10
votes
2answers
889 views
Does Van Eck Phreaking work?
Does Van Eck phreaking perform as described, i.e. allow a person to observe what is being displayed on a given computer screen (notably a LCD) from a distance without having any physical connection to ...
258
votes
3answers
16k views
Does torture work well as an interrogation technique?
I have friends who say that torture is a useful means of getting information out of people, and friends who don't, and both stands seem supported by some authorities. I am also aware that there are ...
4
votes
1answer
602 views
Are there more Greeks living outside of Greece than inside it?
I heard recently that there are more Greeks currently living outside of Greece than inside it. My source, of course, didn't qualify whether that statistic only includes people who were born there, but ...
3
votes
1answer
986 views
Do LCDs emit harmful radiation? [closed]
If I were to put my head 10cm from a LCD monitor for the rest of my life, would it increase my risk for anything? (By anything, I mean cancer, diseases, etc.)
7
votes
1answer
2k views
Can a metal plate in the head stop a bullet?
Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen the movie Faster. There is a scene in the movie where the character played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is shot in the back of the head by Billy Bob ...
7
votes
1answer
531 views
Is it better to cross rough railroad tracks very slowly or at normal/higher speeds?
When encountering the average bumpy railroad crosssing such as the one pictured above, does slowing down almost to the point of stopping (as you would for a speed bump) produce less stress on the ...
27
votes
2answers
6k views
Test for microwave leaks by putting a cell phone inside and calling it?
I heard as long ago as 2003 that trying to call a cell phone while it's inside a microwave (with the microwave off, of course) was a way to test if the shielding of the microwave was intact. I recall ...
11
votes
1answer
948 views
Are PC-based players generally superior to console-based players in first-person shooters?
I have heard that the reason that the XBox live games cannot be played with friends on Windows machines is that when MS tried it out, the keyboard-based players were so dominant that Microsoft decided ...
14
votes
1answer
12k views
Will cats eat their deceased owner, but dogs will starve to death instead?
A friend of mine is a former prosecutor for the Crown/State. He's observed that it was often harder to investigate whether a deceased person was murdered when they own cats because the cats will eat ...
1
vote
1answer
598 views
Are people more likely to believe eloquent people?
Do a majority (e.g. >50%) of people form positive opinions about an individual's knowledge on the subject matter if the speaker/writer is more eloquent(well versed in grammar, clear and concise)?
An ...
20
votes
1answer
1k views
Do carpool lanes help reduce traffic congestion more than adding an extra lane would?
Many cities have added carpool lanes to their roads, in hopes of encouraging people to carpool and reduce traffic. The idea is that, not only does the road now have an extra lane, there will also be ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
Will rats eat/burrow through human flesh?
I remember reading about this as a form of ancient torture, but I am unable to find evidence that is suggestive of that.
I did however find on this wikipedia page
uses a heavy chain to tie a ...
9
votes
1answer
4k views
Are decorative magnets on refrigerator dangerous?
I got an email with a link to a Facebook page with information about some obscure Princeton University research on how decorative refrigerator magnets increase the risk of cancer due to consumption of ...
8
votes
1answer
5k views
Can dogs love their owners?
A common assumption about household pets is that there is a mutual endearment between owner and pet. Searching the internet finds handfuls of people asking the same question and there are plenty of ...
14
votes
2answers
900 views
Is the Bechdel Test an accurate critique of the film industry?
The Bechdel Test is named for the author of a comic that popularized the following three "rules" that must be fulfilled before a movie passes the test:
The film must have at least two women in ...
7
votes
1answer
641 views
Do some people have 'sensitive senses'?
This article says that:
If you avoid bright light, loud
noises, heavy perfumes and itchy
clothing, you may find that you avoid
hot and cold foods because you have
sensitive teeth.
I've ...
7
votes
2answers
521 views
Was an Alien body found in the Republic of Buryatia?
According to CNN iReport article "Alien Body Discovered in Russia After Reported UFO Crash":
Around one month ago this publication reported on a major UFO event that occurred in the region of ...
6
votes
1answer
582 views
Are chemically treated/heavy foods bad for you?
I hear a lot of people talk about how bad processed foods are for you, but I am having trouble finding supporting evidence.
I can certainly understand that such foods are not healthy per se, but ...
5
votes
1answer
387 views
Is there any case of someone being hit by lightning in a urban pool?
I live in Quebec, and one of the strangest thing here is that every time that some clouds are in the sky, all public pools in the cities are evacuated. This is done for our "safety" with the argument ...
6
votes
2answers
871 views
In a gunfight, does the person who draws first usually lose?
In western movies, it is a common trope that the person to draw first usually loses in a gunfight. Is there any truth to this?
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Was the character of Lilith written out of the Bible?
I came across Lilith in the graphic novel Lucifer, but it seems she is mentioned in Jewish mythology Babylonian Talmud among other texts.
The story goes
Lillith was in the original creational
...
25
votes
1answer
1k views
Does sound of the water make one want to pee?
I've known it like forever, I think I was told so since I was a kid. But how true it actually is? I clearly can't see what's the connection between the sound of water and a natural need.
From my own ...
4
votes
2answers
555 views
Are cigarettes addictive?
At least one person has published alleged doubts about whether cigarettes are addictive, with their doubt/claim being supposedly backed by at least one scientific study.
Is this a reasonable question ...
20
votes
2answers
3k views
Did Michael Jackson artificially lighten his skin?
When it comes to superstars of his level, there always seem to be controversies, conspiracies, or some other mystery, and just one of the many surrounding Michael Jackson is that he for some reason ...
22
votes
4answers
2k views
Do women prefer taller men?
I have heard many women say that they like taller men. As a possible explanation I heard that they feel more secure with a taller men than a shorter one.
Do women tend to prefer men who are tall, men ...
6
votes
1answer
386 views
Is there a correlation between coffee (or caffeine) and auditory hallucinations?
The news is full of claims today that 5 cups of coffee a day is enough to cause auditory hallucination.
Professor Simon Crowe, of La Trobe University in Melbourne...
‘The combination of ...
24
votes
4answers
2k views
Do other animals have non-reproductive sex?
You can view the lecture here. At about the 11:40 point the claim is made that humans are the only species that engage in non-reproductive sex.
Is there solid evidence for or against the idea that ...
1
vote
1answer
424 views
Can you make yogurt with cultures from ant-eggs?
After being asked by a friend if there is a way to make yoghurt from scratch, I found this
There are two ways to get the bacteria, that we found; one, using the soil from an anthill, or using ...
13
votes
0answers
278 views
Is there a huge gas bubble below the Gulf of Mexico floor ready to wreak havok?
I was sent the video HERE a bit back, which gave me pause. It was sent by a family member who at least grants plausibility to 9/11 conspiracies and some other, shall we say, "fringe" theories about ...
25
votes
2answers
1k views
Does circumcision reduce HIV risk?
I've seen numerous claims that circumcision reduces HIV risk, both on TV and online.
Have there been any studies to verify if circumcision does or doesn't reduce HIV risk in a ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Does toothpaste cause acne?
Does tooth paste cause acne around the mouth?
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/toothpaste-acne-mou-t212938.html
14
votes
3answers
2k views
Does caffeine later in the day affect quality of sleep?
My wife is often telling me that drinking coffee later in the day will lower my "quality of sleep." Is this so? For an example of a bit beefier of a source for this claim, consider THIS blog post, ...
108
votes
3answers
11k views
Does a webpage with a black background save energy?
Blackle is a search engine that claims to save energy because it uses a black background. Is there any evidence to back up their claim that a website using a black background will save energy, and if ...
10
votes
1answer
439 views
Are only 80% of Canadians born in the country?
This came up in chat where it was claimed that about 20% of Canadians are not born in the country itself, is that true?
20% of Canadians were not born in Canada
10
votes
1answer
705 views
Do increasing global temperatures cause earthquakes?
With recent earthquakes, several sources have started claiming that this is a sign of the change we are causing. This paper indicates a historical association (but does not claim causal ...
7
votes
1answer
414 views
Is Lojban completely unambiguous?
The description from Wikipedia:
Lojban (pronounced [ˈloʒban]) is a constructed, syntactically unambiguous human language based on predicate logic, succeeding the project of Loglan.
I understand ...
14
votes
1answer
3k views
Is tomato juice useful for removing skunk smell?
It's a common belief that you should use tomato juice to remove the smell after you get sprayed by a skunk. Does it work?
1
vote
1answer
548 views
Is peanut butter actually good for removing gum?
It seems to be common knowledge that using peanut butter is good for removing chewing gum from hair or the bottoms of shoes. Is this true?
Some sources:
One
Two
Three
17
votes
1answer
1k views
Is using a mouse less efficient?
Users of programmable text editors such as Emacs and Vim claim that using a mouse for day-to-day programming and computing tasks makes you less efficient.
For example, in this playful Welcome to Vim ...
6
votes
1answer
413 views
How do we know the proportion of antimatter in the Universe?
From the Register, talking about the recent CERN antimatter experiment. I'm not concerned with the experiment itself, but rather this claim
This, in turn, would help us
understand how come our ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Is asking about U.S. citizenship an illegal interview question?
From About.com,
Are you a U.S. citizen?
Every interview I have had has asked this. Even pre-interview screening includes this question. Is it really illegal for them to ask this?
Note: Not ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
Can you put a gag in someones mouth to prevent them from talking
I don't get this, I see it on crime TV programs a lot, they stuff a cloth in the mouth of someone so they cant scream/shout for help.
I put a sock in my mouth once, it was pretty easy to push it out ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Can a person still fart after death?
I read it here and i couldn't believe it .
so can a person still fart after dying ?
11
votes
1answer
3k views
Correlation between ring finger length and sexual preference
Is there any truth to the claim that people who have ring fingers that are longer than their index fingers are attracted to the opposite sex?
In other words, in the picture below, the hand on the ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
Does smoking under three cigarettes a day prevent addiction?
I heard that if you smoke at most three cigarettes a day you don't get addicted to smoking. A similar idea was introduced in a How I Met Your Mother episode. Is this true?
8
votes
1answer
7k views
Are there airborne poop particles flying around bathrooms?
I've heard claims of airborne poop particles that fly into the air everytime one flushes a toilet. Here's some examples:
HERE someone states that flushing the toilet "aerosolizes" water/poop into ...
28
votes
1answer
2k views
Is mental exhaustion something real?
I can go from working hard on algorithmic programming a whole day, and feeling totally mentally exhausted, to playing chess. As far as I can understand, these two types of thinking should be strongly ...
3
votes
1answer
412 views
The FDA does not, itself, actually test anything in order to approve it?
I watched something a bit back and was thinking about one of the claims this morning as I listened to SGU on the way to work. I unfortunately can't recall the source anymore, but am fairly confident ...
5
votes
1answer
545 views
Does auto-tune make singing (without talent) easy?
Has autotune made singing as easy as people claim? Or is it just a tool that slightly aids already trained singers?
For an example of the claim, see this (SFW) parody music video, by KSics and Alex.
...
11
votes
0answers
561 views
Is prostitution uncommon among geishas?
Many news stories and plenty of ensuing comments about geishas have people making a strong point that geishas are not prostitutes.
However, the wikipedia article makes a meal out of the topic and ...
