All Questions
17
votes
1answer
921 views
Do wild dogs use trains to commute to and from Moscow?
An article in The Sun describes how wild dogs near Moscow have been living in the suburbs, yet commuting daily to the city via trains.
These complexes were used by homeless dogs as shelters, so ...
22
votes
1answer
3k views
Are Kinder Surprise eggs banned in the US?
I just came across this info-graphic:
Is it true that Kinder Surprise eggs are currently, or previously, banned in the US?
6
votes
0answers
230 views
Is it possible to fix stuck LCD pixels using flashing colours?
The LCD of my $700 smartphone has a stuck subpixel (blue, almost invisible due to the high screen resolution).
There are literally dozens of apps that claim to fix stuck pixels.
For example: Here's ...
2
votes
0answers
185 views
No kids under 13 in the front seat?
On various pages throughout its Web site, the (United States) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns against seating anyone in the front seat of an automobile [manufactured for sale in ...
4
votes
1answer
350 views
Is there a disparity between the number of US schools teaching creationism and the population's desire?
Concerning Evolution and Creation being taught in public schools, is there a disparity between the majority opinion and the extent that each is taught?
This web site says:
Fifty studies were ...
12
votes
1answer
343 views
Could smoking cause erectile dysfunction?
I was told that smoking 'menthol' cigarettes could cause erectile dysfunction. But I don't know how much of this is true so I wanted to know how much of this is true...
Here is an example of the ...
3
votes
1answer
813 views
Has Phish really “never played the same setlist twice”?
There is an enlightening article on the dollars and cents of the band Phish at Priceonomics.com. In the article, the author cites spontanaeity as a big reason for the band's success, and repeats a ...
7
votes
2answers
523 views
Are United States scientists building a Stanford Torus space station in the Ukraine?
In late 2011 the prime minister of Ukraine said the following:
But it is impossible to predict what will happen in 20 years. I will
tell you a story: I just got back from a plant in ...
3
votes
0answers
170 views
Are biofuels environmentally friendly?
Both the EU and the USA have programmes to encourage the use of biofuels in gasoline and diesel. This is supposed to help reduce oil imports and help the environment at the same time.
But government ...
0
votes
0answers
172 views
Have all sustainable cultures been illiterate (or not made a fetish of reading)?
I have been reading "What Is Education For" by David Orr and the author makes the following statement:
It is a matter of no small consequence that the only people who have lived sustainably on the ...
4
votes
2answers
449 views
Is there a mechanism to stop theft of supermarket trolleys?
On the supermarket trolley, a notice says that the trolley will stop if you try to take it outside the precincts of the shop.
Is it true?
Is so, how does it work?
Example sign from Hyperorg.com
7
votes
3answers
887 views
Are humans the only animals that kill for pleasure or no purpose?
“Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the
torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.”
James Anthony Froude (British historian, 1818-1894)
Is ...
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Does Excessive Menthol Cause Sleepiness
Does Over Consumption of Menthol Cause Sleepiness?
I found no substantial sources either to suport or refute this argument. I have heard it from a few sources not perfectly reliable.
I do know that ...
10
votes
1answer
885 views
Can a plant survive bottled in its own ecosystem for 50 years?
I came across a story on Facebook about David Latimer, who put spiderwort plants into a bottle garden ("terrarium") in 1960, watered it in 1972, and then sealed the bung. The plants have been living, ...
6
votes
1answer
181 views
Do Americans spend 9.14 billion hours on government paperwork every year?
Cass R. Sunstein, a former head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the author, most recently, of "Simpler: The Future of Government.", has made this claim (The New ...
0
votes
1answer
106 views
Does the EPI-NO device prevent perineal injury during childbirth?
My wife suggested that we should use EPI-NO, a muscle training device to prevent perineal injury during childbirth.
Does anybody has data on the device? Is it effective?
The web-site has a studies ...
8
votes
3answers
459 views
Are there mobile phones in North Korea?
Is it true that there are no mobile phones in North Korea? I have heard opposing views saying that there is a working mobile network that many people use and views that say there isn't any of them in ...
7
votes
1answer
559 views
Can the rhinoceros beetle carry 100x its own weight?
Intel have posted a twitter pic depicting a rhinoceros beetle carrying 8 ultrabooks (of an unrecognizable brand) with the tagline:
#FACT The Rhinoceros Beetle can lift up to 100x its own weight. ...
13
votes
1answer
400 views
Can you get addicted to cheese?
In the documentary "Super Size Me" an interviewee of Morgan Spurlock says:
If you look at the menu at a fast food restaurant, they use all of the addicting
components.
They'll take a slab of ...
0
votes
1answer
397 views
Time traveling machine invented?
Yesterday a news said that an Iranian scientist claims to have invented a 'time machine' that will allow one to 'travel' up to 8 years into the future to predict with 98% accuracy the future for any ...
12
votes
1answer
1k views
Did journalist Amber Lyon claim that the US Government paid CNN to control content?
One of my conspiracy theorist friends on Facebook recently linked an article claiming that Amber Lyon was fired from CNN for blowing the whistle on the Obama administration paying CNN to not air ...
4
votes
0answers
260 views
Is this story of a guy getting paid many years for doing nothing an urban legend? [closed]
I have heard this story once. It happened in Switzerland. In the federal palace, they were doing some painting and other renovation works. One corridor which was being used every day by many people ...
5
votes
1answer
260 views
Was sexually transmitted disease rampant amongst troops occupying Japan?
In the English language Wikipedia article on the Recreation and Amusement Association, an organization for prostitution to Allied troops occupying Japan after World War II, it's claimed that sexually ...
5
votes
3answers
708 views
Does mobile send signals when it's off?
I've heard that mobile phones send signals to the tower even when the mobile goes off so your location can be detected. Is this possible?
7
votes
0answers
118 views
Did 25 people die because of H1N1 vaccine of 1976?
From Wikipedia:
The 1976 swine flu outbreak, also known as the swine flu fiasco, or
the swine flu debacle, was a strain of H1N1 influenza virus that
appeared in 1976. Infections were only ...
11
votes
1answer
567 views
Does legalizing prostitution decrease sexual violence against all women?
In the debate about legalizing prostitution, yes or no, one claim is the legalization will decrease sexual violence against all women.
For example from answers of pros in the link provided:
"It ...
6
votes
4answers
906 views
Can overheating laptops cause fire?
I have come across a Facebook post from an unverified and unreliable source, which claims that a fire was started using heat as a source alone. Here is the exact post which is the subject of the ...
17
votes
2answers
2k views
Did Australia ban small-breasts pornography?
There is a widely spread news about Australia banning pornography featuring actresses with A-cup breasts.
Aussie censor balks at bijou boobs
Australia's 'small breast' ban
Australia Bans Small ...
2
votes
3answers
873 views
Misconceptions about electric theory
Electric misconceptions
This is a fairly big question, and is divided into three parts. One part is a separate question.
The site lists several common misconceptions, and what the correct way of ...
4
votes
3answers
212 views
Are there fewer Americans in the labor force than in 1979?
Just wondering if this claim is true,
Picture reads,
There are fewer AMERICANS in the labor force today than anytime since 1979!! LIKE and SHARE this if Americans need more OPPORTUNITY!
12
votes
1answer
260 views
Is the recent surge in bitcoin prices driven by Cypriot investors?
There are numerous stories out there linking the rise in bitcoin prices seen in the last few weeks with events in Cyprus.
Some stories go as far as claiming that Cypriots are buying the things ...
8
votes
0answers
237 views
If attacked, does having a handgun increase your chance of injury?
Rape survivor Amanda Collins spoke during a legislative hearing concerning Colorado’s proposed ban on concealed firearms on college campuses. She explained how she wished she would’ve had a firearm to ...
2
votes
1answer
96 views
Does the HPV cause cervical cancer?
I was watching this video featuring Robert Scott Bell. It is about the flu vaccine being ineffective, but he makes this quick statement about the human papillomavirus (HPV):
If we can't vaccinate ...
4
votes
1answer
97 views
Were flu vaccines 9% effective for the elderly in 2013?
I recently saw this video featuring Robert Scott Bell, where he basically says that the flu shot is not terribly effective.
Under the video is this description, in part:
Reports in 2013 state ...
4
votes
0answers
63 views
Are the leaves of bean plants effective for controlling bed bugs?
From the National Geographic article Can We Fake Leaves That Stab Bed Bugs in the Feet?
But in the Balkan countries of southeastern Europe, there’s an old folk
remedy that might be the insects’ ...
5
votes
0answers
73 views
Has a carbon price lead to a 8.6 percent drop in electricity demand in Australia?
In a press release China’s pilot carbon trading market taps UNSW expertise (press release is by the UNSW, which is my employer)
Minister Combet highlighted the benefits to date of Australia’s ...
8
votes
0answers
866 views
Did Kim Jong-il Score 11 holes in one in golf?
According to this article:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-20/golf-world-mourns-kim-jong-il/3739452
Kim Jong-il scored 11 holes in one in golf in 1994, when he first
picked up a golf club.
...
6
votes
1answer
202 views
Is vaccination from polio necessary in first world countries?
Last week I stumbled upon an article which stated that vaccination from polio is totally unnecessary for infants in first world countries. The article cited a bunch of questionable sources like ...
11
votes
2answers
880 views
Does North Korea have largest special forces in the World?
One of the claims repeated very often lately is that North Korea has largest special forces in the World (such a claim can be found for example in "North Korea
a country study" by Federal Research ...
6
votes
0answers
144 views
Does Hamas execute drug offenders?
A CNN VICE documentary claims:
We visited Gaza's central prison, where drug users and drug smugglers alike are locked in a communal cell, their sentences ranging anywhere from one month, to death ...
4
votes
1answer
156 views
Does covering one eye for an extended period of time increase the other eye's function?
One of my friends recently told me he previously had lazy eye. He said the way he cured it was to cover his good eye with an eyepatch for about a week; this caused his other eye's muscles to ...
13
votes
2answers
188 views
Does water therapy provide measurable benefits to childbirth?
I recently watched the trailer for The Business of Being Born, which included the following quote:
"The presence of Doulas; using water during labor; these things have been scientifically shown to ...
8
votes
2answers
478 views
Do women drive 80% of consumption?
The Men's Rights organization, Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) have claimed (quoting The Observer Watches Blog) that:
Consumption in the modern world today is driven overwhelmingly by women ...
0
votes
0answers
79 views
Is “Limitless” pill is for real? [duplicate]
Does any one know "Limitless" pill is real? or anyone is conducting research in inventing one?
My Question is based on a the movie "Limitless" Where the hero will get extream power mentally after ...
6
votes
0answers
155 views
Do body piercings lead to fat gain?
A Facebook friend was concerned by this report
Don’t get pierced! Body piercings can raise cortisol levels and lead to fat gain, and no site is as susceptible to fat gain as your abs! If you have ...
3
votes
1answer
330 views
Are yowies real?
According to several articles, yowies (i.e. wild, unidentified, hominids, reputed to live in Australia) have been allegedly observed by many.
For example, in this Herald Sun article about a man in ...
-3
votes
2answers
399 views
Are viruses man-made nano-technology?
According to this YouTube video, viruses are actually man-made nano-technology.
The author clearly understands biology and the traditional understandings of viruses and the immune system, yet he ...
7
votes
2answers
197 views
Is there any difference between milk from rBST treated cows and non-rBST treated cows?
I've seen the following sort of blurb on a lot of milk products, saying:
"Our pledge: Milk comes from cows not treated with the rBST growth hormone"
If they indicate this, does that mean there's ...
4
votes
0answers
142 views
Did Fukushima cause babies on the US West Coast to be more at risk from hypothyroidism?
A recent paper entitled Elevated airborne beta levels in Pacific/West Coast US States and trends in hypothyroidism among newborns after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown has been published and the ...
9
votes
1answer
327 views
Is cancer a trade off to enable faster evolution?
In an interview on pop-sci magazine "The Scientist", Dr. Robert Austin from Princeton is asserting that:
It’s a tradeoff, he says, for the rapid evolution our species has leveraged to become the ...
