# Questions people are convinced of the answer, but are wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2022, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721 "2022-11-11T00:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/61 "2022-11-11T21:24:54Z")
I didn’t phrase it right to the thread. Conventional wisdom is to never buy a new car. You are a fool if you do. I say that is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/62 "2022-11-11T21:41:10Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Related: people who think microwaves heat food from the inside out. They do not; the microwaves excite water molecules in food from the outside in. This reminds me of another misconception about microwave ovens: many people think the frequency of 2.45 GHz was chosen because it is the resonant frequency of a water molecule. This is incorrect. The resonant frequency of a water molecule is much, much higher than 2.45 GHz. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/63 "2022-11-11T22:03:41Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I haven’t been able to convince my nephew that South America is not directly south of North America. Honestly even I’m not sure how far to the east it is. Sao Paulo is about 11 degrees further east (~46 deg) than St. John’s NFLD (~57 deg). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/64 "2022-11-11T22:07:54Z")
And to the extent that microwaves do cook “from the inside out”, it’s because it’s not the resonant frequency. Because it’s not resonant, most of the waves aren’t absorbed, so they can penetrate a fair way in. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/65 "2022-11-11T22:08:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I would call myself an American, even tho 300 years ago, none of my ancestors were born here. We are all (including Amerinds) Africans. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/66 "2022-11-11T22:34:59Z")
I feel War Crimes are something that are completely misunderstood by most people, who assume it’s like sporting rules where they’re written in concrete and have no gray area. Shooting of Surrendering Enemy Personel is one, at the end of Saving Private Ryan’s Omaha Beach scene there have been accusations of war crimes for both the scene where the American accidentally shoots the surrendering German soldier as well as the scene immediately after there the American deliberately shoots the surrendering German soldier. According to actual military lawyers I’ve listened to neither is a war crime, as even deliberately shooting a prisoner doesn’t “count” if they had previously been shooting or engaged at combat up until the moment of surrender. There’s a very big gray area in terms of what constitutes a surrendering enemy soldiers in the middle of an active combat situation to cover all sorts of bases including false surrenders, accidental shootings, as well as heat of the moment decisions. In addition, Captain Spiers in Band of Brothers shooting POWs in Band of Brothers also isn’t a war crime, because it is understood you can kill POWs if taking POWs is considered unfeasible due to the fact you’re very far away from allied lines where you can send them back to and taking POWs puts yourself at risk. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/67 "2022-11-11T22:40:16Z")
1. That compasses point to the north pole. 2. That the direction toilets drain depends on which hemisphere you’re in. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/68 "2022-11-12T00:12:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They do. The lack of an apostrophe does not make someone wrong. In fact since common usage has gotten rid of the useless punctuation mark, we should just let it go and not be pedantic. Is masters common usage? I’ve never seen it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/69 "2022-11-12T00:33:20Z")
When it certainly is when you actually say it. But a missing apostrophe does not make a statement wrong. At worst it makes the written statement ungrammatical. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/70 "2022-11-12T01:33:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > When it certainly is when you actually say it. Seriously? So there’s no difference between it’s and its because they sound the same when you say them? Or for that matter, there’s and theirs? Or between their, there, and they’re? Or on ad infinitum? Apostrophes are strictly part of the written language. The wrongness of this statement could block out the sun. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/71 "2022-11-12T01:56:51Z")
I quickly scanned the thread, so if I missed it I apologize. Many people have the mistaken believe that embassies are foreign soil, that is they belong to the country that has the embassy and is essentially independent of the host country. This is a common misunderstanding of the language used in the Vienna Convention which countries agree on questions of embassies and ambassadors, etc. The missions are inviolable, which allows them to being immune from searches and unwanted intrusions from the police or other officials from the host nation, but they are not tiny bits of the foreign country. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/72 "2022-11-12T02:18:39Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > but I do know back in the late70s to early 80s it was commonly believed ( including by experts) that you did need to have all the essential amino acids in the same meal , although perhaps not every mouthful. I was in med school studying nutrition at that time, and we were taught one did NOT need all the essential amino acids in the same meal. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/73 "2022-11-12T03:12:26Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I’m convinced there is an endless supply of fools. That was shown as far back as P. T. Barnum, if not earlier. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/74 "2022-11-12T03:48:04Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > The more massive one does not always reach the ground first. It has nothing to do with mass, and everything to do with shape. Well, part of my post (which you chose to omit from your quote) specified “same size & shape”. Given this, the result definitely does depend on mass. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/75 "2022-11-12T04:03:53Z")
Nowadays, the tie only goes to the runner if the umpire rules him safe and the inevitable challenge is inconclusive, thus holding up the call on the field. If the umpire calls the runner out and the inevitable challenge proves inconclusive, It’s still a tie but the runner is indeed out. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/76 "2022-11-12T04:12:45Z")
The whole point behind what Galileo did - which was roll balls down an inclined plane - was to eliminate the confusion that historically came from air resistance spoiling the results. He tried to take air resistance out as a factor, which he did successfully to the best measurements of his time. From then on people understood that - others factors being equal - objects even of different masses, shapes, sizes, whatever, fall at the same speed. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/77 "2022-11-12T04:32:09Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > We are all (including Amerinds) Africans. Except we’re not. Race and even ethnicity are social constructs, yes, but “social constructs” != “nonexistent.” We are all Africans to the same extent we are all dirtlings, because Africa is just a name we decided over time to assign to a landmass, but really continents are just some high-falutin idea we humans came up with. Did I say humans? I meant incredibly pretentious apes. Did I say apes? I meant deformed monkeys. Did I say monkeys? I meant… See where I’m going with this? That it is we humans who have chosen to draw the line does not mean that the line does not exist. Although the _significance_ we give to the line as a kind of demarcation between groups certainly is up for reevaluation over time. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/78 "2022-11-12T09:48:59Z")
> [@3AxisCtrl](#): > > Given this, the result definitely does depend on mass A 20lbs bowling ball and a 50lbs bowling ball of the same size will hit the ground at the same time. Why do you think otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/79 "2022-11-12T10:03:14Z")
I could care less about any of this. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721/80 "2022-11-12T10:27:32Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > That compasses point to the north pole. Are you saying they don’t? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-people-are-convinced-of-the-answer-but-are-wrong/974721.md?page=5)