls that enables you to switch from percentage (which is flawed in Discourse as it always adds up to 100% using whole numbers, thus throwing the percentages off) to actual numbers, which is much better. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2917 "2024-08-10T21:03:42Z")
Generally, I look at overall medal count, and I dont care if it is USA, as long as the free nations get more medals than the dictatorships. ---
**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 10, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2918 "2024-08-10T21:37:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I got the impression that the poll was about what you have, not what you use. So did I. I included an ancient mechanical desktop calculator that I picked up years ago at a yard sale – I’m not sure why – and that I’m pretty sure I never used, but that I’m fairly sure is somewhere in the attic. (It’s quite difficult to be sure that anything is _not_ somewhere in the attic; other than possibly by finding it somewhere else.) ---
**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:** [August 10, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2919 "2024-08-10T21:48:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Generally, I look at overall medal count I guess it’s a matter of which counts more: the difference between a first-place finish and a second-place finish, or the difference between a third-place finish and a fourth-place finish. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2920 "2024-08-11T05:54:40Z")
Kayaking - as they were actually having shitloads of fun. Surfing, it is so lovely. Pistol dueling (with wax bullets) was a real event. Pankration- interesting but could result in injuries. None of the totally fictional. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2024, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/2921 "2024-08-11T13:38:39Z")
Those not voting for “global thermonuclear war” may not be familiar with the card game (which also had a computer game adaptation): [![](https://cf.geekdo-images.com/POs_qrc4JPAmqhbx4JRBuQ__itemrep/img/kNfzbVlq5QzreaX7syqdarMb_Aw=/fit-in/246x300/filters:strip_icc()/pic1488707.jpg) ](https://cf.geekdo-images.com/POs_qrc4JPAmqhbx4JRBuQ__itemrep/img/kNfzbVlq5QzreaX7syqdarMb_Aw=/fit-in/246x300/filters:strip_icc()/pic1488707.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=145) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=147)