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1500 questions
30
votes
1 answer
Are there 24 empty houses "available" per homeless person in the USA?
I just saw this meme on Facebook:
Since this question answered the ratio question, I would like to know if these houses are "available for" those homeless?
Cees Timmerman
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30
votes
1 answer
Is gearing down more energy efficient than braking?
When spotting a red light or similar, I often release the gas pedal, gear down and let the engine decelerate instead of pressing the brake pedal. I was taught that this was more energy efficient for some reason, but I never really understood why. Is…
Benjamin Lindqvist
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30
votes
2 answers
Does technology have a negative effect on attention span?
Is it true that today's "information age" with the internet, TV, cell phones, movies, iPhones, etc can decrease your attention span?
Society's impatience and short attention span is becoming a greater
problem and is unleashing a chain reaction…
GBa
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30
votes
2 answers
Was pepper once worth its weight in gold?
It's a frequent claim that common black pepper was worth its weight in gold in early modern times. Just yesterday I heard it again in a documentary about the Dutch East India Company's spice trade in the 17th century.
There is no doubt that the…
Michael Borgwardt
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30
votes
1 answer
Can the health of an alkaline battery be determined by bouncing it?
I was just sent a YouTube video, which appears to demonstrate that one can determine the "health" of a battery (current voltage, useful lifetime remaining, etc.) by bouncing it on a level surface.
A new[ish] battery will not bounce, and tend to…
Hendy
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30
votes
1 answer
Is spanking an effective form of discipline for children?
I have heard many claims that spanking is ineffective for disciplining kids? Is there any research to confirm or deny this?
Casebash
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30
votes
1 answer
Are Americans ignorant of geography and the world?
The meme of American ignorance in geography and world affairs seems to be pretty common in my experience. But, how much truth is there in it?
While I'm inclined to believe that the US population is generally less informed than its counterparts of…
CircleSquared
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30
votes
2 answers
Does the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs measurably reduce overall electrical power consumption?
Many countries are phasing out incandescent light bulbs. For example, in the European Union, various types of classic light bulbs have been removed from the market in the last years.
The claim is that this process will help reduce overall electrical…
Heinzi
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30
votes
1 answer
Do Macaque monkeys steal money from wallets and use it to buy food from vending machines?
I saw this rumor on Reddit, which refers to factsanddetails.com and which doesn't indicate the information source. I saw a video of a monkey using a vending machine on College Humor, but that doesn't say whether monkeys have actually started…
Casebash
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30
votes
1 answer
Did Pascal write: "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction"?
The sentence, supposedly by Pascal in his Pensées:
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from
religious conviction.
is quoted extensively (especially in atheist circles). This has always puzzled me, because I've read…
leonbloy
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30
votes
2 answers
Would Elon Musk's Hyperloop be cheaper than high speed rail?
Today, Elon Musk revealed the long-awaited open source plans for the Hyperloop. In those plans [pdf], Musk states that the passenger version of the Hyperloop can be built for $6 billion, while the passenger plus vehicle version can be built for $7.5…
samthebrand
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30
votes
1 answer
Is learning more difficult for older people?
My parents always say to me that they can't learn as well as me because it's more difficult and they forget things faster etc..
Maybe it seems logical, but for me it would be much more logical that, if you exercised your mind, you would learn as…
Adam Halasz
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30
votes
2 answers
Does gender affect driving skill?
Are there any differences in either sex which are provably beneficial and/or detrimental to their driving abilities?
Also, is it possible that stereotypical gender roles make any difference in driving ability?
For example: Men stereotypically tend…
zzzzBov
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30
votes
1 answer
Could McDonald's pay a $10.10 minimum wage with an increase of only 4¢ per meal?
This caught my eye and seems like powerful statement, if true.
WARREN: During my Senate campaign, I ate a number 11 at McDonald’s many, many times a week. I know the price on that. $7.19. According to the data on the analysis of what would happen…
Evan Carroll
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30
votes
2 answers
Is the Moon young?
According to Dr. Thomas G. Barnes the Moon is much younger than claimed by the mainstream scientific community, by many orders of magnitude.
The Giant impact hypothesis, one of the primary mainstream scientific theories on the creation of the…
Mark Rogers
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