48
votes
In the US, were clover lawns common until a supposed smear campaign by Roundup?
Clover was undesirable in US lawns prior to the invention of Roundup.
Roundup (glyphosate aka N-phosphonomethylglycine) was invented in 1971.
However, in Suggested Guide for Weed Control 1967 ...
- 104k
36
votes
Accepted
Is this "Remove child before washing" clothes label real?
The label is real.
It is a joke on behalf of the manufacturer, the Norwegian company "Ugly Children's Clothing"
(They now seem to be trading as Marius Kids; the history/relationship was too ...
- 140k
23
votes
In the US, were clover lawns common until a supposed smear campaign by Roundup?
You have it half-right, but to get the whole story, we have to go back to World War II.
Insect-related diseases were a huge problem in every war before WWII, and often killed more soldiers than the ...
- 2,096
16
votes
Accepted
Does 32 g of Gatorade powder contain 33 g of carbohydrates?
Is the depiction of the label accurate?
Yes, the same information is available directly from the manufacturer, PepsiCo Canada:
The "why" question is largely out of scope of the site. It seems likely ...
- 140k
13
votes
Did children in Ethiopia hack Android in five months?
Others, including Negroponte's own associate, have disputed the factual accuracy of his explanation.
At an OLPC summit [and] in conversations with Negroponte’s collaborator Maryanne Wolf ... I heard ...
- 44.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Do aluminum-based antiperspirants cause cancer?
Research data does not have conclusive evidence linking the use of underarm antiperspirants or deodorants and the subsequent development of breast cancer.
Researchers at the National Cancer ...
- 22.7k
12
votes
Accepted
Is there an EU regulation which says flags must be from non-flamable material?
Yes.
There are a number of different fire safety standards that might apply in this case.
Unfortunately, there is no single flammability standard for upholstery or vertical surface fabrics which has ...
- 9,486
12
votes
Accepted
Do nano silver bead laundry mashers effectively clean laundry?
It's a Laundry Ball. This is a very popular fake product, well-documented in the linked wikipedia article. The central question to ask for any laundry ball is, "Is this product better than ...
- 824
11
votes
In the US, were clover lawns common until a supposed smear campaign by Roundup?
According to Ted Steinberg in American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn (2006):
There was only one problem with 2,4-D. It killed clover, one of the most useful “weeds” found in the ...
- 44.4k
9
votes
Can you sharpen scissors by cutting Aluminum foil?
I could not find experimental evidence, but the majority of people on a sharpening forum seem to agree that it will not work.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/sharpening-scissors-with-aluminum-foil....
9
votes
Accepted
Are sardines farmed?
Like most saltwater species, sardines are not farmed in any significant number. Marine fishes accounted for only 2.8 percent of the world aquaculture production tonnage in 2017, according to this ...
- 5,413
8
votes
If I buy "flushable" wipes, can I flush them without problems?
This website from ThamesWater (a water management company in UK) states that they are not flushable, and even shows you why.
Other sources tell the same story:
https://www.lanesfordrains.co.uk/...
- 355
8
votes
Do certain fruit combinations ripen faster?
Ethylene definitely has a role in the ripening of fruit.
Ethylene and fruit ripening is a scientific paper that discusses the chemical mechanisms of ripening fruit. From the paper:
The ripening of ...
- 12k
7
votes
Can the GoBe devices measure your caloric intake?
How do they claim this works?
In their own words
The History and Technology Behind Healbe GoBe:
Algorithm owes its success in part to the active use of Inventive Problem Solving Theory (TRIZ) in ...
- 44k
7
votes
Do Duracell batteries last longer than normal batteries?
Zinc-Carbon and Alkaline batteries are different battery types. The have a similar voltage and come packaged identically, however the amount of stored energy varies greatly.
Comparison of battery ...
- 78.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Do different locks ever have the same key?
One key almost certainly can open someone else's lock in 'n' number of possibilities because even with the best locks, there are a finite number of combinations to which the lock maker sets the levers ...
- 22.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Is Pepsin from pigs being used for cheesemaking in the United States?
As background, the Kraft letter in the OP has been truncated. The letter was from Ellen Schwarzbach of Kraft to a vegetarian group sometime prior to 1997 and continues after the portion quoted in the ...
- 104k
6
votes
Accepted
Did the ancient Egyptians call aloe vera "the plant of immortality"?
Well, actually, the headline of that article is almost correct, but by accident. It was not the ancient Egyptians who considered aloe a symbol of vitality, but the Egyptians of 1825, according to an ...
- 44.4k
6
votes
Accepted
Do fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets taste worse than those grown on local farms?
Yes it is true that some fruits such as raspberries and vegetables such as spinach in supermarkets taste different, when compared to local farms and farmers markets since most varieties of fruits and ...
- 22.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Is Casey Neistat's video of himself flying under a drone genuine?
I'm not sure exactly what evidence you would need, but watch the rebuttal video Bakuriu linked to, made by the team who produced the original, and with commentary listing the technical specifications (...
- 6,237
6
votes
Do many commonly consumed food items in Australia have the halal certification emblem on them?
Halalsquare maintains a list of Halal-certified foods in Australia. To appear on their database food has to be either certified by a certification company, or intrinsically Halal-safe, based on ...
- 5,846
6
votes
Accepted
Does the Black Rhodium Stream/Titan Power Cable provide improved sound quality to hi-fi systems?
Does cable xxx provide improved sound quality to hifi system?
I say no for me, and perhaps yes for you. This is a very long running issue in Hifi circuits. There are lots of published comparisons -- ...
- 297
5
votes
Is Sensodyne recommended by "nine out of ten dentists"?
Such statements are not to be intended in the "scientific" sense. They are marketing materials and are not claimed to be representative of all dentists.
Stock phrases such as "Recommended by nine out ...
- 22.7k
5
votes
Do vinegar or salt prevent the cloth colors from bleeding?
Salt has been used as a mordant (dye-fixer) for ages. Packs of RIT brand dye suggest adding salt (or vinegar, for synthetics) to the dye bath to help the color set.
https://www.ritdye.com/techniques/...
- 151
5
votes
Are artificial sweeteners linked to strokes and dementia?
I'm very doubtful, as KAI noted, not even the researchers are speaking of this study with certainty. NCBI, which is extremely reputable notes "evidence does not support links between aspartame and ...
- 69
5
votes
Accepted
Are cheap scallops made from flounders or stingrays?
In short, this looks unlikely. This article in the Chicago Tribune dates from 1994, but it states that:
The National Fisheries Institute is not aware of any cases of intentionally mislabeling "any ...
- 1,454
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