Most Popular
1500 questions
29
votes
1 answer
Can elephants jump?
Are elephants capable of jumping?
The Internet has no clear answer: Some say yes, some say no.
Examples:
Dot Physics: No
Elephants are one of the few animals that can't jump. Not even a little bit. They don't like to have more than 1 foot off the…
Napoleonothecake
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29
votes
2 answers
Is graphology grounded?
In France Graphology is still actively used by some recruiters in order to attempt to evaluate applicants' personality from their handwriting (therefore covering letters in France are still handwritten in most cases as otherwise they could go to the…
Benoit
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29
votes
2 answers
Is margarine "one molecule away from plastic"?
I've heard the claim that "Margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic" several times. Usually from friends who think they've heard it from some reliable source. I've also read a couple books that mention this concept, without really…
Flimzy
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votes
1 answer
Are cancer recovery rates the same as they were in 1920?
Related: Have any “cures” been invented since the 1950's or so?
I ran across the movie Cut Poison Burn, who's abstract is as follows:
Cut Poison Burn is a controversial, eye opening, and sometimes heartbreaking documentary that puts the business…
Hendy
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29
votes
2 answers
Were over 3000 persons arrested in Britain for social media posts in 2018?
In 2019, John Anderson interviewed Konstantin Kisin. The discussion is transcribed by me. I is the interviewer and K is for Konstantin.
K: In Russia last year 400 people were arrested for things that they posted on social media. Obviously this…
pinegulf
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29
votes
1 answer
Do sandcastles kill more people than sharks?
In 2007, The Guardian made the following claim:
Be afraid: sand castles can kill
The US bucket and spade brigade went on full alert yesterday after
research by a top physician revealed that people falling into holes
dug in the sand had accounted…
lambshaanxy
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29
votes
1 answer
Were the Starlink units for Ukraine not paid by Musk?
In reply to Elon Musk's (controversial) peace plan for Ukraine, someone tweeted that
USAID and other paid for Strlinks, you fake philanthropist.
(A tweet with 6000+ "likes", so reasonably believed I think, despite the somewhat anonymous…
Fizz
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29
votes
2 answers
In 1936, did brothers Mark and David Ferrow transition?
The story of transgender brothers Mark and David Ferrow has become popular on Tumblr and Twitter in recent weeks. It claims
In 1934-1936, trans brothers Mark and David Ferrow of Yarmouth, UK both transitioned at age 13 with full parental…
KitKatKit
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votes
5 answers
Can Russia's Poseidon nuclear underwater drone create a 500 meter tidal wave?
According to TheTimes.co.uk, "Russian ‘nuclear tsunami’ will wipe out Britain, Kremlin-backed media threatens"
In his Sunday evening primetime show, the Channel One anchor Dmitry Kiselyov said a strike by Russia’s Poseidon nuclear underwater drone…
Evan Carroll
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29
votes
2 answers
Did Dr. Fauci say that face masks don't work against COVID-19?
For a while, I've been a bit bothered by claims that Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the US President, explicitly claimed that face masks don't work to stop the spread of COVID-19.
For example, political commentator Kyle Kulinksi said on…
user1999728
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29
votes
1 answer
Has anyone died from tampered candy at Halloween?
Year after year parents are bombarded with all of the risks of trick or treating. Razor blades in apples, poisoned candy, etc. Even the CDC warns against eating anything homemade or before a parent has inspected it.
With all the hype of what could…
Russell Steen
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29
votes
1 answer
Is leaving your AC fan (blower) on 24/7 during summer more efficient than leaving it on auto?
The AC guy that fixed my AC recently said I should turn my AC fan on 24/7 and this would increase the efficiency of my AC system. I looked it up and found this same claim in several places:
City Data forum thread about keeping AC running
Several…
SteveGSD
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votes
2 answers
Will freezing your hard drive help recover its data?
Source
There seems to be (anecdotal) evidence that putting your hard drive in the freezer can make it readable again, at least for a short time:
Lifehacker - Save a Failed Hard Drive in Your Freezer
Geeks are Sexy - Freeze your hard drive to…
Oliver_C
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3 answers
Did US prohibit the export of the mere description of a cryptographic algorithm?
A Wikipedia page says that in the US
regulations were introduced as part of munitions controls which required licenses to export cryptographic methods (and even their description)
What concrete evidence is there that the US banned the export of…
Fizz
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1 answer
Did Russia's economy boom between 1999 and 2013?
This image has been floating around on social media (e.g. 9gag
It claims that Putin has been in power since 1999, and in the first 14 years:
GDP rose from $159b to $2113b.
GDP (PPP) rose from $1320 to $14800.
Inflation dropped from 36.5% to…
dont_shog_me_bro
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