All Questions
11,023
questions
1
vote
0
answers
31
views
Source of belief to chop off the stem-end of a banana to avoid eating a pesticide-laden area?
One of my friends always chop off the ends of a banana after peeling it, especially the end toward the stem, so as to discard the area she believes has a more concentrated level of chemical / ...
- 147
-3
votes
1
answer
157
views
Are you disallowed to bring bottles of water on planes for security reasons? [closed]
Restrictions on bringing liquids on planes were introduced in 2006 citing security concerns about liquid explosives. See e.g. 1.
I am skeptical security reasons are the true motivation. Shortly after ...
- 3,816
18
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Is there an increase in whale deaths due to windfarms?
During a recent speech in North Carolina, Donald Trump blamed offshore wind farms for the rise in whale deaths.
Trump made the remarks about offshore wind’s possible link to the surge in baleen whale ...
- 17.3k
-2
votes
0
answers
67
views
Is it true that only 30% voted on the strike of Canadian Federal Workers 2023? [closed]
According to a quote on CBC, the mainstream Canadian media, only 30% voted the strike of Canadian Federal Workers. 24% of the workers vote in favor of the strike.
I find the number questionable for ...
- 137
-6
votes
0
answers
135
views
Does time really exist? [closed]
What if time is a scientific conspiracy? Most of the science and good chunk of technology would stop making any sense if you remove time from it. That gives strongest possible motive to perpetuate the ...
- 97
7
votes
1
answer
694
views
Was Jaco van der Westhuyzen's knee faith-healed by TB Joshua?
Reading in the South Africa newspapers about the awful church building collapse of the popular prophet T. B. Joshua in Nigeria lead me to the claims of Jaco van der Westhuyzen regarding T. B. Joshua's ...
CommunityBot
- 1
-4
votes
0
answers
148
views
Were three thousand bombs fired toward Tanot Mata temple?
the diety who protected indian soldiers from pakistani bombs at longewala in 1971 war
Wikipedia: Tanot Mata Temple
Tanot was attacked by the Pakistan Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, ...
- 30.2k
12
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Was Greenpeace ever sponsored by the KGB?
As an urban legend, I've heard this claim many times. Allegedly, in the 1970s, the KGB sponsored various Western "anti-war" movements, especially the ones that could hinder Western nuclear ...
- 30.2k
2
votes
2
answers
626
views
Was a Russian colonel "required to volunteer for the war in Ukraine" as punishment for asking for a washing machine as a bribe?
Polish TVP reports:
Mertvishchov conducted an inspection at a military police station in Moscow. The colonel admitted in a telephone conversation with the station’s management that “the matters ...
19
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Can an electronic device reduce scale buildup in waterworks?
I have recently received an ad for a device attaching to my inlet water pipe and a power socket, and claiming to massively reduce the scale build-up.
This compact, computerised limescale remover uses ...
- 1
15
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Could world hunger be ended for 40 billion USD per year?
The World Food Program USA claims that 345 million people around the world:
are experiencing the most severe levels of hunger including starvation. These are the people the U.N. World Food Programme ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
0
answers
446
views
Was the AI Of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl good enough to beat the game on its own?
I have heard the claim from various sources that the AI of S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl, a Russian FPS RPG-ish thing from 2007, had beta AI that was so good that an AI character could be given ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
0
answers
192
views
Did a Father save his son after digging for 38 hours after the Armenian earthquake?
There's an inspirational story that is very popular on God based websites. Here is the version I am familiar with that was forwarded to me on Whatsapp many times before Yom Kippur:
This story is true ...
- 30.2k
43
votes
0
answers
6k
views
Is this shoe lacing technique effective at preventing blackened toe nails?
See:
Reddit: LPT: How to lace your running shoes (June 7, 2015)
Reddit: Black toes from ultimate? (May 20, 2015)
Runner's World: How To Lace Shoes: Prevent Black Toe Nails (March 4, 2011)
They link ...
5
votes
1
answer
658
views
Are "Warranty voided if removed"-labels illegal?
NPR wrote in 2018
The Federal Trade Commission says they're [Warranty voided if removed labels] illegal.
Are "Warranty voided if removed"-labels illegal?
What, if any, is the practical ...
- 729
23
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Did UNESCO pass 46 resolutions against Israel and 1 against any other country in one period?
From Hillel Neuer (in a recent Twitter Moment):
In 2009-2014, UNESCO adopted:
46 resolutions against Israel
1 on Syria
0 on Iran, North Korea, Sudan or any other country in the world
Is this ...
- 1,978
0
votes
0
answers
302
views
Is IIT consciousness theory a pseudo science?
Nature writes
It [a letter] argues that a prominent theory describing what makes someone or something conscious — called the integrated information theory (IIT) — should be labelled as pseudoscience.
...
- 6,488
1
vote
1
answer
406
views
Archaic admixture in Africans
I've been investigating the ideas circulating in some of the more classy white supremacist circles. Some of them have referenced studies like this one:
We provide complementary lines of evidence for ...
- 8,099
13
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Did the US government claim that it has the right to control "cognitive infrastructure", i.e. thoughts?
A 8 July 2023 tweet contained a snippet of an America This Week vodcast, with author Walter Kirn:
Kirn: The thing that stunned me the most was the Government's contention repeated in the ruling that ...
22
votes
1
answer
15k
views
Does drinking water upside-down help cure hiccups?
I was under the impression that drinking water upside-down worked for curing hiccups (when they worked) merely due to a placebo effect, or at the very least didn't work any better than just drinking ...
- 517
5
votes
0
answers
293
views
Do a company's sustainability efforts impact employee retention?
It is common to seem claims that sustainable business practices help retain staff:
A 2019 Fast Company article discussed an (unlinked) survey of 1,000 US employees:
Nearly 70% of respondents said ...
10
votes
0
answers
305
views
Does removing split ends increase overall hair durability?
Does trimming your hair regularly make it grow faster? addresses the "trimming the hair makes it grow faster" myth, noting that the hair outside of your scalp is dead, and has no awareness ...
- 373
5
votes
1
answer
15k
views
Can drinking coconut water harm sperm production?
In a remote rural area of India while traveling, I came to know that the people there believe that
Coconut water should not be drunk by males as it harms sperm production [count?].
Is there truth ...
- 30.2k
4
votes
2
answers
685
views
Were the Finns ever considered as the Negroes of the North?
The Finnish member of parliament Teemu Keskisarja recently made headlines by claiming in a parliament speech:
Suomen rasismihistorian lyhyt tiedonanto:
...Esivanhempamme eli Pohjolan neekerit olivat ...
- 30.2k
10
votes
1
answer
905
views
Do lost people tend to unintentionally walk in circles?
Is it fact/myth that when you get lost in the wilderness, you go round in circles?
Common belief has it that people who get lost in unfamiliar terrain often end up walking in circles. Although ...
- 219
28
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Does the Westboro Baptist Church get most of their funding from lawsuits?
The Westboro Baptist Church is notorious for picketing things like funerals and they generate a lot of attention by doing so. A common trend in discussions about the church goes something like:
...
28
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Can scaring a person cure hiccups?
There is a popular belief that scaring a hiccuping person would cure the hiccups:
This Straw Is Designed to Instantly Cure Hiccups
Lots of folks will try to scare hiccups away with a shock or ...
- 30.2k
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Does hiccuping / hiccoughing have any adverse effect on your health?
I have heard that hiccuping is very bad for you. I've even heard several times that each time you hiccup it shortens your lifespan by one day.
Does an average bout of hiccuping have any adverse ...
- 30.2k
11
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Did the grandson of John Rabe receive medicine from China during the start of COVID?
There is a story widely reported by prominent newspapers and government outlets in China that Thomas Rabe, the grandson of John Rabe, asked China for medicine and medical supplies at the start of the ...
- 140k
9
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Do EU sanctions prevent Russian visitors from bringing their smartphones/toothpaste with them into the EU?
This morning a Russian media company RBC reported that (vaguely translated from Russian) "EU prohibited Russians to enter the EU with personal cars, smartphones and shampoo". A similar story ...
- 285
15
votes
1
answer
595
views
Do trucks cause disproportionate pedestrian and cyclist fatalities for the distance travelled?
In an interview with Autonomy, Volta Trucks founder, Carl-Magnus Norden, said:
in London trucks constituted only 4% of road miles but 26% of pedestrian fatalities and 78% of cyclist fatalities.
I've ...
- 30.2k
0
votes
0
answers
441
views
Was the Mexican Congress shown corpses of extra-terrestrials?
According to The Independent, journalist and Ufologist, Jaime Maussan testified to a Mexican congressional hearing that apparent mummified/fossilized corpses are extra-terrestrials: they are not part ...
- 140k
1
vote
0
answers
165
views
Did a group of Algerians celebrate the earthquake in Morocco near the border?
In an Iranian website (and some other Iranian websites as well) they say a group of Algerians gathered at the border with Morocco and played music and celebrated the earthquake in Morocco (the two ...
- 147
21
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Is "Behind The Veil" an accurate representation of secret Mormon rituals?
In the hidden-camera clip Behind The Veil: Never-Before-Seen Footage of Secret Mormon Temple Rituals we supposedly see never-before-seen footage of secret Mormon Temple rituals.
A longer version of ...
- 30.2k
4
votes
1
answer
752
views
Does orthokeratology cure myopia?
This 2013 study found:
Soft multifocal contact lens wear resulted in a 50% reduction in the progression of myopia and a 29% reduction in axial elongation during the 2-year treatment period compared ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
0
answers
449
views
Did the body of Saint Bernadette remain intact after 50 years, despite the conditions it was in?
According to this 2019 article in the National Catholic Register, The Marvelous Preservation of St. Bernadette, the body of Saint Bernadette had limited decay, despite:
given the close examinations, ...
- 351
11
votes
1
answer
13k
views
Was Johnny Cash the first American to learn of Stalin's death?
I just came across this claim in a letter to The Economist:
He worked the line
SIR – Charlemagne considers it “safe to assume that Johnny Cash… gave
little thought to European foreign policy” (...
27
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Was the oven mitt first developed by Earl Mitt?
Did "Earl Mitt" even exist at all? I first heard this story from an answer to this English Language and Usage Stack Exchange question about oven mitts/oven gloves.
Earlier today, the story was in ...
- 30.2k
4
votes
1
answer
531
views
Does weight loss from Ozempic come mainly from muscle and connectivity tissue loss?
A recent "The Joe Rogan Experience" episode with Bill Maher as the guest discussed weight loss drugs, especially type-2 diabetes GLP-1 agonists. The following interchange took place (J is ...
- 9,539
17
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Is the Japanese emperor forbidden from eating fugu (puffer fish)?
According to Wikipedia
Fugu is also the only food the Emperor of Japan is forbidden to eat, for his safety
This information comes from a Forbes article "Killer Foods":
The fish remains ...
- 44.4k
8
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Can some people beat roulette wheels using "visual ballistics"?
In the past, people beat roulette wheels using machines that measure ball speed and predict where the ball will land. That is discussed in the question Is it possible to gain an edge in roulette ...
- 1,096
-4
votes
1
answer
571
views
Is this Pfizer’s official Facebook page?
This Facebook page purports to be that of Pfizer, but it contains some unusual posts.
However, there is another Pfizer Pharmaceutical page with a lot more Facebook Likes, so I’m not sure if this is ...
- 140k
4
votes
0
answers
244
views
Did Mongolian president Ochirbat Punsalmaa make a funny remark about a snoring bodyguard to Queen Elizabeth II on a visit to the UK in 1996?
According to this widely shared Quora answer, the following interesting story took place when the Mongolian president visited the UK in 1996:
In 1996, Mongolia's first president, Ochirbat Punsalmaa, ...
- 149
3
votes
1
answer
236
views
Is the fruit of Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig) poisonous? [closed]
Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig) is a popular house plant. The leaves and sap are generally considered toxic. However, I found conflicting information about the fruit.
Some sources claim the fruit is not ...
- 706
-4
votes
0
answers
186
views
Have there been no notable Irish economists?
In 1977 the Canadian-American economist and diplomat J K Galbraith mad a TV series n the history of economics and social philosophy for the BBC which was also released as a book. The title of both was ...
- 56.2k
2
votes
0
answers
316
views
Does it take one tree to produce 20,000 paper hand towels?
I saw a poster near the hand dryer in the washroom at my office that said:
1 Tree = 20,000 paper hand towels.
Is that accurate?
- 140k
5
votes
0
answers
351
views
Does Japan have 1.5 million people with severe social withdrawal?
Hikokomiri is a Japanese concept of severe social withdrawal:
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare defines hikikomori as a condition in which the affected individuals refuse to leave ...
- 140k
7
votes
1
answer
730
views
Has the absorption of menstrual hygiene products only now been compared using blood for the first time?
A number of articles such as this one or this one were published recently in reaction to this study.
The study is quoted as saying that "no study exists comparing the capacity of currently ...
- 216
20
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Does stretching help children grow taller?
This article claims:
Stretching is a great way to increase height. Get your child to start
with simple stretches like the wall stretch. Make him stand against a
wall with the back towards it. ...
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
712
views
Does using a neck brace reduce damage taken in a car crash?
In the movie Focus, you can find this scene, where a man puts on a neck brace, before crashing into another car, and this same guy seems to be the only one unscathed. I know movies tend to portray ...
