# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 119
### Author:  [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2361 "2026-07-20T14:24:20Z")
This has been discussed. In my case it’s more about the principle than the question. I simply don’t answer public polls because it trains me to notice if a poll is public or not - many times I have responded automatically without looking. In short - it’s a ‘me’ problem.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2362 "2026-07-20T14:45:14Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#):
>
> I did take a wheeled bobsled ride at the site of the '94 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, which I thought about counting as “something not listed”, but the experience essentially felt like riding a rollercoaster, and I don’t think rollercoasters count as “adventures” so I decided this didn’t count either.
As the poll creator I wouldn’t count that as I was only focused on _aerial_ activities.
I’d count the C-47 tho (i.e. where you pay to fly around for awhile then land back at the airport of origin, vs. you know flying on a scheduled normal airline flight). I should have added helicopter tho to the list (as I would count, took one as a kid over Niagara Falls).
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### Author:  [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2363 "2026-07-20T14:53:21Z")
The Baggins part of my nature 😃
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2364 "2026-07-20T14:53:58Z")
> [@Frodo](#):
>
> though I’m reaching fifty and may age out of it soon
Former President Bush did one to celebrate his 90th b-day.
> [@thorny\_locust](#):
>
> I’m mildly puzzled by the people who won’t answer a public poll, but will answer the same question on the same board showing the same board name in the discussion thread.
I will answer anonymous polls that I never comment on. Even if I do comment on it, if it’s a day where this thread is hopping one needs to put in some effort to go back & find my post & then parse out what I’m saying. Public polls are just creepy; why do you need a name associated with an answer? Given it’s extra effort (okay, just a single click) to make it public, it seems like the poll creator is fishing for something.
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2365 "2026-07-20T15:01:54Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#):
>
> I did take a wheeled bobsled ride at the site of the '94 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway,
> [@John\_DiFool](#):
>
> As the poll creator I wouldn’t count that as I was only focused on _aerial_ activities.
How badly wrong did the bobsled ride go that you became airborne?
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### Author:  [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2366 "2026-07-20T15:59:47Z")
I like some adventure in life, but not _aerial_ ones. When I was about twelve years old an uncle took me on a glider ride and I enjoyed it, but since then I have become more and more height averse.
Unlike some posters, if I had ever gone up in a tethered hot air balloon I would definitely have called it an adventure 🙂
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2367 "2026-07-20T17:12:47Z")
In addition to hang gliding, I voted for other because paragliding was not listed. 🪂
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### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2368 "2026-07-20T17:37:26Z")
> [@Gyrate](#):
>
> How badly wrong did the bobsled ride go that you became airborne?
Yes, ok, I missed the word “aerial” in the question.
> [@John\_DiFool](#):
>
> I’d count the C-47 tho (i.e. where you pay to fly around for awhile then land back at the airport of origin, vs. you know flying on a scheduled normal airline flight). I should have added helicopter tho to the list (as I would count, took one as a kid over Niagara Falls).
However, if the C47 counts, then I feel like the flight I took in a Ford Trimotor should count. I didn’t count it because it’s not a “warbird or stunt plane”. Technically speaking, it’s an airliner, albeit and antique airliner. But the C47 is really just a DC3 in military form, and that’s also an antique airliner. And it was one of those flights where you just fly around and land at the same airport you took off from.
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### Author:  [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2369 "2026-07-20T17:58:04Z")
Does zip lining or jumping off the Stratosphere tower in Vegas count? I was winched into a harness at the Strat. It’s a controlled fall, not a bungee jump.
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### Author:  [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2370 "2026-07-20T18:16:09Z")
I would much rather have an imperfect but absolutely impartial refbot vs a VARbot that slows the game down. A game that flows is much more interesting to watch and to be a part of than one that stops and starts. As long as the refbot is fair over the long haul, I’m ok with that.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2371 "2026-07-20T18:48:22Z")
I defer to my wife so the bread is in the fridge. If I lived alone and still indulged in starchy goodness, I would leave it on the counter.
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### Author:  [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2372 "2026-07-20T18:51:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#):
>
> I’ve seen the Goodyear blimp, which is about as iconic an aerial advertising medium as you’re going to get.
I used to drive by its “parking lot” off the Harbor Freeway all the time. Also seen it airborne a lot.
When I was about 7 or 8 I was at a friend’s house playing in her extremely cool playhouse. A single plane flew overhead and wrote “no arms for tito.” I had to go home and ask my mom who Tito was. It’s long enough now that I’d bet a fair number of Dopers don’t know now who he was.
When I was in my teens planes dragging banners were extremely common at the beach.
ETA: We bought some Exekial bread last weekend, and it comes frozen, so we put it in the freezer. All other bread products, like English muffins, are kept in a replica of an old-fashioned metal bread box. Never just in the fridge. That makes the bread too wet and weird. Just bringing it back to room temp doesn’t help. It can only be toasted after being in the fridge.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2373 "2026-07-20T18:58:31Z")
> [@Thumper668](#):
>
> I simply don’t answer public polls because it trains me to notice if a poll is public or not - many times I have responded automatically without looking. In short - it’s a ‘me’ problem.
Same here. In this case I answered without noticing, but I have removed my vote.
> [@WildaBeast](#):
>
> However, if the C47 counts, then I feel like the flight I took in a Ford Trimotor should count.
Yeah, I would say so. The Ford was used by the US Military, and several other nations.
I keep my bread in a bread box.
[https://www.seriouseats.com/does-refrigeration-really-ruin-bread](https://www.seriouseats.com/does-refrigeration-really-ruin-bread)
\*
> Bread stored in the refrigerator stales faster because the cold environment accelerates the recrystallization of starch molecules, which hardens the bread’s texture.
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### Author:  [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2374 "2026-07-20T19:01:10Z")
Thanks for the proof for the validity of my opinion!
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### Author:  [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2375 "2026-07-20T19:01:40Z")
This, I would even prefer a not absolutely impartial ref instead of VAR, as long as the ref “partiality” is not consistent among tournaments, in the time old principle of “Sometimes you slay the dragon, and sometimes the dragon slays you”
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### Author:  [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2376 "2026-07-20T19:16:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> I keep my bread in a bread box.
We use the microwave as a breadbox.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2377 "2026-07-20T19:44:12Z")
I could have just said “no” to keeping my bread on the fridge, but that seemed misleading. Bread that we will eat quickly is on the counter, and bread that will stick around for longer goes in the freezer. We always keep a loaf of sandwich bread in the freezer.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2378 "2026-07-20T19:47:58Z")
> [@Spiderman](#):
>
> Public polls are just creepy; why do you need a name associated with an answer?
Why creepy? It’s much more interesting to learn that mean Mr mustard dislikes dill pickles (example made up, if mmm has answered that question, i don’t remember it) than it is to learn that 15% of the 48 people who answered this poll dislike dill pickles.
I wouldn’t ask about your health, your money, your location, or your political views in a public poll because you might not want to share that. But most of the public polls are about very benign topics, and including the user info just makes them for fun.
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### Author:  [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2379 "2026-07-20T19:52:15Z")
this
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### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/2380 "2026-07-20T20:14:35Z")
> [@Thumper668](#):
>
> I simply don’t answer public polls because it trains me to notice if a poll is public or not - many times I have responded automatically without looking. In short - it’s a ‘me’ problem.
If you don’t notice that a poll is public, it will become obvious as
soon as you click the “Vote Now” button or select your choice (in the case of
single option polls). You can then go back by clicking the “\< Vote” button
and deselect your vote.
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