# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **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:** 37
**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:** [March 14, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/721 "2026-03-14T19:29:40Z")
There are an infinite number of proper times to start Pi Day festivities. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/722 "2026-03-14T20:22:38Z")
At both 03:14 and 01:59 I am either sleeping or urinating. Unless pi day festivities involve either activity I cannot answer. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/723 "2026-03-14T20:58:06Z")
I once rented a car with stop-start and almost caused an accident because of it. Was waiting to turn left from a main road onto a side road. When there was a break in oncoming traffic, I hit the gas — and went nowhere. When the engine finally kicked in, traffic was closing in fast and I just barely finished the turn without getting t-boned. Terrible “feature.” Never again. (Yeah, I know the correct response would have been to abort the turn until a larger opening presented itself. But the car’s lack of response took me by surprise, and by the time I realized what was happening I’d already begun to cross the oncoming lane.) ---
**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:** [March 14, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/724 "2026-03-14T21:27:41Z")
Pi Day starts the moment I awaken and ends at the tolling of midnight. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/725 "2026-03-14T21:33:29Z")
We had chicken pot pies for lunch ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/726 "2026-03-14T21:42:12Z")
See, I have a rhyme assisting my feeble brain its tasks offtimes resisting ---
**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:** [March 14, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/727 "2026-03-14T21:48:16Z")
I think the only stop-start cars I’ve ever driven are the Priuses I’ve owned. It’s not quite the same as stop-start in an ICE car, because as soon as you press the accelerator, the car starts moving using the electric motor, while the engine starts up in the background if and when necessary. I like it very much, but I don’t know if I’d be so sanguine about a feature that caused a delay when accelerating from a stop. I’m not even sure if a hybrid is even really considered to be a stop-start. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/728 "2026-03-14T22:16:15Z")
Technically, I’m not sure what the term “stop-start” covers, but no, I don’t think it’s the same thing. I drove a Prius for years and never had any problem with acceleration. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2026, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/729 "2026-03-14T23:41:10Z")
Me, neither. But the first car i drove used to often stall when i tried to turn left. I got very good at restarting it in the middle of an intersection. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2026, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/730 "2026-03-14T23:41:54Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Pi Day starts the moment I awaken and ends at the tolling of midnight. This. It’s a day, after all. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/731 "2026-03-14T23:56:03Z")
Uhh, yinz guys do know that you can shut off the Stop-Start feature, right? There’s a button with an A and a semi-circular arrow above it. Press that and you’re good to go. You have to press the button every time you start the car but the feature stays off for the whole time the car is on. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/732 "2026-03-14T23:57:26Z")
We got **Wee Weasel** a book for his birthday. Pi to 100,000 places. He loves it. He knows pi to 100 digits. I know 3.14 that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/733 "2026-03-15T00:12:05Z")
Useful! (Well, for some values of “useful.”) I have always spelled this “oftimes,” though Wiktionary decries it as “chiefly US, uncommon.” Still, even if I misspell it, I get four more digits correct. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/734 "2026-03-15T00:20:52Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Uhh, yinz guys do know that you can shut off the Stop-Start feature, right? There’s a button with an A and a semi-circular arrow above it. Press that and you’re good to go. You have to press the button every time you start the car but the feature stays off for the whole time the car is on. Yeah, I knew. I don’t want to have to hit a button to disable something I don’t want every time I start the car. mmm ---
**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:** [March 15, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/735 "2026-03-15T01:08:26Z")
Amazon sells a little wedge that keeps the button depressed. I’m sure anyone could come up with something free to do the same. I’m thinking a matchbook cover or something similar. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/736 "2026-03-15T02:14:42Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Uhh, yinz guys do know that you can shut off the Stop-Start feature, right? Is that possible for all cars with that feature, though? I recall reading somewhere that many manufactures don’t have a way to turn auto stop-start off, because if they do then the EPA won’t give them credit for it in their fuel economy rating. The EPA assumes that if it can be turned off, it will be, and therefore publishes fuel economy numbers that don’t account for the fuel savings it gives you. That information might be out of date though, especially given the current administration. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2026, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/737 "2026-03-15T03:10:01Z")
Store changes in as restroom stall. Duh ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/738 "2026-03-15T03:41:16Z")
Superman changes out in the open these days. I mean, it’s not like he ever did it in the phone booth out of need, that was to appease the PTA, the Grundy’s and the government when he was an agent of the state. Since the era of the films (not reels), his speed is so high that he can effortlessly change faster than mere human eyes can track. Of course, if he has an _actual_ phone booth fetish (I don’t judge), even the Metropolis semi-stand in, NYC, only has a few… https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7199309594290638122 And it’s not like they include closing doors anymore, so he’s still out in public as it were. [aside, I haven’t spent the time to actually fact check all the claims, are yes, there were by most reporting a few remaining in other areas of the US] ---
**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:** [March 15, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/739 "2026-03-15T03:49:46Z")
I believe that in the earliest comic books, the phone booths in which Superman changed were opaque wooden closets. Even by the 1960s, the phone booth trope was pretty pointless. Why bother changing in a glass-walled phone booth that everyone can easily see into? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/740 "2026-03-15T12:01:21Z")
Sorry, the link (in the poll) doesn’t explain what a “stop-start” is, so I’m still in the dark. I’m kinda piecing it together from the above posts. A car where the engine turns off when the car is stationary (say, at a stop sign), to save gas? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=38)