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1500 questions
58
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Do teenagers fall asleep and rise up later than kids or adults for biological reasons?
In a TED talk "Why school should start later for teens", Wendy Toxel made an assertion that teenagers naturally fall asleep and rise up a couple of hours later than children OR adults (related to Melatonin production time).
I found one BBC article…
user5341
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58
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Are people on average more likely to die in an extinction event than in a car crash?
An article in The Atlantic makes following claim:
Human Extinction Isn't That Unlikely
“A typical person is more than five times as likely to die in an extinction event as in a car crash,” says a new report
This is all based on assuming that there…
vartec
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58
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Has Barack Obama achieved these goals in the last six years?
A claim, attributed to Occupy Democrats (which may or may not be true), that is doing rounds in social networks shows a photo of the current US President Barack Obama raising a toast with these words:
“In just six years, I nearly tripled the…
pericles316
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58
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Are 41% of Donald Trump supporters in favor of bombing Agrabah (the country from Aladdin)?
Is there a source for this claim?
Daenyth
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58
votes
1 answer
Do nails and hair continue to grow after death?
I've heard that nails and hair continue to grow even after death. Is this true or just a myth?
Mostafiz Rahman
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58
votes
2 answers
Is it legal to shoot groups of Native Americans in some US States?
At a young age, I remember being told by a teacher that if there are five or more native Americans in a group, it is legal to shoot them, because it is considered a war party. The teacher told me that this was an old law which is still in effect…
Evorlor
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58
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2 answers
Does the average American unwittingly commit three felonies a day?
Harvey Silverglate has written a book, Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent, in which he claims, according to the Amazon blurb:
The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats…
user4216
58
votes
2 answers
Did George W. Bush spend 32% of his presidency vacationing, versus Barack Obama's 5.2%?
This picture is making the rounds on Facebook:
[Picture of George W. Bush] 32% [Picture of Barack Obama] 5.2%
Percentage of presidency spent on vacation.
Guess which one conservatives call "The Vacationer in Chief"?
…
Larian LeQuella
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58
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1 answer
Does a column of marching soldiers have to break their rhythm while crossing a bridge to prevent its collapse?
I recently stumbled across this article "Why are soldiers ordered to break their marching steps while crossing a bridge?" (The Times of India) where a claim is made:
When soldiers march in three files over a bridge, they generate a
rhythmic…
Carlo Alterego
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58
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1 answer
Do human eyes grow after birth?
My friend just assured me that when a person is born, their eyes are at the size they will be for the rest of their life, or, that they do not grow. A Google for this question shows that it has been asked many times, and has varying answers.
Do…
SpellingD
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57
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Do laws exist that say restaurants must serve customers who request tap water?
My mother claimed the other day that it is a "state law" that any restaurant must serve customers tap water upon request, therefore not requiring customers to buy a (flavored) drink or (overpriced) bottled water. I asked her how she knows that, she…
Sam I Am
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57
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1 answer
Does the "survivorship bias" airplane diagram come from World War II research on returning war planes?
This is a famous diagram. It is used extensively to demonstrate the concept of "Survivorship Bias".
Here is a typical example claim associated with this diagram:
In World War 2 the allies famously statistically plotted on returning aeroplanes…
Oddthinking
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2 answers
Is Stanford's "Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative" real?
The Wall Street Journal claims that this document is a legitimate initiative of Stanford University.
It recommends, for example, that the term "blind study", widely used in experimental trials to avoid bias, should be replaced by "masked study"…
matt_black
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57
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Can you have your lunch at your work-desk in France?
According to this NPR article and this podcast episode (published June 2022):
The French labor code prohibits workers from eating lunch in the workplace.
Is this a real French law, and does violating it have actual legal consequences, or is it…
Agnishom Chattopadhyay
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57
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2 answers
Did Roman jurists rule that "to learn the art of geometry and to take part in public exercises, an art as damnable as mathematics, are forbidden"?
According to Morris Kline, author of Mathematics for the Nonmathematician (1967):
Roman jurists ruled, under the Code of Mathematicians and Evil-Doers, that "to learn the art of geometry and to take part in public exercises, an art as damnable as…
user55016