Forum: Questions and Answers

Waterstone's, the largest British book chain that was founded by Tim Waterstone is now changing it's name to drop the apostrophe. It will now be known as Waterstones, which is probably how most people would remember it anyway. It will also make it...

My recycling depot has a new sign that specifically says they do not want pasteboard. I'm looking up pasteboard but not grasping what it is in relationship to cardboard. Can someone 'splain?

I'm sick with it at the moment and a friend of mine told me there is a 100 day flu going around. After laughing/coughing my ass off I got to wondering how long it could actually last. 10 days? A month? I know you can be sick with cancer for years...

Ow ow ow! I'm trying this "exercise" thing. I'm dubious. I'm not one of those people who finds that exercise makes them feel good. (Weirdos.) But I also don't think it should be causing this odd symptom: my feet are falling asleep. While I'm...

Here's a photo of the license plate Ohio gives to those convicted of driving under the influence. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/59/18921 ... e3.jpg?v=0 Here's a standard issue New Mexico license plate. ...

Watching an Oz episode reminded me of something I've wondered about. A supposedly classic murder method is to put finely ground glass in someone's food. Does this work, or do the pieces have to be big enough that they'll be noticed by the victim? If...

After years of mostly wearing loafers and shoes with velcro fasteners, I got a pair of sneakers with laces. Said laces become untied the minute I go out the door. Well, likeliest assumption is that I'm too stupid to tie my own shoes. I can deal...

A bit provocative, but why was HTML invented, given one well used markup language was already in widespread use, in the form of TeX? Why go to all that trouble to reinvent the wheel and provide half the features of TeX (look at the mess of...

Occasionally, if I am eating something particularly savory or acidic, the muscles in the back of my jaw will - well - sort of cringe. Kind of like a little spasm. Why does that happen?

Are cameramen at sporting events told to sweep the crowd looking for good looking women? I imagine it's quite popular with viewers, so they may get told specifically to do it (after all, they're pointing away from where the real attraction is, when...

People always keep saying that a minute is nothing, that it is really quick and that things always take longer. But a minute can be a long time and many things can be accomplished in less than a minute. What can you do, in less than a minute...

Which European currency was in use the longest? Is it possible to compare value over long times? (Century+)

I've been told that you can't *accidentally* concern troll, but I've seen this term bandied around, and used as an accusation etc. I read the definition, but I guess I'd like an example. If not actual Mello/GB/Durp examples, then a hypothetical...

Are young Italian American males like this an oddity, or is this a widespread subculture?

We have two new kittehs. Are there ways to estimate from their current weight, size of ears or feet, etc. how large they'll be if they remain healthy?

I was crossing the street today, and my kid had to of course push the button for the "Walk" signal. If I'm alone, I normally wouldn't bother, cause I just cross when the light is green. So I was wondering, is there any info the walk signal gives...

I'm talking about one of those playground swings, I never managed to get much further than the same height as the crossbar. Some people have managed to go all the way over. Ok, they cheat and use a rocket pack. And then you find things like...

For example, what did they call 50 BC at the time?

As the title suggests, I'm curious about the perception of national identity in England these days. Thanks for your input!

Or to quote a recent question that came up in chat: "How many mhos in urine?" Obviously there's quite a lot, given the number of stories of what happens to unsuspecting people when they whizz on electrified fences. I'm just wondering what...

I was just thinking that I know absolutely nothing about the terminology and types of men's hairstyles, beyond the very basics like "This is an afro." For example, what do you call the "normal" hairstyle that I have, as you can see in this...

I saw this question in a magazine this morning...How do you weigh an elephant without using scales? ... and I thought it was appropriate. So, clever people of the board, without using Google etc. etc., how would you do it? Marks given for...

I pulled out my kids' christening gown, with the thought that I'd offer it to Finky for her baby. I was bummed to see that there's a yellow stain on the little satin collar, and I'm wondering if there's any way to get rid of it without doing any...

I've been coaching baseball now for 24 years (holy shit, that's a long time) and I'm always happy to impart some info to people who are looking to pick my brains. So ask away! Here's a freebie: You see a lot of pros these days hitting with their...

Anyone have any questions for a random polytheist?* I can't claim to explain things about paganism in general (if such a thing even exists), but I'll do my best to field questions about my beliefs and how I arrived at them. I thought I'd throw...

AIB this thread, and the Olympics, of course. It's a commonly held stereotype that male figure skaters are gay, but does flamboyance on the ice necessarily mean flamboyance off of it? I don't think so, but my WAG is that there's a higher...

Is the US the only country in the world to have an eight-sided traffic sign? (The Stop sign)

Related question: what is the blacklight-fluorescingest blacklight-fluorescent material? Hippies and partygoers, please advise? Caveat: this information is intended for a Halloween decoration project, so any recommended material or product...

In my thread in CS about Hawaiian pizza, I rather whimsically mentioned that eating it is like going to hookers -- everybody knows it's common, but practically no one admits to it. That got me thinking -- look in any "alternative" paper, and...

I need to have a character stabbed during a fight in a story I'm writing. While a near brush with death is what I'm aiming for, I do want the character to survive. This would happen in a remote location where a hospital would be roughly an hour...

There's the vampire, there's the devil, and I've recently discovered the basilisk. Any other?

Anyone know how shithouse rats became "the" definition of crazy?

Currently, male heirs trump female heirs to the British throne under the current British constitutional arrangement. Suppose Prince Charles was born a woman and the Queen dies. Charlie is overlooked, in favour of her son, William. Could Charlie...

Ok, after our last set of houseguests we've realized that the 30 year old twin ain't cutting it anymore as a guest bed. None of us are that small anymore and it's uncomfortable to the point of finding guests on the floor or the sofa in the morning....

I'm currently reading Robinson Crusoe, first published in 1719. All nouns in the text seem to be capitalised. When did this practice die out in English? It must have happened before the start of the 1800s, as checking the DoI and CotUS reveals no...

This is probably some atom based answer involving molecules and yes I am aware that if you treat wood carefully you can get it to bend. But in general if I pick up a spoon I can bend it, if I pick up a pencil, it gets snapped in half. Why is...

Specifically D & D and creatures of that ilk. I don't quite get what you do.

I was pondering this question while writing up my OP for Lesson #3 in the Photo Class over in the Dark Room. Does pupil dilation act the same way as an aperture?

I always wonder about this -- during a Cleaning Spasm (which is a rare event) I tend to do the whole house. Ammonia in the toilets, bleach in the sinks. I know I'm not supposed to mix those. And I don't, within the house. But they go into...

And if so, why? and if not, how come it's a stereotype? I'm not talking about barbers, talking hair stylists.

As I was moving to the right while walking on the sidewalk, with another person, who was also moving to the right, headed my way, I began to wonder if Brits move to the left when they see someone headed toward them. I remember when I was a small...

My knowledge of ancient history is woefully inadequate. I mean, I had the tenth grade "Ancient World" class and another similar course in college, but I guess all the gay porn has pushed those facts out of my mind. I think what I want is information...

My house has what is referred to around here as a "daylight basement", which, in case that's a regional term, means the basement isn't actually sunken very far into the ground (maybe 3 feet), and as a result can (and does) have large windows at...

What the heck are those things? The ball-shaped lead-colored thingies with the bold sized wick on one end. Ah, here's a good example: They seem like an enormous liability since every time I've seen one used on The Tom and Jerry show the bombs...

This seems like a very mundane question, since I've always just assumed that random means the plyer will pick tracks/files at random. But how does it pick the next selection in a randomized fashion? Is there a simple process/program it has to get...

Simple question: how do you pronounce the British word "chav" for a lower-class white person of trashy, rapper-style dress and violent sensibilities? Is it "tch?v", "tch?v", "sh?v", "sh?v", or something else?

A slightly politically incorrect question. In predominantly Mexican-American neighborhoods in cities like Austin, Los Angeles and El Paso, I've found that there's literally tens of used tire stores. I mean, they're everywhere in those...

Hello all. I'm going to a themed fancy dress party with the theme being "The Noughties" but I'm finding it difficult to think of a costume. Do any of you have any suggestions? Maybe a WMD wearing an ipod?

I've posted "satisfactorialy' a couple of times on here now, each time thinking "er, I hope that's actually a word". I Googled it and got some results, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a real word. Is "satisfactorialy' a real word, an...

Why is the main fuel tank on the space shuttle painted the colour that it is? Everything else is white, apart from the large brown external tank. Looking at footage from the shuttle's test space flight, the tank was originally much lighter, almost...